On the 5th May 2011, the world's last known combat veteran of World War I, Claude Choules, died in Australia aged 110. Known to his comrades as Chuckles, British-born Mr Choules joined the Royal Navy at 15 and went on to serve on HMS Revenge. Every British Curriculum School in the world will learn about WW1, but now that there are no living survivors is it relevant anymore? Instead would it be more useful to learn about more recent conflicts? The year 9's have studied it this year- what do you think? The year 8's will start with this topic in September- are we wasting your time?
Remember a good historian is one who can justify their opinions- don't make a statement unless you can justify what you say. Aim to give specific examples.
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PS: Please feel free to continue commenting on the previous topic, or post comments if you have not done so far. The debate got quite lively with some interesting points and ideas discussed. Well done to all those involved.
What is the saying again? "Those who do not learn it, are doomed to repeat it" Yes it's old but people need to learn about it, because nothing has ever occured like this. It would be wise to bring in other recent conflicts like Gaza or even closer home Gaddafi. They could be used to compare it to the holocaust. We do not need another dictator like Hitler, do we? So lets teach the future generation, so they are not doomed to repeat it and bring misery to the world.
ReplyDeleteWe dont really have to learn about WW1...but it would help to know what went on to help prevent such fatalities in the future :)
ReplyDeleteI hate to disagree with you, but its inevitable with the thing you say. Chisom if they do not learn the backbone of wars, the reasons for it, the excuses used, the atrocities, they will fall into the same ways.
ReplyDeleteIt is necessary to learn from history, it is still relevent as we can learn alot from the mistakes made and not repeat them. However I also agree with Arnold in saying that recent events should also be introduced in the syllubus such as; the Arab Upraising.Introducing recent events will be extremly benificiall as these events may prove to have a larger impact on us and may influence our future.
ReplyDeleteP.S Please excuse my spelling
Well said Navishka Potter, but will there be a balance between the recent or old wars, or will it just be recent wars and atrocities and just afew of the old ones, please clarify what you would expect the system to do?
ReplyDeleteBefore WW1 lots of people saw war as glorious and patriotic so were quick to rush into it and only later did they realize the horrors of the trenches. By learning about it, as said above, we will avoid having the same thing happen to us.
ReplyDeletelearning history is definitely not wasting time. of course we still need to learn about world war 1, as it used to be part of other people's lives. it is part of our history that formed a lot of countries as they are now.It led people to a lot of tears and death but also to people uniting together as nations.Not because the last soldier of world war 1 is dead means that we should stop learning about it,NO but this makes us more interested about learning more of it. if we learn about these amazing historical moments, then this should be stuck in our heads forever. It will not be useful to learn about recent conflicts because if we keep learning about recent events then we will never learn from our mistakes in the past. Everyone should learn about history whether it's world war 1 or any other 'historical' events. This makes us look back and notice that many/some mistakes we have made in the past are still being done. we need some change and we need to learn from our mistakes.
ReplyDeleteI think that we should keep on learning about history especcialy ww1 because it WAS actually the major thing that happened in history. If we dont keep on learning about this then we wont know what happened and the future generation would forget about all the historic legends who saved the world from total doom. And i agree with shereen
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with Shereen. History is important in our lives and we should continue to study it. Just because the last soldier of WW1 died doesn't mean there is no point in learning about that historical war. Learning about it will prevent the repetition of it. This means that we wont make the same mistakes they did many years ago.
ReplyDeletei think it's a good idea to learn history because you need to know what happened before.As a historical event like WW1 or WW2 if people asks you what would you say if you don't know anything...
ReplyDeletei think we all need to know historical events like WW1 or WW2. It can help for anything like if somebody asks you something about an historical event and you don't know...
ReplyDeleteand it can also help for the restant of your life
I think that it is more important for us today to learn about World War II than World War I. I think this because World War II was fought more like wars are fought today than World War I (the type of technology used and the number of deaths relative to the time fought and the amount of people fighting). My point is that to try avoid a world war in future, it is more effective to learn about a war similar to what a world war would be like today, instead of learning about something more far-fetched; not as gruesome as the former.
