History: historical thinking, consciousness, culture and education

History is made by human action in time and in the social space. Any action is individual. Its results exceed, in most cases, the private scope of a person, and moreover shape the society as a whole, in different ways. The teaching of History is located in a double perspective. The traditional one more restricted to certain individuals and groups, and another one, far more comprehensive, which influences beyond the present time and the present society. In both cases it is required that each individual develops historical consciousness, which puts into perspective the reflected experience of time, whose sense of history comes to be articulated only when there is a proper identification of its components and its cultural effects. The teaching of History finds its most prominent role in the establishment of substantive correlation between the daily life of present and the historicized past. It must preserve the quality of the contents produced and control its responsible use by teachers and students in the common social and cultural life. The teaching of history is, thus, both profession and mission.