Course Information
Participating Teachers
Barbara Diaz - Montesano Junior/Senior High School
Exploring Our Places: Barb's Narrative
Our discussion of place and the impact it has on our students and
communities evolved during the morning session. We touched on topics
that made me reconsider my planned presentation. While I know that place
is a strong focus of this project, the teachers who shared that they
felt little connection to the place they were teaching made me question
the focus of "location." Could it be that meeting the needs of our
students has very little to do with where the teaching takes place and
the history of that location and more to do with life stage as "place".
My artifact was a letter found in the walls of my 1898 home during a
recent renovation. This letter was addressed to a young woman whose
family had owned the home from 1901-1905. It was a love letter from a
young man who lived in Seattle. In the letter, he wrote of his desire to
see Clara again and how he loved her. He also mentioned how wonderful it
would be to take a walk and keep her out past her curfew so that her
"mama" would be worried and waiting on the porch. He was a bit forward
and wrote of kissing her. Evidently, she didn't want her parents to see
the letter and hid it in the wall. I also shared an oral history project
done by 3rd grade students in our community. During an interview, one
participant shared that one memory he had from the very early 1900's was
his uncle helping him convince his father to buy a more "in style" pair
of shoes for him to wear to school.
Stories from young people 100 years ago in Montesano sound very similar
to the stories my students tell today. The concerns and wishes are so
similar. From wanting to hide communication with others from your
parents, whether that be by myspace accounts or written letters, to the
worry that one's shoes might not be in style, Montesano's kids have
spent a century thinking about many of the same topics. I would also
predict that we would find that these concerns are in no way confined to
Montesano. I believe that the place that adolescents live has much less
effect on them than their stage of life. Finding ways to engage the
minds of this age group is paramount to successful lesson design and
teaching a love of history.