ReplyDeleteI dont mean this, but to get a debate going am going to play devils advocate. Why should we concentrate on world war 1? there have been many atrotious wars after and before it for example the second world war. Surely we do not need it any more, we can take other wars. We do not need to learn about world war no more. Adding to that, learning from it doesnt mean we wont create another war. If it did that would have meant world war 2 would not have happened. I am just saying, we should learn about wars with the same carnage but much closer to our own time.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with Arnold on this. How can we learn from our mistakes if we don't know what those mistakes were. Also it is important not to forget the brave men and women who fought, died and were maimed all so we (there future generation) could enjoy a happy life. If not for them we may all be speaking German (not that thats a bad thing).
ReplyDeleteArnold,I disagree.I think that we need to learn about WW1 as it was one of the most terrible battle in history. People were a bit like playing around with weapons, trying to figure out which one did the most damage. After this, the countries still wanted revenge (WW2 and other)it was a very deadly war, deadlier then WW2 (see anonymous comment). If we didn't learn about it, it will be unrespectful for those who fought in the war. For example, my mum lost her grand dad after injuries that weren't healed properly. We can't just decide to forget about it because we're upset or guilty. We continue to learn about Greece and Rome, so why should we stop learning about a war that was 97 years ago ?
ReplyDeletecan you please upload a new debate A.S.A.P Mr.A.
ReplyDeleteThankYou :D.
Clara, Firstly I think you have quoted me wrong, I did not say we should stop, I only suggested that it would benefit many to also learn of other recent wars. Furthermore, I do acknowledge all those that fought in the war, but if we are to respect fallen comrades then we should regard all different sorts of wars and not those two in particular. In conclusion, Greece & Rome are being taught because their are origins and influences on most of Europe. On top of that their mythology is so incredible. But do not get me wrong the wars are interesting but in the sense of portraying the grotesque mass destruction by humanity. For fallen comrades, isn't it about time we let them actually Rest In Peace? Not forgotten entirely, but given the peacefullness.
ReplyDeleteHi
ReplyDeleteThankyou for all the insightful comments made. I am now in the process of updating the blog. This will be done on a fortnightly basis with merits for the best bloggers. If I do not update- pester me to do so.
Thanks and enjoy your holidays
Mr a
Yes, we should teach our future generations about these happenings in WWI.If we dont learn from it we'll be doomed to repeat the same miserable fate and the same mentality will be passed down to future generations! People should think with their minds first instead of their fists! As you can clearly see innocent bloodshed was spread throughout the globe thus causing: soldiers to loose their lives, families and countries were in grief. Even after WWI outcomes such as WWII began because people didn't learn from their mistakes. This brought the uprising of national wars and propagandas; Holocaust and Rwandan Genocide.People shouldn't have the same doomed fate as the soldiers. Be wise, Think twice and EDUCATE OTHERS!
ReplyDeleteI am about to play the devil's advocate. We all say that if we do not learn from history we are doomed to repeat. All said and done is it pratical? It is easier said than done. The aftermath of the second world war, does not make people think twice these days before going to war. Look at the middle-east and areas such as Pakistan, how long have they not had peace? In addition, we all heard and saw the atrocities of the aftermath of the Nagaski & Hiroshima bombings near the end of the world. Now that we are in 2012 and there are still (though minimal) cases of deformity due the bombings, yet there are nuclear power plants in USA, Britain, France and even Japan. Correct me if I am wrong but was it not Japan that got bombed? Now they have implemented more than 1 nuclear power plant? My question is (although I agree logically) aren't we learning from history and repeating it?
ReplyDeleteNot really because we now know the limits of the nuclear power and we have been able to prevent a nuclear as after the end of WW2. I mean sure there is a lot of nuclear activity but hey the close we have come to a nuclear war is when America was having a scheduled rocket launch and the Russians thought it was a nuclear missile.
ReplyDeleteMay I ask triple M, was the world able to prevent a nuclear malfunction in Fukishima? That is still Nuclear am i right? I am not neccessarily saying that the use of nuclear weapons is at large but the make of it. Imagine a whole continent powerless if it was to go to war with one simple nation that has nuclear weapons, everyone knows the damages but yet we still encourage it? How sensible is that? How sensible is the world these days?
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