Bedrooms in 'Makeover' house
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Dayton Daily News education reporter Scott Elliott writes about schools, kids, teaching and learning.
Home > Blogs > Get on the Bus > Archives > 2005 > October > 13 > Entry
Good vs. evil and other great stories
I stumbled across a PBS special one Saturday afternoon, bored with the football game I was watching. It was the diary of a World War II pilot, read by the man himself. He was telling a story so mesmerizing I could not switch away. He was flying a fighter along the European front, escorting bombers back from a bombing run, if I remember right. It was the end of a long trip and he was running low on fuel. His radio crackled. Someone was calling for help. Urgently.
Down on the ground, a small group of American soldiers were pinned down and the enemy was rolling a tank into position to obliterate them. The pilot called back, told him there was little he could do to help. He didn’t have the right kind of weaponry. The only way he could destroy the tank was to dive down low practically on top of the tank. It was a dangerous, difficult long shot. “If you don’t try it, we’re all going to be dead,” the ground commander replied.
So the pilot gave it a try. He dipped and dove until he was nearly on top of the tank, dropped his only bomb and pulled up hard as the blast shook the plane. He barely held it together, stabilized and peeked back out the window. The men on the ground were jumping and waving.
Years later, on the GI Bill, the pilot enrolled in college and was moving in to an apartment with his wife when he met the next door neighbor. They got to talking about the army and the pilot described the type of plane he had flown. The neighbor grew serious. “I owe my life to one of your guys,” he said, and he began to tell the story of a pilot who destroyed a tank just before it took aim at him and his men. The pilot stopped him mid-story … and finished the story for him. This was the commander from the other end of the radio that day in Europe. The commander’s eyes welled with tears and grabbed him in a bear hug.
What a story. History is filled with amazing tales like this.
And yet, how many of our kids recoil at the word “history,” telling us how “boring” it all is.
Here’s what that tells me — not enough teachers are using the right strategies to bring history to life for kids. They too often find it to be rote and irrelevant to their lives. But it doesn’t have to be, and it shouldn’t be.
I’ve been thinking about history since attending a seminar Monday on the quality of history instruction.
There are lots of ways to make history real to kids. It can be done using something as simple as a $10 bill.
For me, it was the study of World War II that really stirred a love for history. Any kid who has ever enjoyed a Star Wars film or the Lord of the Rings books can appreciate the WWII story — Heroes vs. villains, the forces of evil vs. the forces for good locked in a battle to save the world and preserve freedom.
But a lot of it had to do with the inspired teachers I had, including the story telling English teacher and WWII vet Mr. Doherty. (You can read about Mr. Doherty here, here and here)
If PBS and the History Channel can figure out a way to make history relevant and not boring, it seems to me teachers with passion for the subject can do the same.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: My Favorite Posts, Teaching and Learning
Comments
By susan
October 13, 2005 10:49 AM | Link to this
One time while visiting the Marine Corps Memorial in Arlington, a couple asked if I would take their picture. We chatted afterward and I noted that he was wearing Force Recon Marine Corps jacket. He commented on my knowledge of the Marine Corps and I shared with him that my son had just graduated from OCS at Quantico. He asked if anyone else in our family was a member and I said that my husband was an Air Force vet but that he used to tease my son that if he ever ran into any Marines that had been at Khe Sanh whose lives were saved by his directing the pinpoint bombing that broke the seige, he should tell them it was no problem. The man stopped me and said “I was at Khe Sanh.” I felt chills go up my spine and, as my husband joined us, it was like watching old friends at a reunion. That gentleman, who turned out to be a Chief of Patrol for the NYPD, and his wife are still friends of mine. It’s a small world.By Karen
October 13, 2005 7:00 AM | Link to this
I printed this story for my son to read. He loves history and the History Channel. I always loved history as a student. I had some wonderful teachers in junior high and high school who were great story tellers.