Basic nuggets of history  

The reality show Pinoy Big Brother's (PBB) viral videos showcasing their so-called housemates in a quiz bee who incorrectly answered simple questions on Philippine history have provoked a flood of responses from internet users. Some would point the criticism at the education system as a whole. Some might point to the delivery of online classes during the pandemic as a contributing factor. Some might point to the lack of a history course that would at least devote time to discussing Philippine history and government, while others would point to the youth's lifestyle and priorities. Those are, nonetheless, valid observations.

With the internet, particularly Google, which has become a useful source of information, and, more specifically, social media, which is rife with disinformation. Furthermore, with erroneous information, baseless views, and claims, YouTube and vlogs have a lot to offer to our youngsters. Another notable feature is our youth's inability to critically evaluate information to determine whether it is reliable. Everything that is passed down or supplied for appears to be gospel truth, which is made worse by the fact that they no longer care to check and cross-check with other sources.

It's as though we've forgotten what our forefathers endured during the Martial Law era. Even worse, when people despise talking about it. This is even more disturbing when they take advantage of our people's vulnerabilities by fabricating their own narratives to fit their own selfish goal. We have a lot of work ahead of us. It's not simply martial law that's been imposed. If we leave things as they are, with people never understanding the whys of history, another troll will step in to fill the void.

History appears to have a strange way of repeating itself — and not always in a positive way. It occurred occasionally because people lacked sufficient knowledge of previous errors. They've done it before, but they've learned nothing from it.

Revisionists will undoubtedly catch this segment's imagination and present it as a convincing alternative fact. Marcos is unknown to them. He was only mentioned in passing in history class. They now regard revisionists as being more articulate than their textbooks.

While not everyone is interested in studying history as a subject, we may all be enthralled by a fantastic story from the past, whether it's about how people used to live or how empires were founded.

From cave drawings to heroic acts remembered hundreds of years after they occurred, humans have discovered methods to leave a sign of their existence. Some people made history, while others chronicled it.

On the other hand, we missed looking in the mirror as teachers to see if we had shared a better part of ourselves with the department or if we were just preoccupied with other things like showing off papers that do not help us grow as educators in our quest for a better education system.

We aspire to be better citizens by studying, understanding and appreciating even the most basic nuggets of history, because a generation that ignores history has no foundation on which to build a better future.