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Like many ventures, the History Learning Academy (HLA) grew out of a passion and a perceived need.  We had been exploring a history education business for some time.  When the COVID-19 pandemic ensued, we downsized our self-defence business -Toronto Krav Maga Academy (TKMA) and devoted more attention to HLA.  Global events also inspired us. The pandemic, the 2020 American election, and many other issues evoked questions around the history of politics, disease, environmental issues (Climate change), gender, race, and many other topics.  People wanted to understand how we got here.  

People also used history to explain many of these events.  Some did this responsibly.  Historians and biologists compared COVID-19 to the Spanish Flu (1918) and other viral outbreaks.  Climate change invited explanations of our impact on the planet, sometimes going back centuries to the Industrial Revolution or even millennia and the Agricultural election.  

Other people misused history.  Conspiracy theories thrived.  People drew untenable analogies between mandatory masks and lockdowns to past instances of internment and even genocide.   Others cited Karl Marx and the Soviet Union when describing various governmental COVD-19 restrictions or what they saw as a communist Biden government in the United States.  Social media only encouraged such careless claims.   

So, we set out to contribute to people understanding of history.  It did not take long.  Soon, students contacted us for academic support, subject comprehension, essay support.  We also helped people who wanted to explore various historical topics or understand their ancestors’ experiences. 

Christopher Gagne is based in Canada.