I had the honor this weekend of participating in the annual Dade Battle reenactment. It was an honor to pay homage to the US troops who lost their lives on that cold rainy day on Dec. 28,1835.
Although I have participated in countless reenactments in the past, this one was particularly special. This particular reenactment turned into a family affair with my daughter participating and my oldest son taking the field of battle for the first time ever. This brings me to the point of this post. It has been said that those who do not learn from their history are doomed to repeat it. Understanding the past is vital to making informed decisions about our future. Unfortunately a lot of our history seems to get glossed over in schools these days. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of teachers out there who are great at their jobs, but often times their hands are tied by the amount of time they can spend on specific topics. So what can we do about this? Answer; get your kids interested in history. Now this doesn't necessarily mean you have to run out and dive in to reenacting. (but hey,,,,why not?) You can, however, help your kids learn that history is more than just pages in a book, Go to a reenactment. Visit a museum. Take a road trip and go to a historic landmark. Help your kids learn that there were faces and names behind the stories. By doing this, you can help to spark an interest in history in your kids and spend some great quality time in the process, If you instill a love of history in your kids today, they will pass it on in the future. What better to pass on to the future than the past?
Although I have participated in countless reenactments in the past, this one was particularly special. This particular reenactment turned into a family affair with my daughter participating and my oldest son taking the field of battle for the first time ever. This brings me to the point of this post. It has been said that those who do not learn from their history are doomed to repeat it. Understanding the past is vital to making informed decisions about our future. Unfortunately a lot of our history seems to get glossed over in schools these days. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of teachers out there who are great at their jobs, but often times their hands are tied by the amount of time they can spend on specific topics. So what can we do about this? Answer; get your kids interested in history. Now this doesn't necessarily mean you have to run out and dive in to reenacting. (but hey,,,,why not?) You can, however, help your kids learn that history is more than just pages in a book, Go to a reenactment. Visit a museum. Take a road trip and go to a historic landmark. Help your kids learn that there were faces and names behind the stories. By doing this, you can help to spark an interest in history in your kids and spend some great quality time in the process, If you instill a love of history in your kids today, they will pass it on in the future. What better to pass on to the future than the past?