History and Education

HISTORY AND EDUCATION
-         Cl. Mario D’Couto SDB

          History, as we all know is a study of the events that happened in the past. It is an important aspect of reality since it helps us understand our past and it brings to mind the knowledge about where we came from and where we are going. In terms of development, it helps us to look at what were the “drawbacks” that were there in the past and it helps us to form a better future. Besides this, it also helps us to know the person in his or her historical context and we can cite many examples in this regard like medical history, psychological history and so on.
          Today, we live in a fast-paced world and due to this phenomenon, a lot of the past has been forgotten, not due to the lack of information but due to the indifference shown towards history. It seems as though people don’t believe that history matters anymore; history is only meant for the school-going children and that’s it. However, we should note that history very much shapes the way we think since we are all historical beings. The drawback is that it could happen that when history is presented, only a “good” and the “bad” side of history else, our knowledge could become totally one-sided.
          On a personal level, I believe that in order to be a good educator, it is important to take into account the historical context of a student so that he or she will be able to cater to the student an overall formation. Hence, in this sense, it is not just about lectures and notes (which are important) but more than just that it is about a complete formation in terms of his or her physical, emotional and spiritual maturing, besides the intellectual formation.   

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