Some History teachers are COOL

[Father Kit Cool Gun Garth]

[Smuteye John SASS#24774]

If you can gain their attention- and hold it- kids will learn. 

 

Good teachers know this and plan their lessons accordingly.

[Pat Riot]

I had a history teacher in 6th and 8th grades named Mr. Gernert. He made history fun and educational. He made it come alive. 

[Smuteye John SASS#24774]

28 minutes ago, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said:

I had a history teacher in 6th and 8th grades named Mr. Gernert. He made history fun and educational. He made it come alive. 

My eldest niece was having problems remember who did what in American History and she mentioned one of my favorite people of the era, Dan Morgan, so I explained the Battle of the Cow Pens to her and how an American backwoodsman was the best field general on either side during the whole war.

 

When I picked her up a few days later, she told me that her teacher wanted to talk to me- not her Mom, not a parent- ME.

 

Apparently, what I told her stuck and, when the teacher called on her, she remembered everything I told her and shared it with the entire class.  The teacher said that she got more insight from a 10 year old talking about one of the more important battles of the Revolution than she ever did from her professors.

[Subdeacon Joe]

 

 

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/c/historyteachers

 

https://www.youtube.com/c/TheSingingHistoryTeachers/videos

[irish ike, SASS #43615]

Not history but HS Senior year English. Our teacher announced we would be reading Shakespear's Hamlet! The groan was heard down the halls. But wait there's more;

He was also the teacher who lead theater.

 He would have us read a section and stop. Then he'd read parts of it acting and using an "current" English accent. Then he would stop and explain what was going on in todays language and understanding of the English language back then.

I couldn't wait to get back to his class each day.

We had to memorize Hamlet's soliloquy, but having him explain what Hamlet was saying made it stick.

[Cyrus Cassidy #45437]

As a historian, I've always taken umbrage with how it's taught from elementary through high school.  When I was a college student, I could see peoples' eyes glaze over when I answered the inevitable question, "What's your major?" 

 

I like to *experience* history.  When studying the Civil War, I got ahold of some primary source documents that describe what the soldiers in each army ate.  Then I made the very same food and at it.  Some of it was as bad as soldiers said in their journals!  Others were actually palatable.  But after reading soldiers' journals and then replicating what they ate, I could almost place myself in camp next to them. 

 

That is how history should be taught!

[Smuteye John SASS#24774]

1 hour ago, irish ike, SASS #43615 said:

Not history but HS Senior year English. Our teacher announced we would be reading Shakespear's Hamlet! The groan was heard down the halls. But wait there's more;

He was also the teacher who lead theater.

 He would have us read a section and stop. Then he'd read parts of it acting and using an "current" English accent. Then he would stop and explain what was going on in todays language and understanding of the English language back then.

I couldn't wait to get back to his class each day.

We had to memorize Hamlet's soliloquy, but having him explain what Hamlet was saying made it stick.

Had an English and Lit teacher that did the same thing with both Shakespeare and Canterbury Tales.  She also read some of Chauncer in the original Middle English.

 

Shakespeare's hilarious once you know the Elizabethan slang and know what's actually been said.  If adults realized just how 'blue' Will was, they wouldn't teach it in schools.

[Smuteye John SASS#24774]

1 hour ago, Cyrus Cassidy #45437 said:

As a historian, I've always taken umbrage with how it's taught from elementary through high school.  When I was a college student, I could see peoples' eyes glaze over when I answered the inevitable question, "What's your major?" 

 

I like to *experience* history.  When studying the Civil War, I got ahold of some primary source documents that describe what the soldiers in each army ate.  Then I made the very same food and at it.  Some of it was as bad as soldiers said in their journals!  Others were actually palatable.  But after reading soldiers' journals and then replicating what they ate, I could almost place myself in camp next to them. 

 

That is how history should be taught!

There was a long pasture down the road (long enough that it doubled as an ultralight landing field) from her house and I used it as an example of the battlefield at the Cow Pens, so she could visualize what I was talking about. 

 

It didn't take much imagination on her part to put a couple or tree wood fences running across it, a hill where the road is and the sense that the river was right behind it instead of a mile or two as the crow flies.

 

She thought that Morgan telling the militias to shoot 3 volleys and run HERE, near the Regulars- instead of just away- was a stroke of genius.  As I explained the rest of the battle, she grinned and said, 'He set them up.  He showed them what they expected to see, let them get cocky, sucked them in and trapped them!'.

