I'm stuck with ds homework can you help me pleaseeeeeee

[coffeelover3]

So he has to write an essay on 'the past is more important than the present or the future'. I'm getting tied up in knots trying to argue both sides. He's 11... I was thinking of maybe a story, and then tie it in at the end, like his dog died but he remembered all the happy times - but that doesn't make the past more important does it. Oh god I'm going round in circles - he doesn't have a clue what to write. I was trying to get him started. I told him to go off and think about it. It's not helping that it's Sunday and we've had a hard week of homeschooling and work and it just feels never-fuckin-ending or work and cook and clean blah blah blah. When is the fun!

PS I was useless at essay writing in school, I think I have a block about it

I think maybe it's asking for a history example?

Maybe an example of where society has learned from something in the past. Has he done anything in history that things have significantly moved on from maybe?

Start with what he thinks, does he think the past is more important? If not, the essay can challenge the idea? Maybe a loose idea is you can change the present or future, but not the past?

Ok, so maybe some lessons learned from WWTwo or the Holocost? Via Wikipedia, and quoting it as a source? They're not going to expect university standard from his age.

Maybe try the angle that we can learn from the past? The present and future can be influenced by actions that we take today as a result of learning from the past.

Start with a spider diagram. Most essays are; introduction, explanation, conclusion format.
So you have; the historic event, how things were then and now because of it and the conclusion, how good it is now because of what was learned.

What subject is this for?

You can say past is more important as it shapes you etc and learn from past experiences/mistakes (in a societal context not just personally)

But future could be more important as there is freedom to do things differently etc whereas there is no opportunity to visit the past and do it again.

Really depends on the subject though

What subject is it for?

The past has shaped who we are today.
Fantastic inventions, electricity etc
However I think the essay will need to be more of a balanced argument and will need to include that society is constantly changing and we are always moving forward. Our today will be the futures past.

Not easy work for an 11yo

It's for English... he was given some videos to watch on how to construct an essay - 4 20 min videos - but to be honest I zoned out in them as they were so boring. But that's a good idea - use a historical example - I'll try that thanks.

I would go for if there was no past then the rules of society wouldn’t haven’t been formed which would vastly affect his future.

Presumably the essay is related to other work he's done? He's been given guidance, and if he's really stuck he can ask his teacher or classmates for help. It's not your homework!

If he/you aren't too sensitive about it and can filter fact from fiction.... Typoid Mary or Spanish flu can directly be compared to the current public response to covid.
Using the past examples of society behaviour could have helped form ideas of how to handle the current pandemic.

Finding an example of history repeating itself is the key. It doesn't even need to be present, could you show lessons from ww1 could have helped ww2 etc.

RiaOverTheRainbow if I leave him to it he won't do it - not that he's not willing to try but he doesn't know what/how to do it. I've watched the videos as well and I'm struggling too. "Blame the teacher" doesn't really help in real life. It's sink or swim.

The answer will be in the boring videos!

As others have said it will likely be about learning from past mistakes.

What were the videos about?
Were they on many topics or just one? - such as nuclear power and how the planet nearly died due to a lack of understanding of nuclear reactors by the crew that were on duty in Chernobyl that night who did tests when they shouldn’t have which caused a chain reaction and they couldn’t stop them. And how the actions of those brave workers there laying aside their own futures in order to shut down the nuclear reactor in Chernobyl saved the world. We have since learned from those mistakes and although there was another incident in Japan due to a lack of seawater to cool the rods due to weather conditions (I think??) we have learned from the past and will not make the same mistakes again...

Or is that a bad example. (Can you tell I loved Chernobyl on sky Atlantic, although it will give you nightmares...)!

Why don’t you use Covid? Most useful way of figuring out how it will behave is looking back - sars, Ebola, aids, Spanish flu, plague, Black Death, etc Lots of articles written c this - you might even find one in the children’s week

I would start with “the past is more important than the present, because we can learn from History. In the present we are learning as we go and the future is unknown”

Then he could move on to his own life. For example, I would get him to think about very simple things like road safety. Past experience of using roads, had made him safer . People who he admires and influenced him and shaped his views.

