If you had a really amazing history teacher in junior high or high school...

[PeterPan]

What was it like? What did they do? :)

[ByGrace3]

My history teacher in high school prepared me more for college and higher education than any other teacher. He engaged us in what we were studying. Tests and evaluations gaged our deep understanding of the material and were learning experiences themselves. Lots of essays, thinking questions. I came out of his classes feeling like I had engaged, interacted, discussed, and processed the material instead of memorizing or reading and reciting.

 

Great question btw, I am eager to read responses...

[Χά�ων]

She presented things in such a way that we were forced to think outside the box and examine our perceptions of what is "fair" and how we interact in society. I still remember several lessons in vivid detail and it had a profound impact on my life and world view.

[Beth S]

Sadly, I can't remember WHAT my high school Western Civ teacher taught, but how he taught it. He was truly excited about the various stories of history. He moved around a lot in front of the classroom and though we were taking notes, he didn't seem like he was just reading his notes.

 

I remember one essay assignment was to write about the person we felt most influenced history, and he went on to explain that you could make a passionate response for a WIDE variety of people. I remember being surprised at his suggestion of Genghis Khan. :) And I can't remember who I chose.

 

My dh has fond memories of his college Western Civ teacher, who was a legend on campus for connecting the dots, explaining the Big Picture.

 

It has been my goal to make homeschool history interesting! I'm looking forward to following this thread.

[Giraffe]

What I remember is that he didn't just tell us "what", he told us "why". Or rather, we talked about why - and we made connections between events rather than studying them in isolation. He was animated, made eye contact, used his hands. He was also "cool" - didn't treat us as kids but engaged us as young adults. That really helped. He offered to tutor us early in the morning, before school, for the AP exam. I can't remember how many of us were there, but it was a roomful of us - teenagers voluntarily going to an early morning tutoring session on American History every morning before school. Was it fun? Not really, but he acknowledged it wasn't and told us sometimes you have to buckle down and do the hard work to get the reward.

 

I can't remember his name, but I can picture him to this day - a jovial, round, bearded, bespectacled guy. His enthusiasm was contagious.

[rgrin]

He made it a story. Who'd have thought hiSTORY was an actual story with people living their lives and trying to manage the best they could under their circumstances!? We didn't focus on random dates, places, and names. We learned about the people and how they interacted and how their actions caused each of these "events" and how the events affected them. Once it was a story, I cared about what happened, what their names were, and when it took place. Until he brought the story out, history was my dreaded subject every year.

 

He encouraged us to read (on our own time) historical fiction that took place in the times we were studying. I had never delved into that genre, but the French monarchy became much more interesting after reading "The Three Musketeers". He divided the class into groups as we went through the book, and gave points out according to what happened to each group as we read our text. At the beginning of each class, he gave you a chance to change groups before going on, and if you had read ahead in the book, you knew when it was time to switch out of the "bourgeoisie" and into the "working class" group to ensure you got the most points. (The points meant nothing, by the way, other than bragging rights!)

[Wheres Toto]

I had a Military History teacher who was great. He made history interesting - he made it about the stories and the people. He also had a collection of antique uniforms, weapons, and gear that he used to bring in for different time periods. I also remember him treating us like people, not like little kids, which helped.

[MinivanMom]

I had a wonderful Honors World History teacher my sophomore year. She simply required more. We were expected to read (and outline) long chapters every night, so that we were prepared for class. Since we were prepared, she didn't have to waste time lecturing us or teaching us facts that we could easily read on our own. We were free to really discuss and delve into history instead. She did a really great job of leading discussions, so that we came to see the bigger picture on our own. She pushed us to consider the moral component of events. She exposed us to original documents and first-hand sources. We were required to do rigorous (correctly documented) research papers.

 

On one occasion, she called me up to her desk and raked me over the coals for not participating in class. I was a very good student, but I was shy and never contributed to discussions. She told me flat out, "You are the best student in this class, so there is no excuse for you to not participate in these discussions. You have an obligation to contribute to the intellectual life of this classroom." I was stunned, but I started raising my hand and participating for the first time in school. It changed how I interacted in every other class I have attended since that time. She was that kind of teacher. Where ever you were, she was going to push you just a little bit further.

