Maryfrances Troha - Short Essay D

Instructional Goals: 2002-2003

My instructional goal for this school year influenced by McRah relates to the concept introduced at the beginning of this writing prompt, that, "Historical memory is the key to self-identity,...to one's connectedness with all humankind.....". I have as my goal to coax my students into greater involvement with drawing more parallels between national history, Waukegan's history, and the personal history their families and they are creating right now.

Although our present American Studies curriculum already leans in this direction because of our high school's participation in the Chicago Metro History Fair, I have already begun to take the historical memory concept one step farther. This spring I again participated in our Communications Department's summer reading initiative; however, I recommended a new novel, Dandelion Wine , written by Waukegan native Ray Bradbury. Dandelion Wine is, in fact, an example in fiction of the notion that historical memory is the key to self-identity. In this novel, Bradbury traces his personal development in the daily occurrences of life in Waukegan renamed Greentown in the novel. In my reading guidelines, I added the extension assignment of oral history interviews of long time Waukegan residents based on historical decades and major events. I then directed them to research sources on Waukegan history so that each student could align his time period in national history with the time line of United States history. I am most anxious to see the result.

My new goal will be to begin to involve students with more active participation with living history events sponsored by the Waukegan Historical Society. These events begin in September with a cemetery walk, continue into October with both a Ray Bradbury event and the French voyager and Potowatomie traveling exhibit. The Voyager exhibition involves reenactment of artisans using actual and replica historical tools and costumes which would be ideal to use with the McRah material on the use of artifacts and the material incorporated into the Chicago Historical Society package. In future years, I see this event as an opportunity to introduce Native American social justice issues as well as to present historic speeches and poems.

A further activity is to work with McRah participant Chris Morris and her history classes on scripting self-guided taped tours with accompanying maps and activities of historic areas of Waukegan. This project would involve historical research, discussion, graphic design, writing, and speaking skills.

The development of both the student involvement in the Historical Society activities and the development of historic tour materials would engage me in the development of challenging curricular materials because the basis for the activity should be grounded in thought-provoking questions of why a place, person or event is of historical significance and how did any of these factors affect the direction of the development of the community. In order to develop meaningful, purposeful tours, the teacher must model how to develop historical thinking for her students as Carl Smith discussed in his 6/20 presentation in the "Goals of a Good Assignment in 'Doing' History." I will have to work with students on the following concepts:

• analysis as well as description, movement from the presentation of facts to the purse of discovering their significance,

• the use of facts (evidence) to build an argument not just an assertion of the obvious,

• development of the concept of the notion that the point of view that supports one interpretation may not be the point of view that supports another group's interpretation of the significance or outcome of an event or activity,

• the need to maintain a dual approach to respecting the importance of an event as it impacts the localized individual while continuing to see the longer perspective that offers insights into other situations.

Therefore, the challenge of implementing my goal must be balanced by the caution that , however engaging a project may be, the lesson must be based on solid historical thinking methods. I am aware that what looks good to those outside the area of study often fails to be structured with solid educational aims. If I can begin to incorporate modeling the aforementioned principles into lessons as I plan them, I think I will be improving my teaching of history in this school year.

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