Making connections to history
History is a personal favorite of mine. This did not develop while I was in school however.
I found it very tedious to sit and listen to the endless lectures and as others have stated
never getting past certain parts in the timeline because the school year would end. As an
adult I am completely fascinated with the lives of people before me and love to collect
photos, antiques and facts. These facts mean more to me in a personal way because I
can relate the events to people and things from the past. A high school history teacher I
know incorporates acting into the classroom. While students were studying the Civil War
for instance, she dressed as Mary Todd Lincoln and gave a moving and humorous
account of her life and take on this time in our history. She has went the extra mile to
develop real connections for her students by including painful facts from her diaries and
by wearing period piece costume. Another teacher brought in actual pottery she found at
a flea market that was from another nation occupied by Nazi Germany. It had not only
the symbols and names of that country's leaders by those of Nazi Germany. This helped
students understand in a different way the oppression of the occupation was felt by both
those who were not in concentration camps and those who were persecuted for their
ancestry and beliefs. These teachers love what they do and work consistently to develop
the activities and experiences for their students. Page 152, Dewey states, " When history
is conceived as dynamic, as moving, its economic and industrial aspects are emphasized.
These are but technical terms which express the problem with which humanity is
unceasingly engaged; how to live, how to master and use nature so as to make it
tributary to the enrichment of human life." Drawing those connections between how are
ancestors were struggling to know how to live and develop to be all they could be is the
same common thread among people today. We are still struggling to answer these
questions and can draw encouragement and knowledge to understand how the past is
tied to the situations today in our world.
This is a good model for teaching and could be developed even further by having
students also dress up or recite speeches.
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