If you could write a History curriculum...

[Sjöröveren]

The thread No More History! got me to thinking. If you could write a History curriculum, how would you design it? Don't worry about state guidelines or No Child Left Behind or any of that claptrap. What would you teach? How would you teach it? You can pick a grade level if you'd like. Be as general or as specific as you want. We all know that History is one of the least liked subjects in school, most likely because of the way it has always been taught: chronological, centered around wars or economics, tending to be biased towards the dominant culture of one's nation. This results not only in bored students, but bad history, which in turn gives us an uninformed population, ignorant or apathetic towards the past and its effects upon our lives.

I'll get the discussion started. This is how I would do it. This would probably be best beginning in middle school, but it could work for any grade I think.

On Day 1, I tell the kids to think of an object - any object. It should be something that they are interested in. Since I don't want anyone to have the same object, I'd give some examples of things that could work, and let them name some examples too, to get their brains going. Electric guitar, cup of coffee, an iPhone, their dog, pajamas, their mom's eyeglasses - anything. Homework: write a 1 paragraph description of the object you chose. Bring a picture, or if possible, the object itself to class tomorrow.

Day 2: Everyone reads their description of their object. Homework: dig deeper. When was your object invented, and by whom? What does it do, and is it the very first thing to every do anything like that? If not (and very very few inventions are completely and utterly unique) then research the objects that came before it. Why were those things invented? What need did it fill in human society?

And so on through the semester. Keep digging deeper, and wider. After a few weeks, the students are no longer researching inventions, but human concepts, which inevitably brings human history into play. They begin to understand history not as a series of wars and depressions that happened to dead people a long time ago, but as something that has a direct effect upon something that they use or do every day. The original object they chose is just a stepping stone to the process of discovery.

Let's say a student chose a cup of tea. Before long, they are learning about the 17th century, trade routes opening up between Europe and the Orient, the origins of the monetary system, the Japanese Tea Ceremony, European colonization of China and India, etc. etc. etc. At every little branch, they would have to research a bit, enough to come up with a paragraph of homework. Inevitably, something along the way will really catch their interest. At that point, I let the student guide themselves along the route they choose. They've found something in the past that really lights up their brain, and history no longer becomes drudgery. It's become what it has become to all of us - endlessly fascinating and relevant to our 21st century lives.

I think this could work.

Edited June 23, 2009 by Sjöröveren

[Raphael Misson]

I like your idea. It involves one of the most important elements of true learning - passion for the subject. So much of what we teach is taught to guidelines and squelches creativity and thus curiousity. (And this has been a problem loooong before No Child Left Behind.) I've also found that passionately sharing what you know about a topic (verbally) can make your excitement contagious. It also show the interrelationship between things that people (particularly kids) think is 'new' and the real history that brought them about. Very interesting!

I wish I could contribute some idea on how to teach history at this point. Perhaps after I maunder on it a bit. History has actually never been a favorite subject of mine because my experience involved learning people/places/dates/events. Dull, dull, dull. Where's the nectar in that?

Want to read a great story about teaching? Read Michener's Who is Virgil T. Fry? (Note: that link opens up a word doc on your computer, so only click it if you're ok with that.) I love that story. I love that character.

[Red Sea Trade]

I have taught History in museum settings for many years, so I have given this topic much thought.

First, I like to ask everyone in a group if history is their favorite subject. Many of them groan, few respond in the affirmative.

I tell them they are liars. Then I ask them what their favorite subject IS. Then I tell them that, no matter what that subject is called, it is history. Anything that has ever happened since the dawn of time is history, so therefore history MUST be their favorite subject, they just have to see the history of what they like. Whatever they love, whatever their passion, it is all woven into history.

I also seek to involve as many senses as possible. Teaching about the American Revolution, I have lined entire classes up and put them through basic 18th century close-order drill. Teaching about tavern life, I have served them hot Johnnycakes from over an open fire. I have sung "The Downfall of Piracy" when talking about Blackbeard and passed Spanish reales around when speaking about shipwrecks off our coast. Let them see, hear, smell, taste and touch history. If possible, include a unit on archaeology, especially if the students get to participate in an actual dig. It is an outstanding way to connect them with the past.

Most of all, I like to let students know that people of the past were real, live, breathing people. Tell a kid that George Washington was a huge, macho guy fond of women and sports and it lights a spark that the "Plaster Saint" of my own education never could. Without exaggeration, historical truth is almost always better--and more bizarre--than fiction.

[Capt. Bo of the WTF co.]

Make them use the dictionary to look up words and items and terms. A good one has the origin of the words and the approximate date when first used in English usually. Make them WRITE it and grade for penmanship. If the little buggars are gonna go to the net for the info, at least they will not have the convenience of cut & paste. Who is their favoriet person? find out more and how they got to be who they are/were. Make connections from then to now. Teach the similarities of history rather than the differences. How many kids were around on 9/11? THAT is now history. Why is it important to our future to understand our past? These connections are sadly missing, among other things. Just some random thoughts while cooling off from digging up the septic tank. YEEEUUUUCK! Smells like CONGRESS out there!

