"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." – George Santayana
On a weekly basis, I heard this quote from my history teacher, and now that I am a history teacher myself, I realize just how true that statement is. The issues with the economy, for example, are issues that the United States has dealt with in the past. Now, we are trying to handle them the same way, and it looks like we are getting similar results. This continuous circle of events is what got me interested in history in the first place.
With that in mind, I want to make sure students at Ignite Christian Academy are well-informed about what is going on in the world around them. This is why I recently started hosting a current events online class for 7th-12th grade history students. Hosted at least once a month, this online class qualifies as a participation project for all history classes.
Before the class, students are asked to research 3-4 current events. Then, students are randomly chosen to present one current event to the class. They need to answer who, what, when, where, why, and how this event is related to the past and future, and how it relates to them personally. The only rule is that students can't present on an event that has already been discussed, which is why students are asked to prepare 3-4 events to ensure they have a back-up. After two months of classes, topics discussed have covered current events from the war in Afghanistan to the release of the iPhone 5.
After two months of classes, I have received some excellent feedback. Students seem to be enjoying the opportunity to ‘host' an online class for their classmates, so keep an eye out for this history class on the schedule of online classes! I hope to see you there!
Mrs. Jessie Eben