Given the increased access to information in the last twenty years, it is shocking to see that social studies taught in the same way as they were taught thirty years ago. Walk down most hallways during the school day, and you will see the glazed over eyes of students that have to listen to facts that will never obtain any type of relevancy for them. This is not to say that lecture does not have it's place, but we really need to involve students in history. The easiest way to accomplish this is through the outlets students already use to show interest in things. Media such as books, movies, and art should be incorporated on a much more frequent basis to help students associate with the past. Textbooks simply cannot compete with the excitement
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In Kathyn Fuller's article Lessons From the Screen; Bernard Moitt who teaches at Virginia Commonwealth University says,”I can lecture about traders and the items they sold like gold and salt. But when they see the images of lines of camels, and the blocks of salt tied on each animal's back, it creates a whole different impact for them” (Fuller 3). Vivid pictures increase our mind's natural ability to remember. Not only will students remember, but they will also have a deeper understanding as to the details that were involved in everyday tasks of the past. Pupils will understand the inconvenience of getting water at the river, and the back breaking work of bringing the buckets up the muddy bank in a dress down to their …show more content…
Given that all things written in a historical fiction are not true, we are teaching youth to pick out facts and have a response to them. This is a critical skill needed for school and in life. Quoted from an interview with an John O'Connor, who wrote Teaching History with Film and Television, Fuller rewrites, “ In addition to helping communicate subtle aspects of historical subject matter, the structuring of a critical analysis of visual materials within the context of historical methodology helps teach students the basic elements of historical thinking, gives them firsthand experience in the process, and aids them in dealing more intelligently with the kinds of media they will face outside of school” (Fuller 5).These are the kind of thinkers that society needs to lead the
In Kathyn Fuller's article Lessons From the Screen; Bernard Moitt who teaches at Virginia Commonwealth University says,”I can lecture about traders and the items they sold like gold and salt. But when they see the images of lines of camels, and the blocks of salt tied on each animal's back, it creates a whole different impact for them” (Fuller 3). Vivid pictures increase our mind's natural ability to remember. Not only will students remember, but they will also have a deeper understanding as to the details that were involved in everyday tasks of the past. Pupils will understand the inconvenience of getting water at the river, and the back breaking work of bringing the buckets up the muddy bank in a dress down to their …show more content…
Given that all things written in a historical fiction are not true, we are teaching youth to pick out facts and have a response to them. This is a critical skill needed for school and in life. Quoted from an interview with an John O'Connor, who wrote Teaching History with Film and Television, Fuller rewrites, “ In addition to helping communicate subtle aspects of historical subject matter, the structuring of a critical analysis of visual materials within the context of historical methodology helps teach students the basic elements of historical thinking, gives them firsthand experience in the process, and aids them in dealing more intelligently with the kinds of media they will face outside of school” (Fuller 5).These are the kind of thinkers that society needs to lead the