| Ramora
Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Hogwarts Castle
Posts: 5,437
Hogwarts RPG Name:
Helena Ravenclaw
|  Resident Ghost of Ravenclaw | Intelligent & Evasive
Text Cut: Replies: Know our roots Quote:
Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19  After some consideration, Adi stuck a hand up. "It's important that we study history because it's a way to look back at the past and try to avoid any mistakes that could have caused the problems in the first place and also to look back at ways improvements could be made when dealing with a particular situation.'' Pause. "Many events have happened in the past to remember and I think that persons who played a part in those events, seeing all of us dress up as one of them, helps us to remember said events. So, I would say it's a combination of both.'' "Yes, history does let us see our errors and it's up to us to make better choices depending on situation." As for if dressing up helped you remember. Helena didn't say yes it helped or no it didn't it was individual. Quote:
Originally Posted by Sararara Or maybe that kind of tolerance was an old person thing. "I think learning history is important for magic just like history is important for everything, 'cause you can use the past to learn all about how to understand the present and even what's going to happen in the future." Like learning from mistakes, except somebody else's instead of your own which was much better for the sake of dignity. "And a lot of what happened in history has to do with the people who were alive back then and what they did. Those people, like the ones we dressed up as, showed people lots of different things that could be done or discovered, so we can learn from them that anything is possible if you try hard enough, even if you failed the first time." "An important life lesson Norah. Anything is indeed possible if you try your hardest and don't let yourself be stopped by potential setbacks/mistakes along the way." Helena responded to the puff prefect. Quote:
Originally Posted by Casey O "It's important so we LEARN from our mistakes, instead of, y'know, having another Voldemort or something. Also, so you can appreciate and honor the people who fought for us. And I think that the people help me remember, because some of them have really unique names." Neville Longbottom? Come ON. Helena nodded at Ellery. "Learning from our mistakes is what let's grow as people and as a society and we certainly don't need a new Voldermort." He was definitely someone everyone remembered just because he had impacted so many lives with his actions. Quote:
Originally Posted by Stormdancer Nibbling on her bottom lip, she looked around as her classmates answered and frowned as she tried to think of an answer that hadn’t been said. Slowly she put up her hand. ”Well, I think that most people agree that knowing the past can help the future… but it also helps to remind us where we as a group of people came from so that we don’t go back there.” She took a breath and then added, ”Personally, I remember things better with visuals - so seeing what people looked like or what they wore etc., would probably help me remember details… as clothing styles and things changed over time. Obviously… but there we go. Nodding Helena said "Yes, seeing what someone wore, how they lived or how they dressed in a certain age can make it easier to remember certain periods in our history." Same could be said for muggle history she had heard. Quote:
Originally Posted by Harry174 "Professor, this is a difficult one, in some ways I'd say yes and in others I'd say No." Angel said truthfully. "You see in some ways depending on what has happened you can't help but remember the person who it involves, but in others it might be a group of people and then their names gets forgotten." Angel stopped there she thought about adding more on but she wanted to give the others a chance. "I think I get what you are trying to say Angel. If what has happened involves just one person it's easier to remember than if it's an event that involves many people and then their names may end up being forgotten." Like Helena contemplated to herself who fought in the great wars. Those people remembered were those that had a big impact on the outcome of the war. Quote:
Originally Posted by Daydreamer11 "I think it's important to study history because we need to know what happened in the past. You can always learn something from seeing how people in the past reacted to different situations. You could learn when things were done right and you can learn when things were done wrong. Hopefully, we won't repeat mistakes that were made in the past." Besides, history could be fascinating. At least that's what Janelle thought.
