The Future is in the Past

I am from South Africa, which has a rich history of exploring and discovery. Explorers from all around the world have visited South Africa, especially the ports, such as Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Durban. Bartolomeu Dias passed the infamous “Cape of Storms” during his travels, the Dutch colonised it, as did the British, and many simply stopped for provisions when travelling further. It became, and still is, an important stop for all seafarers to make when travelling around the world. 

In Reception and Year 1, we are now gaining an understanding about explorers from around the world. We are learning about where they came from, where they travelled to and which places they discovered along the way. Having seen the impact that explorers and travellers have had on my own country and culture, I feel very privileged to share this with the students in my class.

We intend to look at other famous explorers, such as Yuri Gagarin and Neil Armstrong as well as Sally Ride and Valentina Tereshkova, and compare them. We will do some exploring of our own and learn about explorers who have visited St Petersburg. We will look at where they went and what they did and what impact they had on the city we live in. 

We will of course allow the students to do their own research, as you are never too young to look for more facts about something that interests you. The students are guided in a way so they understand which resources are reliable, which are not and how to tell the difference. They are guided with fact finding, which facts are important, which ones are simply interesting but are not relevant to their quest. What I simply adore the most is that the students are always encouraged: encouraged to do more, look for more information and perhaps, one day, they too will explore and discover new places.

Currently, we know more about Space than the deep-sea, who knows, the next Jacques Cousteau or Sylvia Earle might be in my class, listening intently, waiting for their time to explore. As Maui said in the movie Moana; “you can only know where you’re going by knowing where you’ve been” and this is true. To be able to share this with children, show them that history impacts our everyday lives and how important it can be, is truly humbling. 

Being able to bring the past to life and see how it has changed our lives by bringing us beauty or convenience, encouraging young minds to explore and learn more, is special. The future looks bright with these young minds.

Mrs Kulishova, Reception and Year 1 Teacher