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Using the lessons of History to teach high school students better ways of approaching their social lives.
Being a student teacher at the high school level, one of my goals is to continuously improve student engagement. Remembering back to my days in high school, and also noticing that students today still seem to prefer their social lives over learning the lessons of the past, I began thinking about the different ways that the social lives of students could be merged and improved through social lives of unknown, "everyday people", historical figures.
Basic Possible Steps:
Introduce primary document posing everyday problem (Diary, letter, etc)
-Give students basic historical info to begin
Have students write or discuss how they would approach the issue
Discuss as a whole class and introduce more complex historical details
I am still ruminating on the different paths this could take, but imagined a course that was grounded in primary sources of everyday people, with everyday problems. Students would learn about the historical framework that these everyday people lived in and would begin to answer how they would handle their issues. The class would then discuss as a whole in order to reflect on all of the possible influences due to the time and place.
I believe that this approach to history would make history more realistic to students so that they can begin to see the similarities of past people. Also so students may see how the success and failure of past people can teach them better ways to improve their immediate lives, social or otherwise.
This is a very new thought of mine and I would love any discussion over the benefits, drawbacks, possible improvements, and any other relevant talking points.
Robert Winner 50+
jessica padilla
I will try to address the issues brought up and answer any questions. You say drama, and most teachers say, "Who? Oh that visiting teacher that comes by the school every Wednesday, and dresses kinda funny." Yes, that one. Truth is she spends most of her/his time advocating for the arts as an intrinsic PART of education, not just IN education. Presenting a problem to a classroom is a central part of what is called process drama. Normally three 35-45 minute lessons where students work together to solve a problem, usually presented with TIR, which is Teacher In Role. TIR is when a teacher accepts the role of a created character and addresses students as this character. The objective for students is to help this character solve a problem. For example, in a Kindtergarden class, I taught part of my lesson as "Old Lady Green". Her Plants were dying and she needed the help of the students to bring her plants back to life. The students explored this through becoming the role of scientist, detective, and overall problem solver. The students primarily as a group, as well as in small groups and individually. The students learned the parts of a plant, their function, and how they worked together.
Starting with a biography, is called Story as Springboard. Followed with appropriate and researched creative drama activities. In my teachings, I assess by performance, not written tests.
I teach Acting and Broadway techinique at a local theatre. For more info please visit http://travisheights2.wix.com/missjess or www.facebook.com/missjessco
I hope that helped.
Fritzie Reisner 100+
Great literature more than histories may tackle the small human problems better (as well as larger human problems), because great literature often applies a magnifying glass to the small but personally important.
Robert Galway 20+
I like the creativity in your idea. Near my house we have historical Jamestown and Williamsburg with character actors that play roles and answer questions in character. Seeing this and hearing the responses might be enlightening.
Back in time, the treats of "man against man" and "man against nature" were bigger threats than they are today. As civilization progressed, many of these threats were reduced. We now live in environmentally controlled buildings and vehicles for the most part and we have a fairly responsive police force.
As a scout leader, I can say that taking young men out into the outdoors to spend a few days camping provided them a perspective shared by few of their colleagues. Having t walk everywhere, get their own water, cook thier own food, and take care of personal business outdoors gives a great appreciation for the very basic modern conveniences. Spending a night outdoors with temperatures below freezing will impress you. Even if you are prepared you will feel the cold. Hard to imagine doing this with only furs and a blanket, particularly in the rain.
Apart from scouting, there are outward bound experiences, re-enactments, crewing primitive boats, that will all give a taste of "man against nature". This will really give some meaning to some of the historic discoveries. Heck, just teaching a class or two outside will make a pretty good point.
There are a lot of people ready to call the National Guard if the cable goes out. Perhaps a little communing with nature will change the perspective.
Gail . 50+
I don't trust most biographies. As an avid student of history, I have discovered how much history is a lie. The documentary evidence contradicts the history all too often.
Example: George Washington was artificially turned into a hero in order to raise money for the revolution. In fact, he was a terrible general and the reason he was the first president was because he wasn't too bright and could easily be manipulated. So using Washington as a study would be dishonest. The same is true for too many others whose biographies were written with a biased eye toward history.
Krisztián Pintér 200+
Trey Hooper
This would not be me telling them that the life of a Stoic is what they should aim for, but rather it would be them telling me how they think a Stoic would handle the problem, what the consequence would be, and whether or not they believe that the life of a Stoic holds any value to them personally. Take a look at Alexander the Great. I might ask students how he reached that level of success (by being cultured, well-educated, a keen diplomat [which is improved through practicing healthy social skills], etc...) and if they can apply any of it to themselves.
By telling students that different people, groups of people, or different philosophies could potentially hold a key to the immediate improvement of their lives, I believe students will dig deeper into the material in search of it.
Krisztián Pintér 200+
a long time lament of mine is that we don't really learn about the average man, or the every day's life of classes in different historical periods. what did the king do when wasn't in war? what did the peasants eat? what problems musicians faced? and so on. i wonder if you can incorporate that somehow in your method.
Lawren Jones 10+
Trey Hooper
Maybe my most valued goal of secondary education is to instill the PASSION of learning in students so that they may continue learning about our constantly changing world. Also, to show them the creativity involved in such things as History.
Having students look at some unique problem or challenge they face in their own life and apply different historical lessons will 1) encourage students to learn more about the specific historical topic, and 2) force them to think creatively and abstractly in order to extract what historical information is personally valuable to them.