[Hunter]

What I'm going to say is going to be quite different than what others say. What else is new, right? :lol:

 

The first semester of 9th grade we had a civics teacher that lectured to us like we were college students. We had NO idea how to handle that. He let us do the tests open book and graded us on a bell curve, and we were all still failing. There was one gifted students who got 80's on his tests that kept the bell from being anywhere successful for most of us.

 

We got a new teacher for the next semester when we switched to Ancient History or World History or whatever it was. We were all so demoralized and scared that the thing we needed most was to be successful. This teacher wrote outlines on an overhead projector and talked to us as we copied the outlines. The tests were pretty much regurgitating back the outlines. We ALL regurgitated correctly and we all got A's. As the semester went on, we saw ourselves as successes instead of failures. We wanted to go to class, and we wanted to copy her outlines and listen to her talk. Our parents stopped threatening us, and our home lives improved.

 

I've never forgotten that teacher and lately have been following her example a bit and preparing notes for students to copy.

 

They say the thing we remember most about a person is how WE felt when we were around them, and not so much about what they said and did. I only remember what she did because of how she made me feel about MYSELF.

[Karen in CO]

I had a couple of amazing history teachers in high school and some amazing one in college too. What they did best was LOVE history. They knew more than was in the book and brought history to life through their own love and appreciation for it. They helped us to connect the dots and make a large, coherent story of history. They asked us questions that led us to make connections. They gave us opportunities to form, defend and rededine our understanding of history and humanity itself.

[jenangelcat]

Our ancient civilizations teacher was awesome. She had spent a lot of time travelling to all the places we learned about and interacting with the local communities. The result was that her lessons weren't just dry recaps from history books.

[Julie Smith]

What if your teacher was just amazingly odd. Can I still answer? Please?

 

Once he squatted on his desk well holding a metre stick. He hushed us if we made any noise. After about a minute he made a stabbing motion and pretended he 'caught' something. The then started beating his chest and making odd noises well going up and down between the aisles of desks.

 

I can't remember what we were suppose to be learning. But I do know his idea of how an inuit hunted seals with a spear.

 

He also once pretended to cut his desk in half with a giant chainsaw that needed two people to operate it.

 

http://www.google.ca...29,r:5,s:0,i:95

 

There was also the time he hooted and howled like a chimp well throwing around mittens and other similar soft things. I have no idea what part of history he was showing us.

[Tess in the Burbs]

I had a Jr high(8th grade) teacher that was passionate about being patriotic. We pledged allegiance in the class daily. If you were at a school event with the pledge you better say it and have your hand on your heart or she would dock points from your grade! She just loved the opportunity we as Americans have, and she wanted us to have the same enthusiasm.

 

In high school I had a great Economics/Civics teacher. We did 'jeopardy' quizes before big tests. He had made his own system, but you can buy them now. We also had a mock courtroom later in the year that was really fun/educational. He too was very passionate about knowing about the economy and it affects you as an individual.

 

I don't remember any other history classes so those are the only ones who stand out lol.

 

They were passionate about the subject and it made the class enjoyable.

[elegantlion]

My high school history teacher was awesome. He was legendary because he kept a battle axe in his classroom and beat on his wooden desk with it. He used a lot of movies and games to teach history, along with very passionate discussion. It's been a very long time ago, but I vaguely remember some sort of chariot race game. I vividly remember watching a ton of movies on WWII. I think we watched every one made from 1950 to 1980.

 

He also related to kids very well. He talked to us like people, not children.

 

I still have the long report I did on knights when I was in his class. This was way before computers and I did some awesome drawings for extra credit.

[Faithr]

My World Cultures teacher in Freshman year of high school was a Cuban priest who had escaped from Castro. He was a bundle of energy and full of fun. If the kids got out of hand he'd banish them to Siberia (the corner). He was the first person to introduce me to a timeline. The class had a big project creating a time line that went completely around the room. It was incredibly fun and gave me a love for history. I have always had a soft spot for him. He passed away not too long ago and I mourned for him even though I hadn't seen him in decades. I had a really great Civics teacher who was cut from the same cloth. In each class he would award the finuke (sp?) bean award to the kid who asked the most penetrating question or made the most insightful comment. When he was explaining the constitution we designed our own government and then ran it by having to introduce and pass bills. All of this very silly. I remember someone kidnapped another teachers 'pet rock' and this guy explained the court system by pretending they had caught the kidnappers and had prosecuted them. We took appeals all the way to the Supreme Court. So I guess I liked my teachers with lots of creativity and humor.

