Making History Relevant to the Lives of Young People
The Problem
Young people have a hard time connecting to information when it is not happening directly to them or around them. They often do not understand the importance of making connections between past and present, and from place to place.
For example, each year, on the anniversary of 9/11, I ask my students to reflect on how 9/11 has affected their lives. The overwhelming response is one similar to "It doesn't affect me, I don't live in New York or wherever so why should I care?" For someone like me, who cannot get the images of collapsing towers, burning buildings and fields, crying faces, and coffins draped with American flags out of her mind, this is quite the shock to hear!
For my generation, 9/11 is the day we will never forget, much like the Kennedy assassination is for my parents' generation, and the bombing of Pearl Harbor for the generation before them. How can I get students to appreciate what happened in the past, before they were born, if they cannot even appreciate a part of history through which they actually lived?
For example, each year, on the anniversary of 9/11, I ask my students to reflect on how 9/11 has affected their lives. The overwhelming response is one similar to "It doesn't affect me, I don't live in New York or wherever so why should I care?" For someone like me, who cannot get the images of collapsing towers, burning buildings and fields, crying faces, and coffins draped with American flags out of her mind, this is quite the shock to hear!
For my generation, 9/11 is the day we will never forget, much like the Kennedy assassination is for my parents' generation, and the bombing of Pearl Harbor for the generation before them. How can I get students to appreciate what happened in the past, before they were born, if they cannot even appreciate a part of history through which they actually lived?
