In far too
many classrooms, kids are marched through history textbooks, lectures,
and quizzes with little to show for it. Studies have repeatedly
shown that American students are not strong on historical knowledge,
nor do they regard history as a particularly exciting subject.
In 1994, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)
administered a test to assess the historical knowledge of 22,500
public and private school students across the country. The study
produced some discouraging findings:
• Nearly six in ten high school seniors lacked a basic understanding
the subject.
• Only 40 percent of fourth graders knew why the Pilgrims
came to America.
• Only 41 percent of high school seniors could define the
Monroe Doctrine.
• Only 30 percent of high school seniors could identify the
chief goal of American foreign policy after World War 11.
• 73 percent of high school seniors did not know that the
Camp David accords promoted peace between Egypt and Israel.
ALEXANDRA S. BEATTY ET AL., NAEP 1994 U.S.
History Report Card
But it's not entirely the kids' or the teachers' fault, for in
many ways we are an ahistorical country. Many immigrants who arrived
over the decades and centuries wished to forget, or were forced
to abandon, the histories and cultures they left behind. Adults
move away from families, and families move repeatedly to new neighborhoods
or cities in search of a better life, leaving old connections
behind. And as any politician can tell you when he looks ahead
to an election several years in the future, our country thrives
on political and historical amnesia. So making the subject of
history
The more you involve
students in the goal setting and planning of the project, the
more ownership and commitment you'll see throughout its execution.
meaningful in any school setting is a continuous challenge. Children
in poor and economically disadvantaged areas face additional obstacles.
The language and middle class culture of school can seem foreign
to them, implying that somehow their families and backgrounds
are lesser, that school has nothing to do with who they are. If
your future seems starkly circumscribed, studying other times
or places may seem painful, a reminder of how trapped you feel
in the place you live now. The existence of great heroes and leaders
from various minority groups are distant abstractions, adding
irony to the situation. But what if those heroes weren't so far
off after all? What if they turned out to be your own aunts, uncles,
or cousins?
Family history offers a way out of the divisive trap of racializing
our identities, The ominous divides of race are bridged by the
actual complexity of our collective past, and by the great lesson
our histories deliver: in many ways, we are all similar. Our families
and peoples the world over have worked, struggled, fought through
wars and hard times, adjusted to technology, and made it to this
place and day. Further, by focusing on ethnic origins, migrations,
and pathways, identity is constantly enriched and expanded. All
of us come from somewhere. Family trees branch into a glorious,
bushy complexity, rich with a million stories. And our stories
are linked.
The family history project offers a way into the home as a source
of knowledge, experience, and expertise. This is not "prying"
into private family concerns. Rather, the dialogue between child
and family gives children practice in innumerable academic skills,
and simultaneously honors and strengthens the family and community.
A Sample Selection
of the First Chapter
FRAMING FAMILY HISTORY
You've just been introduced to a new acquaintance and immediately
take note of the person's clothes, facial expression, and extent
of eye contact. You ask a question and sense whether the response
is forthcoming, shy, or guarded. You notice whether the person
seems interested in you. This moment may not entirely determine
the course of the friendship, but it certainly sets the initial
direction. How you introduce the family history project to your
students is equally important. When we teachers are enthusiastic
about a topic, it's tempting to just dive right in and put kids
to work. But it's crucial to lay some groundwork first.
The more you involve students in the goal setting and planning
of the project, the more ownership and commitment you'll see throughout
its execution. We aren't presenting this program as a fully student
directed or negotiated project, though we'd be pleased to see
it approached that way, as more teachers learn to help students
make choices in their studies. However, even within the broad
outlines of the teacher's expectations, students can consider
and suggest many options from the very start:
• Goals and objectives-what are students hoping to learn?
• Possible activities-visit several ethnically focused museums?
Bring in some grandparents to talk to us? Hold a family history
fair for the rest of the school?
• Which of our relatives might we interview?
• How shall we present information - posters, a class book,
short videos, Web pages?
HOW-TO-GUIDE
STEP 1: SETTING THE STAGE WITH BACKGROUND ON FAMILY STRUCTURES
The teacher introduces this first workshop by describing and
helping students discuss various types of family structures. Present
some statistics on family structures in the 1990s. Kids are less
likely to feel alone or ostracized if they know, for example,
that:
• 31.7 percent of US. family house-holds with children under
eighteen were headed by a single parent in 1998;
• 06 percent of families with children under eighteen were
composed of extended family members instead of parents;
• 58.8 percent of mothers with preschool children were employed
in 1998;
• There are 165 divorced people for every 1,000 married people
in the United States. But 75 percent of divorced women remarry;
therefore many children have a stepparent. Share this Information
to help students feel comfortable about themselves and their family
structures. What are some of the various ways that family members
connect so that individuals can help each other?
• Large extended families versus small nuclear units.
• Visits back and forth among relatives living in various
cities,
• Children living periodically with one parent and then the
other, or for periods with a grandparent.
