Hoyt History Corner

Saturday, September 22, 2007

Encounters with Historic Places: Gettsyburg

As our foot meets the earth and you feel the gravel scrape and grind against one another, hear the dry grass break and splinter, or feel your shoe sink into the oozing mud of the saturated ground then and only then do you know in some small way what it was like to be there. Where is there? “There,” can be the Oregon Trail ruts found in Northeast Kansas. “There,” can be the street that Elizabeth Eckford walked as she tried desperately to escape the hateful jeers of an angry mob. And “there,” can be a student walking up a path to the top of Little Round Top where the 20th Maine defended their portion of the Union at the battle of Gettysburg.

The battle of Gettysburg though not readily accessible for my students it is a site that offers many interesting and insightful teachable moments for students. As I read this text I found it interesting that the first chapter dealt with a medium of communication could allow my student sitting in Kansas to experience in some small way the battle that changed the course of a war and inevitably a nation. Through the use of a virtual tour students from across the nation might be able more easily access this site and all it has to offer. Using this site and others allows students to get out of the classroom and get into history. As James M. McPherson states in his chapter on Gettysburg from the book American Places: Encounters with History edited by William E. Luechtenburg “The best way to understand those battles is to walk the ground where they happened.” and he is correct the doing of history is better for students than the reading alone of history. Even if that walk comes in the form of a virtual walk understanding will only enhance the reading that takes place in the classroom.

Standard Addressed:

Kansas, United States, and World History Eighth Grade

History Standard: The student uses a working knowledge and understanding of significant individuals, groups, ideas, events, eras, and developments in the history of Kansas, the United States, and the world, utilizing essential analytical and research skills.

Benchmark 2: The student uses a working knowledge and understanding of individuals, groups, ideas, developments, and the causes and effects of the Civil War.

5.▲(K) describes the turning points of the Civil War (e.g., Antietam, Gettysburg, Emancipation Proclamation, and Sherman’s March to the Sea).

photo credit: National Park Service (Richard Frear)

Friday, September 21, 2007

Historical Cognition

Acquiring historical knowledge, how is this best accomplished in the classroom? A better question might be which classroom. The differences in teaching among the various classrooms in American schools are and will continue to be drastically different. This is not to say that they are independent alien entities existing on different plains of thought. From my perspective the middle classroom can be the most difficult. The students in the middle school classroom have it in their capabilities to be both intellectual scholars of sorts to elementary innocents who will are just as willing to critically analyze a primary source document as draw a picture.

So how is that teaching practices and cognition influence middle school students. In my readings and experience there are many differing practices that may work with students in their search for historical cognition. However, there are three that I feel offer the greatest gain in cognition over the rest. The first is experiential cognition. Though massive in preparation time for the teacher the practice does offer some rewarding results. When the student is allowed to discuss, process, and analyze information among a group with an attainable goal in mind students not only respond they excel. This exercise may come in the form of something as complicated as a day long simulation to simple two minute skit. The second of three is the use of critical analysis mixed with the comparison of similarities and differences is an extremely effective teaching tool as well as great cognitive skill. Given middle school students innate ability to disbelieve nearly anything an adult utters, give students their chance to critique their words and logically use it against them by picking apart speeches, letters, and other documents. Lastly, the Socratic seminar or to a lesser extent the simple open ended discussion, this method allows for a free exchange of ideas and thoughts among not only the teacher but the students. Taking some piece of history and openly discussing its finer points, though difficult to handle with middle school students, can be extremely rewarding. An example of this comes in the analysis of a historical picture, cartoon, or advertisement. Each of these teaching practices has been from my experience extremely effective in the assimilation of historical cognition. Upon reading the assigned text I find that these practices are not only valid, but they actually have research to back up their validity.