Cincinnati, Ohio, August 12, 2016 – In a perfect world, we would learn from our mistakes and history would not repeat itself. Our world is not perfect, however, and mistakes are sometimes repeated. Two Saint Ursula Academy seniors are working to change that and to make history lessons and current challenges connect in a meaningful way.
Kate Bachman of Montgomery and Emilie Kilfoil of Anderson Twp. have created a new program and website called Modern History to help create a new dialogue and make an impact in the way history is taught that that “history education can truly fulfill its purpose: to build a better society.”
“We started to question the way that schools have always run and wondered if we could make it better,” said Emilie Kilfoil. “Our interest in current events spurred questions about why we weren’t talking about them in school. Specifically, we wondered how history classes could be valuable if they weren’t made applicable to students’ lives. When we asked as kids why history classes were important, we were told that they allowed us to ensure that history didn’t repeat itself. We started to realize, though, that it has.”
Kate Bachman added, “We know of countless instances where our society has allowed history to repeat itself. There are endless comparisons that can be made between modern problems and history lessons that are simply not referenced in school. While we know that each event in time is unique, we believe that discussing these connections in history classes would not only engage students, but allow them to become better citizens and more informed decision makers.”
That’s why they created Modern History, a tool that will simplify the process of creating this dialogue. To visit the site and learn more about Modern History, go to modernhistory.co
Kilfoil and Bachman are also leading several Fair Trade initiatives at Saint Ursula Academy, which has let Saint Ursula to choose a Fair Trade school uniforms beginning in 2017.
Saint Ursula Academy is a Catholic, college-preparatory, secondary school for young women known for academic excellence and rich tradition. Saint Ursula welcomes students from more than 90 grade schools in the Greater Cincinnati area. The Academy is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as a Blue Ribbon School. The campus, located at 1339 E. McMillan Street in East Walnut Hills has been the home of St. Ursula Academy and Convent since 1910. 86% of the Class of 2016 earned college scholarships totaling more than $22-million.