Here, again, we must exercise caution. She describes a study in which eighth and ninth-graders compared the Holocaust with the Rwandan genocide of 1994. She says that it is useful to compare past and present as long as we don't use the past as a blueprint for interpreting the present. Rather, study of history can yield working hypotheses which can guide our examination of contemporary events. Also, students should not only be aware of differences between past and present, but exhibit a healthy skepticism about apparent similarities, which may not seem so similar once they are investigated more thoroughly.
Stories can inspire the imagination and spark an interest in further investigation.
Comparing the past and present can help students see the relevance for them in the study of the past. However, if stories are simply laid out unexamined for student consumption, then they can be misleading. They, like everything else we choose to use in the teaching of history, should be open for examination. Similarly, we need to avoid encouraging students to make simplistic connections between past and present by helping them to recognize the complexity inherent in this endeavor. Beyond the Past and Into the Present.