David McCullough, a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning historian for the books "Truman" and "John Adams," spoke to a sold-out UF audience Tuesday night about the importance of writing.
McCullough's speech at the University Auditorium was part of the grand-opening celebration for the Bob Graham Center for Public Service. The center's dedication ceremony will take place today at 10:30 a.m.
McCullough, who also wrote "1776," emphasized the importance of documenting history to enable future learning.
"Everything that we have, somebody before us has made it possible," he said.
People have a false notion that reading information is a sufficient way to learn, McCullough said, but that isn't enough.
In order to really gain knowledge about something, you have to write about it, too, he said.
"If you were to memorize the World Almanac, you wouldn't be educated - you would be weird," he said, evoking laughter from the audience.
But students cannot learn if they don't have good teachers, McCullough added.
It's important for teachers to share subjects they are passionate about with their students, children or grandchildren, he said.
"Show what you love," he said. "That's the secret of teaching."
In an interview following McCullough's speech, former U.S. Sen. Bob Graham said the author set a precedent for the quality of speakers the Graham Center hopes to host in the future. Graham said he was most pleased with McCullough's encouragement of students to go beyond school to learn about their country's history.
"Preparing for citizenship is not just a matter of taking a course in American government," he said. "It involves an understanding of core values and skills. It's a challenge to each of us individually."
Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author David McCullough speaks about the history of leadership in America as part of the opening events for the Bob Graham Center for Public Service at the University Auditorium Tuesday night.(Harrison Diamond / Alligator Staff)
