"The More You Know About the Past, the Better Prepared You are for the Future." --Theodore Roosevelt

For the English 1010 courses I'm teaching this semester, I've asked my students to write a (4-6) page research and exemplification paper. It is about detailing the importance of remembering events, people, historical places, etc... I am a nerd and as my boyfriend, family, friends, students, and some co-workers can even tell you, if I see some historical landmark or a plaque/ sign even hinting at a nearby location, I will definitely make it a point to go on a trek or even an "adventure" to find it.

This probably came about because my mom MADE me stop and read every single sign at museums! She didn't want me to do anything without getting something out of it, learning (if you will). Many people do things "nowadays" <<<I'm sounding old...because they have to (for work or a school assignment) or for entertainment. Rarely do people do EXTRA things in their already jam-packed schedules to learn.I want to encourage my students to always do things to the best of their ability though (not JUST for a grade) but because college and educations in general should be a life-long process--not something you quit the moment your class ends or you are handed your diploma at graduation. You should always wish to enhance your brains and therefore have personal growth everyday of your life.

Therefore, this should always ring true: "Happiness is neither virtue nor pleasure nor this thing nor that but simply growth. We are happy when we are growing."– William Butler Yeats

OK, back to sharing examples of my nerdiness with them & you...On pretty much every vacation, road-trip, or even a quick road stop-off I go on, these occur.

    

Stones River National Battlefield: Murfreesboro,TN 

Stones River National Cemetery

On my way to work in Brentwood, Tennessee, there is a sign that says "Hardscuffle." It led me to all sorts of interesting information, including an adventure to a possible slave cemetery. 

On a trip to present at a conference at the UGA's campus, I happened upon a sign about an old African American cemetery which is now on the National Registry of Historic Places. We explored it, of course and then later I went home and researched it a bit more! I found out: The Gospel Pilgrim Cemetery, founded in 1882, was once a very prominent burial site for African Americans in Athens, Georgia. The cemetery was largely neglected and fell into disrepair over the last three decades. Recently, there has been a resurrection of interest in Gospel Pilgrim and in the history and identity of the more than 3000 people who were laid to rest there over the last 124 years. On April 19, 2006, The National Park Service officially listed The Gospel Pilgrim Cemetery in the National Register of Historic Places. This historical designation supports efforts that were already underway to raise awareness about Gospel Pilgrim and to promote it as a destination for tourists." 

In fact, yesterday, on a site I follow about African American History, they posted this, which I shared on Facebook.  It showed me, yet again, how important people, places, and events are to history. I want to continue learning everyday of my life! 

"Life is not simple, and therefore history, which is past life, is not simple." --David Shannon

"The past reminds us of timeless human truths and allows for the perpetuation of cultural traditions that can be nourishing; it contains examples of mistakes to avoid, preserves the memory of alternatives ways of doing things, and is the basis for self-understanding..."--
Bettina Drew