a rebel army was engaged in a war with
the biggest Empire around and after some
initial success the Imperial Army had
driven the rebel army back in a series
of defeats the rebels had retreated to a
cold outpost and the cold was turning
against them they were desperately short
on food hope and ammunition so the rebel
leader decided to make a plan for
desperate and dangerous counterattack in
hopes that a victory would halt earlier
now the rebel leader he wasn’t a
professional soldier but he’d been in
fights before he was one of the best
racers of a day of his day and despite
the occasional outburst of anger and
passion was known for his calm and
steady demeanor he could regularly be
found at the front rallying his men and
many times he would find holes in his
jacket from shots which had narrowly
missed him he knew that the situation
was desperate and he knew something had
to be done and so they made their plans
to launch their attack but from the
beginning
things started not going very well there
was troubles loading the assault craft
they were desperately behind schedule
with every passing minute the enchanted
failure increase and one point a key
component the rebel army became lost but
finally they launched their attack and
quickly the battle turned into a victory
for the rebels and in succession they
won a series of battles
halting the Imperial armies advanced and
driving them back giving the rebel army
a much needed chance to regroup resupply
and develop a new strategy although it
was a victory for the rebels that day
they wore continued for many years there
were victories and defeats and
eventually they prevailed thanks in no
small parts of their leader who led them
till the end
what does that sound like to you yeah
Star Wars what have I told you is this
that’s right that’s right George
Washington did all those things
I mean Washington was considered to be
one of the best one of the best Horsemen
of his day at six – he was exceptionally
tall from his time and he’d be tall
today he’s taller than me
the battle that I’m talking about
Washington led the Continental Army
across the ice choked Delaware River in
the middle of the night in the middle of
a blizzard to attempt to attack the
British at Trenton and of course he he
led the revolution he led the
Continental Army until the end of the
revolution orchestrating the final
victory at Yorktown I’m gonna let you in
on a little secret Washington wasn’t
doing all these things to become a
historic figure he was doing them in his
own place in his own time we think of
him as the father of our country who did
all these great historic things but he
was really just working to change his
own present and in doing so he helped
create our present he helped change the
future so what does that mean for you
guys what does that mean for you a bunch
of middle school students sitting in an
right now history is changing the world
and right now you’re making history how
do I knew this how did I come to believe
an idea that seems so contradictory and
how did I get to be so crazy about
history I’m gonna let you in on a little
secret I became a historian almost by
accident but over time I began to see
these moments in my life pop up that
made me realize that history is
happening all around us all the time and
that was part of it
I’ll give you an example who knows what
happened on September 11 2001 yeah so
like millions of people all around the
world I watched what happened on that
day
unfold on television but about two weeks
later I was on an Air Force cargo plane
with no idea where I was going we landed
a small airport and I went right to work
and I spent the next couple of months
planning and flying the
in the earliest part of the US war in
Afghanistan and eventually I went home
went about my life and a few years later
I was standing in target and I was
standing in the book section I picked up
a book about the war in Afghanistan and
I flipped it open and I saw it right
there in the table of contents stuff
that I had seen and done and it just
part of my job at the time it didn’t
seem like making history but there it
was written down in a history book
preserved forever for everybody to see
my name wasn’t mentioned but sure enough
I made history
and I certainly didn’t mean to you and
this isn’t the only time it’s happened
it’s happened a few other times since
then I think the movie Forrest Gump is
onto something everybody has these
moments in their life that just seemed
like life to them but when you look back
they add up to much bigger things
important things things people write
history books about so with that in mind
I challenge you guys to maximize your
historic impact I mean somebody in here
might go on to be President or cure
cancer but most of us are just gonna
live our lives every day in either case
you can still maximize your historic
impact whether you’re a president or a
teacher I mean if you’re a teacher the
things you teach somebody might help
them to go on to be President or cure
cancer even George Washington had a
teacher right so everything you do every
day can have historic impact from the
things you say the causes you support
the stuff you post on social media so
maximize that make the best of it so how
do you do that how do you as a middle
school student maximize your historic
impact well to start with you got to
learn some stuff about history and I’m
not talking about the boring lists of
dates and names or the deep down parts
of history that make it make it matter
that make it interesting like the way I
told you the story about George
Washington and recognized that that
truly is history stop thinking about
George Washington as this old man in
this old painting the stylized but
incomplete version
stop thinking about history is this list
of dates and events that are long gone
and don’t matter anymore start thinking
about history it’s something that’s
ongoing right now it’s dynamic and
you’re creating it and in doing that
you’re creating the future it’s gonna
determine the future of our world so
learn the history of where you live and
how it came to be learn about other
places and people and cultures because
learning the history of somebody and the
history of where they’re from puts it in
perspective it it makes you realize that
they’re not doing things to become
historic figures they’re doing things in
their own time and their own present
just like I told you the story about me
it’s history to you but it’s deeply a
part of your my life and it shaped me
and now you know something about me and
this perspective better enables you to
work towards a common goal together
because knowing history gives you this
perspective you can take all these
moments from the past the successes of
failures of people that came before you
and you can build them into something
bigger and then even the bigger
questions of technology and immigration
geopolitics can be understood by
learning history this way and then boom
you’re maximizing your historic impact
and so knowing that history isn’t just
some old guy in an old painting but a
rebel leader intent on changing his
future by changing his present helps us
maximize her historic impact so who
wants to go out and make some history
thank you [Applause]
