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The Historian in the Classroom

A memorial erected by Union war veterans at Arlington.

When I first had the opportunity to do research and travel regarding World War II, I trusted that in some way the experience would work its way into my classroom. I was teaching economics only at the time, so how my historical odyssey would imprint my teaching seemed a little fuzzy. I had the privilege to travel overseas and do research again in 2018, that time for both the Korean War and World War II. And now I'm going for a third year in a row.

The imprint of these experiences is becoming clearer.

When preparing to teach a lesson on the Civil War era, a reference in the textbook caught my eye. It summarized how changes in embalming technology and the culture of grieving influenced Americans' responses to the massive death toll of that conflict. The reference gave me a chance to have some very meaningful conversations about loss and grief with my students. It also allowed me to share with them ways in which Arlington National Cemetery served as something of an additional battlefield for historical memory between veterans of the Union and Confederacy.

Later, my experiences gave me the chance to teach lessons on World War II that I have never risked teaching. There were film clips I had never employed before. There were ways of looking at posters that I had never considered. And the unscripted dialogue with my students went places I hadn't gone before (I'm grateful a girl asked about pressures to marry during the war years).

A screenshot from my lesson plan on the Home Front and World War II. 
I've never had the chance to be this sophisticated with high school kids before regarding my favorite topic in all of history. Of course, the kids had a lot to do with it. My two U.S. History classes this year were remarkably talented and curious. It was something of a perfect storm.

The experiences are also helping me in my role as a teacher leader, something I find particularly gratifying as I reach the autumn of my career.* What I was doing helped a colleague reach out to me who was looking to do something with a introverted group of sophomores in regards to eulogizing World War I and II soldiers. Colleagues at a middle school reached out to me for guidance about a Civil War project. After years of being known as one who knew how to employ tech. gadgets and computers with economics, it's heartening to know I still have the ability to guide and lead on the subject about which I'm so passionate, too. 

*I don't mean to be melodramatic. But the math of my profession came into focus this year. I began teaching in 1998-1999. My final year will likely be 2033-34. The children who enter kindergarten in 2021-22 will likely be the final cohort of students I see all the way through their educational years. 

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