We are full into Black History Month. For four weeks, kids all across the country are reading about, talking about, writing about our country’s black ancestral history. Stories of contemporary bright lights such as Beyonce, Te-Nehisi Coates, and Barack Obama give way to stories of Ella Fitzgerald, Frederick Douglass, and Romare Bearden — men and women who lived and died before music videos and twitter. Why, then, is teaching black history important? Why teach history at all?

The other day, I went to a new doctor. Before being ushered into the examining room, I was asked to fill out a questionnaire. Name, age, height, weight. There was a checklist of chronic illnesses: cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure. One column asked me to check off any of these illnesses that I have personally experienced. A second column asked for my family history – did my parents, siblings, or grandparents suffer any of these illnesses.

By the time I was introduced to the doctor, she had read my questionnaire and already knew a lot about me. My history gave her valuable information that would be useful in dealing with my current state of being.

A couple of years ago, I saw a funny Saturday Night Live skit — a parody of Steve Jobs unveiling the latest IPod: The IPod Micro, the size of a razor blade with a storage capacity of 50,000 songs. Before Jobs finishes his pitch, he interrupts himself. The IPod Micro has been updated to the IPod Pequena, which holds a million songs. Before Jobs finishes this pitch, he interrupts himself again. The latest Ipod, the Invisa is just that – Invisible! And holds 8 million songs. Silly… but rings the truth – human beings are constantly building on our knowledge of current technology to take it a step further.

In the same way that our medical history is valuable to doctors and technological history is valuable to programmers , our country’s history is valuable to all of us. Yesterday, I saw the documentary “I Am Not Your Negro.” I recommend that all Americans get to the theaters and see it. At one point James Baldwin is asked why history is important. He says, quite simply, “We are our history.”

We are our history but we don’t have to repeat our historical mistakes. Our history provides telling information that helps us think about and respond effectively to the issues of today. Avoid the pitfalls. Build on our successes. Study. Our world depends on it.

Share your favorite stories from history.

When I think of Super Bowl parties, I have to admit I get images of beer guzzling and colorful language. Which can be lots of fun. But what if you’re including kids at the party?

Here are some kid-friendly ideas to go alongside the adult partying:

GAMES. Kids get pretty bored with watching men – even helmeted men — running back and forth on TV for hours. They need games of their own that they can actually participate in. One way to address this is simply to have games that have nothing to do with the happenings on your TV screen. Another idea is to give kids a way to interact with the game itself. Play Super Bowl bingo. Bingo cards can include players, coaches, sportscasters, team apparel… anything you want! Each time a kid spots something from her Bingo card, she can fill in a square, until someone gets BINGO! Another game is a spinoff from one we used to play in the car. We used to look at signs along the road, trying to spy the letters of the alphabet in order. With so much action on your TV set, your kids will have lots of opportunities to catch letters popping up on the screen.

FOOD. No beers, of course, Chips are fine. But what about food that kids enjoy making. Homemade pizzas allow kids to choose their ingredients and watch their own individual pie being made. Fruit sticks. Put out a bunch of fruits and a pile of toothpicks. Let the kids build their own combinations and then pop them in their mouths. And, of course, the tried and true cookie-decorating activity. Choose sugar sprinkles in team colors. Allow kids to choose add-ins from an array of chocolate chips, coconut, peanuts, cinnamon-sugar sprinkles or your own special concoction.

Enjoy the party!