We must learn from history or risk being doomed to repeat it

There is often much debate about what and how our students learn in the classrooms. Just what of our history should they be required to learn? When should they be provided that instruction? Many people have many different answers to those questions. But it seems one subject that should be taught in our public schools is the Holocaust. Of course, many Wisconsin schools provide instruction about the atrocities of the Holocaust, but now that could become a state-mandated requirement. A bipartisan bill is moving forward in Madison that would require that lessons about the Holocaust and other genocides be provided at both the middle and high school levels. The bill would require that both public schools and schools in the state’s private school voucher program provide instruction about the Holocaust at least once in both middle and high schools. There are many reasons to make this law. It provides continuity of instruction and combats a declining awareness level about what happened in Nazi Germany. A recent nationwide study found 22% of Millennials had not heard of the Holocaust. Discussing what happened and how can also bring awareness to issues like prejudice and bullying. The bill has already passed the Senate unanimously and is now before the Assembly. This bill should become law in Wisconsin, so that our younger generation is at least made aware of what can happen when people are targeted because of their ethnicity or their religious beliefs.