"I think it's hard to remember everything that's happened in the history of the magical world, but having everyone dress up does help me remember more. If someone is dressed as a famous person and then they talk about them, it makes things easier to remember" "That's the ideal Janelle that we see the good things and the bad things in our history and learn from it as we go into to the future." Helena responded. But even good things could be twisted into bad things as history had showed time and time again. Quote:
Originally Posted by fire_faerie Anyways. "Other than learning from our mistakes," Benzi raised his hand, not wanting to repeat answers, "it's also important to preserve legacies and the knowledge that the people before us acquired, otherwise we'd be rediscovering the same things." And that would be very counterproductive. Mostly it was learning from mistakes though. "You're right Benzi. Muggles for example would keep rediscovering how to create fire if the knowledge hadn't been past on between the generations." She hoped that every wizarding family past on vital knowledge to the new generations. Quote:
Originally Posted by Cassirin As for her other question... hmm. They sort of went back to this idea all the time, right? How did history impact today? "People are benchmarks in history, I guess. I mean a million Quidditch players go by, but then there are a few that mark changes to the game or society through the game, and the same happens in other areas." "It's the few that often has the biggest impact, like how the founders of Hogwarts still impact the next generation of wizards and witches by building this school many, many years ago." Helena commented. Quote:
Originally Posted by Expecto-Penguin He heard the Grey Lady is what she was called ask a few brain twerking questions. Why did they need to study history? He shrugged and brought up an answer, "So history doesn't repeat itself?" He heard the second question and she did have a good point. He thought about it and gave an answer, "Professor I feel like it is easier to remember who I am dressed up as because he was one of the founders of this school. He also has memorabilia around the school to let him be remembered. I also heard he had a locket too." He remembered hearing about the chamber of secrets being associated with him but he wouldn't get into TOO much detail. Infact the Grey lady might do it for him. "Memorabilia can I agree can make it easier to make a personal connection to an historical person and in extension make it easier to remember them. Same applies to historical events." Helena concluded. Quote:
Originally Posted by Squishy Raising her hand she offered a guess at the answer to the first question. "I think it's important to learn history because it helps us remember where we come from. On top of that it also is a way to avoid repeating past mistakes. I feel that it's a combination events and people that make history easy to remember. After all, a lot of famous people took part in said events and were key factors." Just her thoughts on the matter. "How we remember events and people best is individual but it's always important to remember our roots and the mistakes we've made in the past to avoid repeating them as you've said. Sometimes i've find that I remember that someone is famous but not what they are famous for." Helena finished off. Quote:
Originally Posted by Zoe The Gryffindor did respond to the second question though, with his hand raised in the air. "No offense, but I think a lot of history is kinda boring. Too many dates and facts to remember. Some of the stuff is pretty cool though. And I guess the things I am interested in and do remember are because of the specific people who were involved." "I welcome your honesty Franklin even if I don't totally agree with you. I think that all history is important and that whether it's boring or fun is secondary. You have to learn it anyway. However i can agree that specific people can make it easier to remember something." Helena said. Quote:
Originally Posted by Symphora Hooray! Ten points! Brilliant! Henric raised his hands up to answer Professor's Helena question,"History is important in our studies because they help remind us of our roots by embracing both our traditional and modern differences of our culture. That reminder often provide us a better change in our future. We learn to accept the mistakes that had been done in the past but we never stop trying to correct it. History makes us inspired, I guess. I think these outfits did bring about change in us somehow to be someone just like them,I can remember what they did in the past and its so interesting to me!" "If everyone could be inspired by history in a 'good' way then the wizarding world have a bright future. It'd be nice if every student in this class will end up having a positive impact on our magical socety." And she meant that. Quote:
Originally Posted by Lissy Longbottom He raised his hand to answer Ghost!Professor's question. Quite honestly, he thought it was stupid having to study history, but he wasn't going to tell her THAT. "So we don't repeat the same mistakes we made in the past, and we see the ripple affects of things that happened in the past and how they affect us today. In terms of remembering famous people in history, I'm not sure what really makes a person famous. It can happen in the blink of an eye and you don't know history is happening when it IS happening, but...I dunno. Obviously the more people you impact, the easier it is to remember someone," he explained. That last question kind of got away from him... "It's quite amazing don't you think that what people did many years ago still effects us in present time? It makes me at least even more prone to think before I act since my actions can long term effects." Helena replied to Caleb. Quote:
Originally Posted by feeheeheeny Her hand raised - and she subconsciously straightened her back and sat a little more ladylike as she did so - Soph offered, "S'necessary to study history so we understand why we're where we are today 'n see how far we've come, what's worked, what hasn't - 'n studying people from the past also can inspire us to be like them 'n do good things, 'n be even better, too. Like, their work and progress has given us something to build upon, and their failures were also helpful to show us what not to do, too, y'know?" She shrugged. "If we wanna be successful and grow as a society, we have to first study history to set the bar for us 'n give us something to strive for."