Bo

[Silkie McDonough]

From my perspective as an adult these ideas are great and would motivate me now. I don't work with children. Would these methods keep the child's attention?

Mind you this question comes from a woman who's mother stated (later in life) I didn't think you would make it out of grade school let alone graduate from college!" I have never learned well in traditional settings and I think these methods may have made the difference. I am curious if continuing research would keep their attention. To this day I dislike research, could be because I never really knew how to do it or that I could never organize my thoughts. I think I was a problem student. lol

[Red-Handed Jill]

Sjöröveren, I'm guessing you saw the series "Connections"...

[Raphael Misson]

From my perspective as an adult these ideas are great and would motivate me now. I don't work with children. Would these methods keep the child's attention?

Mind you this question comes from a woman who's mother stated (later in life) I didn't think you would make it out of grade school let alone graduate from college!" I have never learned well in traditional settings and I think these methods may have made the difference. I am curious if continuing research would keep their attention.

My dad hated grade school, but he loved college. My mom taught for decades and still teaches part time in the public schools. I've been an adult trainer for 11 years now. I very much agree with Red Sea Trade's statement and find that both my parent's experiences deal, in part with, "...seek[ing] to involve as many senses as possible." That works for kids and adults. Sjöröveren's original idea actually does that too. It gets people to stand up and explain what they've found after researching and finding a pic if possible. It involves several senses and all of the styles of learning. Seriously, read the thing James Michener wrote that I link to above - it addresses much of this. (It's only 4-5 pages long.)

Edited June 23, 2009 by Raphael Misson

[Sjöröveren]

Sjöröveren, I'm guessing you saw the series "Connections"...

I have, but I hadn't made the connection until you mentioned it!

[Capt. Bo of the WTF co.]

Another big thing with me is Existentialsism. Life, and everything you encounter in life, is only as good as you can make it. If the individual stands around waiting for someone else to make life or subjects intersting, they're doomed to boredom forever. Every kid should be encouraged to make things interesting by exploring the unknown and unseen aspects of everything they see, touch, feel, smell, and think. Involving all the senses AND the thing that ties them all together, the brain! I plan on teaching common sense life lessons as well as subject matter.

Could you effectively associate the news of the Pearl Harbor attack with the twin towers of 9-11? I could, and I bet ya'll can too. Much the same in context.

Bo

Edited June 24, 2009 by Capt. Bo of the WTF co.

[LadyBarbossa]

Oh, wow... this is a DEEP topic, Sea Rover... but I like it. :)

I agree about homework. My neices and nephew don't ever have homework and it stuns me.

Lemme think more about this one.

~Lady B

[Coastie04]

Well, as far as students being motivated to learn history by starting with something they already like, I think it would work great. That's how I learned to love history. I sailed on a tall ship, fell in love with the sea, and then wanted to learn everything I could about it. That started a love with all aspects of history. However, to go from just liking tall ships to being interested in trade routes and economy took a few years. To then associate it with actually appreciating politics (which in turn made me appreciate modern politics as well) took even more time. To truly expand something I fell in love with to understanding world history took much more time than any teacher would have.

My curriculum would be to teach stories, not dates. It's much easier to remember things if they're entertaining, and if you understand the people that created important history, and a bit of the circumstances of the era, then you will relate to it more and remember it. For example, I wasn't taught in middle or high school that Benjamin Franklin was a pervert, or that Samuel Adams was an obnoxious drunk. Movies and documentaries, if as historically accurate as possible, can also be utilized. Band of Brothers comes to mind as a good representation of a soldier's life in WWII. Also, I have had one class on medieval literature that started out with watching part of the Lord of the Rings trilogy and relating that to the real middle ages (despite Tolkein's disclaimer, there are many parallels with history). Learning stories helps people understand not just the actions of influencial people, but their motivations and beliefs as well. That allows us to understand them, which makes their actions in history almost predictable. Understanding the personallities of Julius Caesar, Cicero, Octavian Caesar, Mark Anthony, Cleopatra, and Pompeii makes that influencial juncture of Roman history come alive. I think the one thing that makes history boring is that there is no story behind it without doing a lot of research.

My personal belief is that one of the reasons kids today (I feel old saying that, by the way) watch movies and play video games instead of reading non-fiction is because they have a story line. Understanding these stories and the concepts behind politics really makes dates kind of irrelavent, except to compare one story to another. It might even make people understand that the same issues that the Greeks were dealing with in their democracy are still happening today. Anyway, I've rambled on long enough; hopefully you get the basic point: make history exciting through the stories.

Coastie