 

That's when I knew that she got it.

[Constable Nelson #11784]

15 hours ago, Smuteye John SASS#24774 said:

Had an English and Lit teacher that did the same thing with both Shakespeare and Canterbury Tales.  She also read some of Chauncer in the original Middle English.

 

Shakespeare's hilarious once you know the Elizabethan slang and know what's actually been said.  If adults realized just how 'blue' Will was, they wouldn't teach it in schools.

 

Chaucer is even better (or worse depending on your POV) LOL    

[Clay Mosby]

I had one of the coolest History teachers ever in High School. His name was Mr. Aronstein, and he made history come alive in his classroom. One of my favorite recollections is when he was teach about the Revolutionary War. He took his pipe, hid, behind his desk, and ambushed a British patrol, complete with sound effects and yelling!!

[Smuteye John SASS#24774]

3 hours ago, Constable Nelson #11784 said:

 

Chaucer is even better (or worse depending on your POV) LOL    

True, although I could have really lived wirhout her explaining the blancmange joke.

[Kid Rich]

20 hours ago, Smuteye John SASS#24774 said:

Had an English and Lit teacher that did the same thing with both Shakespeare and Canterbury Tales.  She also read some of Chauncer in the original Middle English.

 

Shakespeare's hilarious once you know the Elizabethan slang and know what's actually been said.  If adults realized just how 'blue' Will was, they wouldn't teach it in schools.

Back in the wayback I had a class in college in middle english, we had to converse and the class was conducted in middle english. Made it very  interesting.

kR

PS my final paper for the class was done on Chaucers retraction and whether he actually meant it or not.

[sassnetguy50]

She was on tv yesterday, better than any professors we had.

https://www.baylor.edu/history/index.php?id=7735

 

[MizPete]

I got over my aversion to History when I realized it wasn't just a recitation of names, dates, wars, battles, etc; it's the story of actual people's lives.  But it's kind of sad I know more about the War of Union Aggression (in the East) than I do about the war my Dad fought in the 1940's.

[Chantry]

14 hours ago, MizPete said:

I got over my aversion to History when I realized it wasn't just a recitation of names, dates, wars, battles, etc; it's the story of actual people's lives.  But it's kind of sad I know more about the War of Union Aggression (in the East) than I do about the war my Dad fought in the 1940's.

 

It's not too late to change that.  I might even be able to point you in the right direction depending on where your father served and what he did.

 

With Amazon and a few other book sellers it has gotten a lot easier to find books and often the internet itself will have sites with very specific information.

[Sixgun Seamus]

Not history, but my oldest son is a middle school math teacher.... read BORING.... My son is out of the box crazy and innovative. He is a "spirit leader" at his school with his antics. Two years ago a graduating senior wrote a paper on how my son made a major influence on his life. My son was invited to the commencement and senior honors dinner. Made me proud and brought a tear or two. 

[watab kid]

On 7/3/2022 at 8:24 AM, Smuteye John SASS#24774 said:

If you can gain their attention- and hold it- kids will learn. 

 

Good teachers know this and plan their lessons accordingly.

i think that is a lot harder these days than when we were young - you need a ringtone to get them to look then the promise of U-tube exposure to hold it 

[MizPete]

22 hours ago, Chantry said:

I might even be able to point you in the right direction depending on where your father served and what he did.

He was a SeaBee in the South Pacific.  I have not found his cruise book yet.

[Chantry]

35 minutes ago, MizPete said:

He was a SeaBee in the South Pacific.  I have not found his cruise book yet.

Some (hopefully) useful links: 

https://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records

https://seabeehf.org/

https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/Building_Bases/index.html#contents2

https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/museums/seabee/about-us/looking-for-historic-information-on-a-seabee.html

 

[Linn Keller, SASS 27332, BOLD 103]

Our Spanish teacher had that gift, bless the man!

He described getting royally lost in Mexico, owing to the difference between Spanish (in which he was, and is, fluent) and Mexican (which has some differences!)

He would ask directions and got more than tee totally turned around until he realized ...

In Spanish, derecho is left, izquierda is right, but a la derecha in Mexican means go straight ahead.

He told this on himself, we got a grin out of his self deprecation, then we dove into a Mexican story of an Aztec legend.

THAT was fun! Something to do with an executioner slipping chips of flint under his scalp so his skull wouldn't be crushed when he irritated the ruling party.

Translating an actual, living STORY was so very different from studying correct Spanish grammar!