A philosopher and poet by the name of George Santayana once said, "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it." While in history classes, during both my high school and college courses, I have heard this phrase repeated many times in reference to important historic events such as the Holocaust and the Civil Rights Movement. Not only have I heard this phrase in history classes, but also in my own personal life from people like my mother. As many times as I have heard this quote, in its many variations, it always has the same message behind it, learn from the mistakes of the past and do everything possible to make sure that they don't happen again.
Because of my deep interest in history I have would like to pursue a degree in history at your university, Texas A&M. The History Department at Texas A&M stresses the importance of reading,…show more content… I too feel that these things are important in the life of any student, including myself. With the combination of these three skills we the students learn to develop and perfect our critical thinking skills and eventually become more effective in the work place and ultimately in the world that we live in. Not only would I like to learn about the past through history at your university, but I would also like to help up the next generation of children to also learn history. I feel that it is important for youth to learn about history; not only their history, but the history of other people and of the world that they live in. If a child has no previous knowledge of things that happened in the past they will not have the proper knowledge and equipment to make improvements for a better future. For this very reason I would like to also obtain a teaching certificate so that I may be certified to teach history in secondary schools in Texas. I would like to get a teaching certificate in secondary education because