My tenth grade Modern Western Civilization class is involved in an oral history project focusing on a grandparent’s family history developing stories that relate to immigration experiences, family life, social activities, education, religious practices, community involvement, or other pertinent activities that impacted this person and their family. The model for this exercise is taken from a wonderful website, http://www.centropa.org/. Centropa has generated over a thousand narratives of survivors of the holocaust ranging throughout Central Europe. Centropa has developed tools to create narratives utilizing family pictures as a foundation to explore their stories. Their techniques are quite effective in exploring family histories, and I encourage all to explore the website to learn about Jewish culture before, during, and after World War II in Central Europe.
Cardin students have continued the Centropa tradition and have forged wonderful bonds with grandparents in the exploration of their family histories. It has been fascinating how many of our families at a small school have histories that connect with each other in a myriad of ways. Our students enjoy this activity and always seem eager to share their stories with the class. Family stories provide tremendous opportunities to personalize history and enhance understanding of the events of the twentieth century. Ask any of our tenth graders to share their stories with you.
~Bob Cantor
Modern Western Civilization and Psychology Teacher
No comments:
Post a Comment