the biggest Empire around and after some
initial success the Imperial Army had
driven the rebel army back in a series
of defeats the rebels had retreated to a
cold outpost and the cold was turning
against them they were desperately short
on food hope and ammunition so the rebel
leader decided to make a plan for
desperate and dangerous counterattack in
hopes that a victory would halt earlier
now the rebel leader he wasn’t a
professional soldier but he’d been in
fights before he was one of the best
racers of a day of his day and despite
the occasional outburst of anger and
passion was known for his calm and
steady demeanor he could regularly be
found at the front rallying his men and
many times he would find holes in his
jacket from shots which had narrowly
missed him he knew that the situation
was desperate and he knew something had
to be done and so they made their plans
to launch their attack but from the
beginning
things started not going very well there
was troubles loading the assault craft
they were desperately behind schedule
with every passing minute the enchanted
failure increase and one point a key
component the rebel army became lost but
finally they launched their attack and
quickly the battle turned into a victory
for the rebels and in succession they
won a series of battles
halting the Imperial armies advanced and
driving them back giving the rebel army
a much needed chance to regroup resupply
and develop a new strategy although it
was a victory for the rebels that day
they wore continued for many years there
were victories and defeats and
eventually they prevailed thanks in no
small parts of their leader who led them
till the end
what does that sound like to you yeah
Star Wars what have I told you is this
that’s right that’s right George
Washington did all those things
I mean Washington was considered to be
one of the best one of the best Horsemen
of his day at six – he was exceptionally
tall from his time and he’d be tall
today he’s taller than me
the battle that I’m talking about
Washington led the Continental Army
across the ice choked Delaware River in
the middle of the night in the middle of
a blizzard to attempt to attack the
British at Trenton and of course he he
led the revolution he led the
Continental Army until the end of the
revolution orchestrating the final
victory at Yorktown I’m gonna let you in
on a little secret Washington wasn’t
doing all these things to become a
historic figure he was doing them in his
own place in his own time we think of
him as the father of our country who did
all these great historic things but he
was really just working to change his
own present and in doing so he helped
create our present he helped change the
future so what does that mean for you
guys what does that mean for you a bunch
of middle school students sitting in an
right now history is changing the world
and right now you’re making history how
do I knew this how did I come to believe
an idea that seems so contradictory and
how did I get to be so crazy about
history I’m gonna let you in on a little
secret I became a historian almost by
accident but over time I began to see
these moments in my life pop up that
made me realize that history is
happening all around us all the time and
that was part of it
I’ll give you an example who knows what
happened on September 11 2001 yeah so
like millions of people all around the
world I watched what happened on that
day
unfold on television but about two weeks
later I was on an Air Force cargo plane
with no idea where I was going we landed
a small airport and I went right to work
and I spent the next couple of months
planning and flying the
in the earliest part of the US war in
Afghanistan and eventually I went home
went about my life and a few years later
I was standing in target and I was
standing in the book section I picked up
a book about the war in Afghanistan and
I flipped it open and I saw it right
there in the table of contents stuff
that I had seen and done and it just
part of my job at the time it didn’t
seem like making history but there it
was written down in a history book
preserved forever for everybody to see
my name wasn’t mentioned but sure enough
I made history
and I certainly didn’t mean to you and
this isn’t the only time it’s happened
it’s happened a few other times since
then I think the movie Forrest Gump is
onto something everybody has these
moments in their life that just seemed
like life to them but when you look back
they add up to much bigger things
important things things people write
history books about so with that in mind
I challenge you guys to maximize your
historic impact I mean somebody in here
might go on to be President or cure
cancer but most of us are just gonna
live our lives every day in either case
you can still maximize your historic
impact whether you’re a president or a
teacher I mean if you’re a teacher the
things you teach somebody might help
them to go on to be President or cure
cancer even George Washington had a
teacher right so everything you do every
day can have historic impact from the
things you say the causes you support
the stuff you post on social media so
maximize that make the best of it so how
do you do that how do you as a middle
school student maximize your historic
impact well to start with you got to
learn some stuff about history and I’m
not talking about the boring lists of
dates and names or the deep down parts
of history that make it make it matter
that make it interesting like the way I
told you the story about George
Washington and recognized that that
truly is history stop thinking about
George Washington as this old man in
this old painting the stylized but
incomplete version
stop thinking about history is this list
of dates and events that are long gone
and don’t matter anymore start thinking
about history it’s something that’s
ongoing right now it’s dynamic and
you’re creating it and in doing that
you’re creating the future it’s gonna
determine the future of our world so
learn the history of where you live and
how it came to be learn about other
places and people and cultures because
learning the history of somebody and the
history of where they’re from puts it in
perspective it it makes you realize that
they’re not doing things to become
historic figures they’re doing things in
their own time and their own present
just like I told you the story about me
it’s history to you but it’s deeply a
part of your my life and it shaped me
and now you know something about me and
this perspective better enables you to
work towards a common goal together
because knowing history gives you this
perspective you can take all these
moments from the past the successes of
failures of people that came before you
and you can build them into something
bigger and then even the bigger
questions of technology and immigration
geopolitics can be understood by
learning history this way and then boom
you’re maximizing your historic impact
and so knowing that history isn’t just
some old guy in an old painting but a
rebel leader intent on changing his
future by changing his present helps us
maximize her historic impact so who
wants to go out and make some history
thank you [Applause]
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