Living in Western civilisation, we are part of an extraordinary story. We inhabit a time in history that offers us countless opportunities to be our true selves. While we live in the present moment, we can dream about the future, and recall our past in unique ways – including the reasons we did or didn’t achieve all of our dreams.
The truth that lies at the heart of our life journey is testament to our unique presence. The truth of our recorded history, however, is a balance between our ’embellished’ life, and a more humble, literal account.
…each one of us is a historian.
And, when someone else relates our life journey, chances are it’s no longer our life at all, but a fantasy about what it should or could have been.
Australian schools and universities today have three essential responsibilities:
1. To teach the history of Western civilisation with accuracy.
2. To ensure criticism of any version of Western civilisation involves open, robust and respectful dialogue.
3. To foster the desire to write, with accuracy, versions of our own lives – Western civilisation’s future.
Reading factual and fictional texts provides valuable understanding about our lives and those of others – past and present. The same can be said for writing history using factual and fictional genres. When schools and universities nurture these opportunities, individuals thrive and history flourishes.
The one true thing about history is that it is created in every single moment. If we accept this as truth, Australian schools and universities have one more essential responsibility – to capture the truth of the moment, flush out the embellishments and falsehoods of the past and own the opportunities of the future.
After all, each one of us is a historian. We are all in control of what is to come – a future that is nurtured by our accurate recollections of the past.
copyright © Cheryl Lacey 2018
Cheryl Lacey is an educationist and advocate of agitating change in Australian education to face global challenges facing Australia and Australians.
If you would like to learn more about the outcomes achieved by educational leaders and teams after working with me, contact me at cheryl@cheryllacey.com or visit www.cheryllacey.com