[PeterPan]

Wow, these are some amazing stories ladies!! Now I'm trying to think of how a non-history-loving homeschool mom can carry this over and create such an effect...

[TCB]

My high school history teacher was one of my favorite teachers ever! He would act out the whole thing at the front of the class - it was fantastic. We studied the French

Revolution and he made it really interesting. The other thing that made him a good teacher was that he really cared about the kids. If someone from his home room was playing truant he would go out to their house and pick them up himself. This was in the late 70s - probably not allowed to do that now. He wrote pages and pages of notes in his terrible hand writing that we were supposed to copy out in our notebooks - that part wasn't so great.

[Hedgehogs4]

I had the same teacher for u.s. history in both jr. high and high school, and it was the stories he told that made it great. He made us "feel" history in a personal way. I couldn't wait for his class every day. He also called us Mr. and Miss (whatever last name) and I felt respected by him. He graded fairly and rewarded hard work. His exams were hard, but he always reviewed in fun ways with games and competitions--you still had to study, but no one really had an excuse for "bombing" a test.

[elegantlion]

Wow, these are some amazing stories ladies!! Now I'm trying to think of how a non-history-loving homeschool mom can carry this over and create such an effect...

 

The biggest thing that has helped me is having an understanding of history and why something is important. The time periods my ds is enthused about are the ones in which I understand or know less.

 

Also finding passionate teachers to help is good. This year we've used Great Courses lectures from Rufus Fears, Bob Brier, and Elizabeth Vandiver. Ds really likes how Fears lectures, it's like telling a story. The others have all held his interest (for a child with self-proclaimed non interest in history)

[Ewe Mama]

My 10th grade American History teacher was great. He got so excited during his retelling of the Battle of Breed's Hill that he jumped up on a desk to demonstrate the tactical maneuvers. History teachers need to be passionate with a great sense of humor.

[Hunter]

What if your teacher was just amazingly odd. Can I still answer? Please?

 

Once he squatted on his desk well holding a metre stick. He hushed us if we made any noise. After about a minute he made a stabbing motion and pretended he 'caught' something. The then started beating his chest and making odd noises well going up and down between the aisles of desks.

 

I can't remember what we were suppose to be learning. But I do know his idea of how an inuit hunted seals with a spear.

 

He also once pretended to cut his desk in half with a giant chainsaw that needed two people to operate it.

 

http://www.google.ca...29,r:5,s:0,i:95

 

There was also the time he hooted and howled like a chimp well throwing around mittens and other similar soft things. I have no idea what part of history he was showing us.

 

Most of my oddest and sickest teachers were history teachers. I think the principal must have thought history wasn't as important as the other subjects, so if we were not learning anything, it wasn't such a big deal. I don't know.

 

Sometimes mentally unstable math teachers were also given slack, as long as they were teaching math; there were not enough math teachers to go around.

[Hunter]

Wow, these are some amazing stories ladies!! Now I'm trying to think of how a non-history-loving homeschool mom can carry this over and create such an effect...

 

Be easy on yourself. Home is not a classroom. And a lot more technology and good books are available now than in the communities most of us grew up in.

[ErinE]

My best history teacher was in AP American History. She pulled the history out of the textbooks and required us to study the culture of the time. There weren't meaningless activities, like make a snack from the time period or sew a costume. Every unit had associated biographies, songs, literature/poetry, and contemporary criticisms that made the time period come alive. She was a bit Zinn in that she also had us study the "people's history." She had us study conflicts and disagreements from multiple viewpoints AND played devil's advocate for controversial positions.

 

The bulk of our work was short answer questions, longer essays, and two or three research papers. Loved that class!

[duckens]

They knew more than was in the book and brought history to life through their own love and appreciation for it. They helped us to connect the dots and make a large, coherent story of history.