Aaaand... Soph had no idea what the ghost was getting at with her second set of questions, but... the seventh year added on honestly, "I don't think it makes it easier." She was all for fun, but she never really... got behind the whole costume thing the History of Magic professors liked to do so much. It was just kind of monotonous at this point. "If we stretch our minds and make an effort to learn about the past, it shouldn't be too hard to recall different people 'n things, 'specially if we acknowledge how much their legacy means to us." Just saying. Sophie's choice of costume was distracting and Helena wondered if it was intentional. However she focused on the head girl's answer instead. She could discuss costume choices when the lesson was over. "Yes indeed history can give something to strive for but also work as a reminder of what mistakes we shall not repeat a second time. If we repeat errors it can lead to catastrophes." Like what had started the wars in our magical history. Quote:
Originally Posted by ArianaBlack So he chose to remain quiet, only raising his hand to answer the second part of her question. "I think history is hard to remember regardless, 'cause so much happens," and also every one thing depends on the other, meaning if you forgot the smallest detail, you might as well quit right then and there. Ahem. "But making a more er, personal connection makes it easier. 'Cause then they aren't just random people anymore, but kinda like characters in a story... They come to life once you've got that personal feel to it."
"Plus I think dressing up makes it more hands on kinda like Creatures and Herbology. It's less of just trying to remember random facts, and more about trying to understand the random facts?.... and stuff." Sort of. "Understanding why something happened Zander is just as important as when it happened or who it involved." Helena commented. "A personal connection to an event I agree can make it easier to remember something. Like how many of you in this class will remember last year's spider attack on the castle since you were personally involved in the battle to save our school." Quote:
Originally Posted by SilverTiger Costume win again. She could do things surreptitiously. “We need to learn from what people chose to do before us,” she finally said, raising her hand. “Famous people just make it more interesting. It isn’t just dates to use to remember things, we can use names.” Or, in her case, the idea of having birds who could do things for her, and being responsible for an integral part of Potions. What was Brooklyn trying to say? Slightly confused Helena answered nonetheless. "If famous people makes you more inclined to learn and take an interest in history then I'm glad our long history holds many interesting people within it." Quote:
Originally Posted by Poolicious Too many reading material and too many things to remember. But she raised her hands nonetheless. "History allows us a chance to learn about who we came from." And for the second question. "I don't think famous people make it easier because we might know their faces and names but we don't remember the historical events that made them famous." "That is the downside to history learning, Candice. I can only hope that after this year that you'll remember historical events and important people and not forget them." Helena said. Quote:
Originally Posted by SpiritWolfe Malfoy
The next question had her thinking for a moment before her hand moved into the air. "I think that in some cases dressing up does help us. A lot of people have trouble remembering names, dates and places and sometimes something like dressing up can help connect a name with a face and the rest of the information comes easier." It made sense to her at least.
"That is true Hady. We learn with the use of more than one sense and sometimes for some the visual aspect is what helps them connect everything together and to remember event and dates."Helena said.
:::::
Asking those two questions served a purpose. It gave them the same history standing ground since she know knew how they looked upon being taught history. Clearing her throat Helena said "What events we remember and when they took place in history is individual. Some of you said that you remember facts and years better if you dress up, have a personal connection to an event or person or something visual to connect it to like a canvas painting of a battle, an invention we still use today or a piece of memorabilia you know was owned previously by a witch or wizard that had a huge impact on wizarding society." Here she let her grey eyes drift over some students like Dot, Franklin, Colt, Marsha and Caleb. "What most of you have said though is that we study history to know our roots, where we came from and what events and people across history have shaped the wizarding world into what it is today. And I think the most important thing many of you touched on in your answers is that we can use history to look back at what we did wrong, the mistakes we made and do better in the future." Helena let eyes gaze out over the class again, letting her eyes drift over all the students present. "With mistakes and the wish do better in mind we can move over to our main topic of this lesson which is giants. Hogwarts has never employed a giant on staff that I know of but a beloved half-giant by the name of Rubeus Hagrid served as groundskeeper and CoMC professor for a number of years." And he in Helena's opinion embodied the whole knowing your mistakes and trying to do better.
Floating backwards to sit on the edge of the desk again she said. "Giants are a very dangerous race of humanoids that we co-exist with here it in the wizarding world that I think you all should learn more about and more precisely their history and how they as a race have impacted our history. Can you all please give me one fact each that you know about giants." Ooc: Give one giant fact each. (We'll come to half-giants later in the lesson)
__________________  |