It is a difficult topic because he is asked to argue something that most people do not believe.

You were on the right track with arguing both sides. Start with listing the reasons why he thinks the past is more important and then list reasons why present/future might be more important. You can jot down some examples if you have any. That should give you the material for the body of the essay. Then decide which you think is more important. You can tag an introduction and concluding paragraph on then.

Word phrases like however/although/in conclusion/in my opinion mightbhelp here too.

That's a really horrible title, I can't see how you could justify saying it is more important. I suppose you could say that more is known about the past or we assume that it is, could give you an interesting few paragraphs about interpreting the past, suppressed histories (e.g. some people assuming that there were no black people in UK until mid C20), the way some historical events overshadow and become reference points (e.g. WW2, and if you want to be contentious the way some people are trying to use it as an argument against lockdown because "we just had to get on as normal") .....

@Spied

The past has shaped who we are today. Fantastic inventions, electricity etc However I think the essay will need to be more of a balanced argument and will need to include that society is constantly changing and we are always moving forward. Our today will be the futures past.

Not easy work for an 11yo

Yep. I feel like there are easier topics to learn to structure this sort of essay on.

I'm not saying blame the teacher, I mean if the instructions were clear enough his friends should know what to do and be able to help him. If lots of children don't understand the teacher needs to know so they can clarify the task or re-cover the relevant bits of work. It's fine if your ds needs help, but people in the class are better placed to give it than randoms on MN.

Maybe make it more personal. The person you are today is a direct result of the past. The things you went through in life, the lessons that were learned. How your parents met, your ancestors, religion, culture or traditions that have formed your values. It is because of all these factors from the past that you are where you are now in the present are are even able to contemplate a future.

(wasn't expecting it sound so deep)

''The past is more important than the present or the future.''

Argument for the past being more important:
The past forms us and makes us who we are. We cannot change it, we can only learn from it and come to terms with it. Its effects are long lasting and past events set the trajectory for our life's path. What we did in the past is our legacy, is what we leave behind, our life's work. As the philosopher George Santayana said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it'' so while we may not always be able to change the outcome, the past is important in giving us insights into what the future holds.

Argument for the present being more important:
It is easier to regret things we do than those we don't. Time is fleeting, transient, ephemeral - we need to seize the moment (carpe diem): the time is now. What we do in the here and now affects one's future. We can also atone for the past. Rather than dwelling on past misfortunes, or reminiscing on past successes, we need to live for now not living in the past with rose-tinted glasses of halcyon days gone by.

Argument for the future being more important:
The future is important as it is in our grasp and the one thing we can plan for. It is important to have life goals, look to where we see ourselves five years from now and know that present circumstances are changeable. We will not be the same and our circumstances may not be. We have the ability to change our fate.

Something like this? Ebeneezer Scrooge - ghosts of Xmas past, present, future? Philosophy/mental health? Viruses - Spanish Flu, AIDS, Sars, Covid?

Good luck

I'd do a spider diagram as a pp has mentioned. Include some reasons why the past is important, some reasons why the present is important and some reasons why the future is important. From that, structure the essay as:
Paragraph 1- introduction ('say what you're going to say'- ie going to look at the importance of the past, present and future and consider whether any one is more important than the other)
Next few paragraphs- main essay ('say it'). Paragraph on the importance of the past (ie- determines who we are and what our world is like. If we understand the past we can learn lessons to help us now and in the future. Give a few examples. Similar paragraph on the present (only time we experience fully, time when we have to make choices and decisions). Similar on the future (when we get the consequences of past decisions).
Final paragraph- conclusion ('say it again'). Up to you and your son to conclude but mine would be along the lines that the present is the most important of the 3 as this is the only time when we can make decisions, choices and promises that will determine our future for years, and could impact on future generations/planet etc.