Huffin Puff

The ocean. Unpredictable yet calming, universal yet unique. It is a place that holds the unknown within the known. It’s complexity and creases of age, embody the qualities of both our known and unknown pasts. Our history. While the oxford dictionary defines history as the study of past events, particularly in human affairs, my recent further analysis of our past and present world has entirely dismantled the idea that history can be defined by a statistical record of events, dates and figures but has rather enlightened me to the inability to restrict the idea of ‘history’ to one definition.

So, what is history? The multifaceted nature of history, is what links it so closely to the nature of the ocean; enforcing the fact that it is not one but many things. Upon analysis of Huffin Puff’s controversial and exceedingly narrow-minded opinion that history should be taught and learnt with the “pivotal facts and dates” using the “root and branch renewal” of teaching, it has come to my attention that his explicit focus on the linear
nature of history, arrogantly neglects the soul of what history actually is. History is constantly flowing and moving, there are an infinite number ways to define history. Huffin puff’s ignorance, is embodied in the fact that history is not only about the what, but also, most importantly the where, who, why and how.

History is who people were in the past and the personalities and opinions of those people.
If history was just pivotal facts and dates, decisions would not be made by the hundreds of choices people make to decide anything, they would just happen automatically. People’s personalities and opinions effect what happened in the past so much that it would be foolish to disregard past people’s point of views as history. Equally as important is the culture in which people thrived at different times in the past. The Where. Culture is the soul of a society, the ideas, customs, and social behaviors that without, societies wouldn’t exist. Culture is what differentiates an Australian boy to a French one. It is what separates the nature of Adolf Hitler to Franklin Roosevelt. What culture does is create varied perspectives. The why. Why do people make the decisions that they do? Why do different people have different views on war? Analysing is
history.
But my discovery of history’s increasingly similar nature to that of the ocean, not only insights us to what history is, but the vital importance of studying it. History provides us the unique opportunity to reflect, learn and re-master mistakes from the past. It would be naïve to neglect this convenience, which is history. Imagine if we didn’t learn from war. Would nuclear bombs be detonating all over the globe due to lack of knowledge about its protracted destruction? Would the United Nations not exist? Not only do we need to study history to fix or comprehend what happened in the past, but to expand from the past. “→ e.g. technology e.g. light bulb”. Innovation provides a reason to exist, a purpose. Making the world a better place, isn’t that what we all want to do? Huffin Puff obviously doesn’t think so. “People without the knowledge of there past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.” Marcus Garvey. Innovation is our link to our origins, the roots to our trees. “Change your opinions, keep to your principles; change your leaves, keep intact your roots.” Victor Hugo. Unfortunately for schools all over London, Huffin Puff has just changed your principles and