• Multiple family members running a store or business
together. Mention
several of these arrangements, and ask students to describe ways
that their own families work. Emphasize our common bonds. We all
have family. We all come from somewhere. We all have stories
STEP 2: STUDENTS LIST
REASONS WHY FAMILY HISTORY IS IMPORTANT
Now invite students to list reasons why family history could
be important, record these on a sheet of butcher paper, and post
it on the wall. If students are hesitant, ask them to write lists
working in twos or threes, and then have reporters share reasons
from their lists. Some common reasons students may give (depending
on their age):
• You can find out where your family came from.
• You can find out if you have any famous ancestors.
• You can learn what life was like for your parents and grandparents
when they were kids.
• You can see if some of your ancestors looked like you or
acted like you.
• You can discover whether people in your family did any
special kinds of things like fight in the Civil War, or hunt bears,
or travel to distant places.
• You can learn whether some of your ancestors are from different
cultural groups, such as Native American, or Irish, or Egyptian,
even if your family doesn't consider itself a part of that group.
STEP 3: THE TEACHER SHARES HIS OR HER FAMILY HISTORY
Modeling is always helpful, and students are unceasingly fascinated
with the facts and shapes of their teachers' lives (which itself
tells us something about students' hunger to find more meaningful
links with school). Take some time to talk about your own family's
origins, traditions, and migration patterns, to spark kids' interest
and illustrate the kinds of things they will learn during the
project. You may need to do some telephoning and research to fill
in a few blanks, in which case you'll discover some of the excitement
and insight that your students will soon be experiencing.
STEP 4: STUDENTS BEGIN TO TELL WHAT THEY KNOW ABOUT THEIR
FAMILIES
Once you've shared some of your own discoveries, ask your students
questions that invite them to share some of their family stories,
as well as to acknowledge the many blanks that will need to be
filled in.
• What are some traditions celebrated in your family's culture?
• Are there special customs your family follows?
• Have you ever wondered why you do some of the things you
do, eat what you eat, feel like you do?
• When did your people migrate to this city? Why did they
leave the place where they had lived?
• Does your family have reunions? Why do people do this?
• If you don't know much about your family's background,
what do you think are some things you might try to learn about?
• What part do you think your family has played in our city's
history? In U.S. history? Every family contributes to our being
here in various ways. What might your family's contribution be?
• Are there children in he class who have no access to their
family origins and may need the option of inquiring about the
history of their broader national or ethnic background?
Again, if your students are hesitant to answer or shy about speaking
up, ask them to talk in pairs first, one question at a time, and
go around the room getting responses.
STEP 5: SETTING GOALS AND EXPECTATIONS FOR THE PROJECT
Finally, explain to the students your purpose for this unit of
study: to learn more about our families and cultures, and then
to place ourselves and our families within the history of the
community, the country, and the world. Ask students m list the
things they expect to learn about themselves. What kinds of information
should they look fox? How might they present it to the class or
the rest of the school? How might the students change their ideas
about themselves and their family as a result of studying family
history? Record the students' suggestions and expectations on
butcher paper and display the lists in the room. This provides
a set of ideas, goals, and expectations that can be used to execute
the project. They ran be reviewed later, to help students see
what they've learned and to realize their surprise that there
is much more to this subject than they originally realized.
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
By the end of this session, your class will have accomplished
the following:
• Begun to develop an attitude of openness and appreciation
for the various lifestyles, family types, and ethnic and cultural
experiences that fellow students bring with them.
• Established an initial set of questions and expectations
about the learning that will take place in the family history
project.
• Participated in planning, by contributing ideas for the
direction and execution of the project.
• Demonstrated a baseline for observing growth in student
knowledge and understanding about their own and others' family
histories.
• Demonstrated a baseline for observing student understanding
of the significance of local and national history in their lives.
CONTENTS OF THE BOOK
Framing Family History: A brief introduction to set the
stage for the project and involve students in as much planning
and direction as possible.
Getting to Know You Culturally:
An interview activity
that allows students to access prior knowledge of their cultural
backgrounds, discover questions and gaps in their knowledge, and
build community and interest in one another's history.
Family Interview and Creating a Classroom Profile: Preparing
students for, and guiding them through, the gathering of information
on their family's history, customs, and beliefs Then students
compare and chart the information to gain a sense of common and
differing family experiences.
Writing and Other Farms of Expression in Family History:
A variety of strategies and topics for documenting and sharing
the powerful information students assemble as they pursue their
family history investigations.
Creating a Kinship Chart: Helping students deepen their
knowledge of family ancestors and origins by charting a family
tree and gathering further information from census data and other
sources.
Family History and Formal History Time Lines: Understanding
historical development by placing important family events on a
time line and comparing it with national and world history time
lines.
Two-Minute Videos: Using visual representation for students
to share experiences, ideas, and values they've uncovered in their
study of family history.
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