"It Shall Not Depart From Your Lips"

One of History's most well-known phrases is "we should learn History so that we don't repeat it." This has been so often repeated that people mock it. But does this mean we should expect everyone to remember all the facts about everything? That's impossible to ask of anyone. Few people have such strong memories. Memory fades with age and time, this is a given. The stress involved with remembering everything that has ever happened would also be too much to bear. This concept is explored in the fantastic short story by Jorge Luis Borges in Junes El Memorioso. So what can be expected, or what should be instructed to the people who complain about being forced to "learn history"? How can we help them understand that we, as historians, don't mean only the facts and figures?

I believe that instead of merely teaching about numbers and people, we have to teach them with stories, but not just any stories. Stories with emotions. Why does history seem dry most of the time? Because it is devoid of any personality. History should make you feel something-whether joy or sadness. Yes, the names and numbers matter, but the next step will be to make sure the learner feels the meaning behind them. To make history memorable we have to ensure it has emotion attached. Even if people do not remember the numbers, they will know how to react to such events. It is my hope that even if people do not remember the number killed in a genocide (as wonderful as that would be), I want them to be upset when they hear of such large numbers in a terrible tragedy. Remembering the events will help a person associate the numbers with a feeling.

To teach this sort of material is filled with difficulty no doubt, but the message is still important. I hope to learn how to do this.

Remembering facts is important, but remembering emotions is imperative.