Student
Articles
High school students and their teachers met with reporters
Charlie Wheeler, UIS, formerly with the Chicago Sun Times,
and Dave Jones, Secretary of State's Office. They
discussed writing articles for newspapers and the media.
These high school journalists will form the core of the
Saving Our Stories press corps committed to writing about
the importance of family, cultural, and community history.
They will write a story about their family history and publish
articles in their school newspapers, local media, and Continuance.
The following are some of the articles about the Saving
Our History Day.
Why
Should We Save Our Stories?
Evony
Thomas
Cairo High School
When our great, great grandchildren are in school studying
history, they might find that I did something during my
life that affects their generation. For example, my grandmother,
Gloria Thomas, was the first Black to attend Cairo Junior
High. This brought about a change in the segregated school
system.
Workshop
Inspires Student Actions
Betsy
Fullerton and Sara Hill
Coulterville High School
How often do community members pass away without anyone
hearing their stories?
The Save Our Stories Workshop in Springfield, May 1, inspired
us in several ways. We learned about the importance of saving
the stories of older adults in our communities and families.
Family history, community history, and individual history
are important for the youth of tomorrow.
The workshop gave us examples of many ways we could save
stories. It allowed us to think about family stories and
ways to persevere them. With the technology available to
us, digital movies seem the most obvious. We can use digital
cameras to record the words, the actions and the individuals.
In our community, there are older people who have had
a significant impact on our community. As we think about
it now, we realize how important they are and how often
their stories are overlooked. Saving these stories of the
past is definitely important.
Based on the examples at the Save Our Stories Workshop,
we plan to start a program for our community. We will interview
several older people and communicate their stories for the
future generations for the town of Coulterville.
A
Link in the Chain Broken Forever
Jenny
Blair
Carbondale Community High School
All my life, I've realized the importance of family
heritage and history. I've grown up hearing stories
about "days long ago." With each story, a little
imprint is made on me as my perspective of the world changes.
Yet something hit me last Thursday at the "Saving
Our Stories" workshop that I've never realized
before: these stories will someday disappear. Though I've
been told many stories, those I haven't heard are
countless. And my memory, I hate to say, isn't the
greatest. There is no way I'll remember even half
of what I'm told. That's what made me come face
to face with the importance of recording my history.
Whether it' s tape recording conversations with
elders or keeping a daily journal, I should make some type
of effort. Otherwise, these stories will be lost, a link
in the chain of history broken forever!
Saving
our Family's History
Steinmetz
Academic Centre
Preserving a family, cultural, and community's past can
lead to the explanation of historical events. We need to
learn about our past in order to understand our heritage
and to value one another's traditions. Through the process
of preserving family history, we can begin to understand
the atmosphere of the past and the hardships of previous
generations. That will help us comprehend and analyze the
events that occur today. This is beautiful because it can
touch the hearts of the younger generation.
Why
Save Our Families Stories?
Steinmetz
Academic Centre
In history classes, we learn about the past and identify
pride in our heritage and ourselves. About 30 years ago
, Alex Haley searched for his roots. His books and television
series had encouraged others to do the same. We were put
on this earth to make a contribution to society: we can
do this through family history. We can also be more aware
of the struggles that our ancestors experienced. That way
we won't take for granted the opportunities we have today.
By passing our stories from generation to generation, no
one will be forgotten.