:iagree:

 

Mr. King taught 10th grade World History to us. He is one of the few teachers my high school peers and I discuss (and with admiration!) when we have periodically met in the 20+ years since graduation.

 

---------------------------------------------------

He had a way of making history interesting. He would explain things in a way that was compelling, but also put the world into perspective.

 

Example:

Mr. King lined up all of the big players (monarchs) of WWI.

Then he explained that they were all first cousins. They were all grandkids of the Queen of England. :eek:

 

-------------------------------------------------------

 

He also taught us a healthy skepticism for what is taught in the stories of history.

 

Example:

We all know of the story of Helen, wife of Menelaus, who ran off with Paris to Troy. The result was the 10-year Trojan War, and that great story about the horse!

 

Then Mr. King explained about wealth and trade routes and property, and how the Trojan War did happen....but not over a woman. That would be a silly reason indeed to go to war!!! Wealth and conquest and control of trade routes makes a lot more sense as a motivation for war.

 

--------------------------------------------------

Because of how Mr. King framed history, we, as sophomores, BEGGED him to give us lectures. I don't remember that ever happening in any other classes, before or since. Who begs for a lecture?

 

He also had the great life motto of, "Live fast, die young, leave a good looking corpse!!!" (He was over 50, so he seemed ancient at the time for we teenagers!)

 

He was the teacher you want your kids to have: interesting and knowledgeable.

[PeterPan]

:iagree:

 

Mr. King taught 10th grade World History to us. He is one of the few teachers my high school peers and I discuss (and with admiration!) when we have periodically met in the 20+ years since graduation.

 

---------------------------------------------------

He had a way of making history interesting. He would explain things in a way that was compelling, but also put the world into perspective.

 

Example:

Mr. King lined up all of the big players (monarchs) of WWI.

Then he explained that they were all first cousins. They were all grandkids of the Queen of England. :eek:

 

-------------------------------------------------------

 

He also taught us a healthy skepticism for what is taught in the stories of history.

 

Example:

We all know of the story of Helen, wife of Menelaus, who ran off with Paris to Troy. The result was the 10-year Trojan War, and that great story about the horse!

 

Then Mr. King explained about wealth and trade routes and property, and how the Trojan War did happen....but not over a woman. That would be a silly reason indeed to go to war!!! Wealth and conquest and control of trade routes makes a lot more sense as a motivation for war.

 

--------------------------------------------------

Because of how Mr. King framed history, we, as sophomores, BEGGED him to give us lectures. I don't remember that ever happening in any other classes, before or since. Who begs for a lecture?

 

He also had the great life motto of, "Live fast, die young, leave a good looking corpse!!!" (He was over 50, so he seemed ancient at the time for we teenagers!)

 

He was the teacher you want your kids to have: interesting and knowledgeable.

 

Hahaha, that's a hoot! Now HOW am I supposed to pull that off? :D

[Pippen]

My daughter had one in ps junior high. She was genuinely interested in ancient civilizations herself and absolutely LOVED teaching it.

 

She pitched the book and taught with materials she put together from many resources.

 

Lecture was a small part of the class--many varied activities.

 

Each big unit concluded with an activity day, usually with lots of hands-on. Also brought in people from the community such as reenactors.

 

Took learning styles/interests into consideration. Instead of "Do a report on ___." students were given a page of options. The options might include a typical report but it also might included activities such as learning about a traditional food or musical instrument and recreate it.

[PeterPan]

My daughter had one in ps junior high. She was genuinely interested in ancient civilizations herself and absolutely LOVED teaching it.

 

She pitched the book and taught with materials she put together from many resources.

 

Lecture was a small part of the class--many varied activities.

 

Each big unit concluded with an activity day, usually with lots of hands-on. Also brought in people from the community such as reenactors.

 

Took learning styles/interests into consideration. Instead of "Do a report on ___." students were given a page of options. The options might include a typical report but it also might included activities such as learning about a traditional food or musical instrument and recreate it.

 

Now see this is more what I *assumed* was going to get in a thread like this. It has surprised me that the majority of the responders were actually enjoying it because it became more of a philosophical/viewpoint approach, that they were really thinking and wrangling with the history and being treated as READY to think.

[swellmomma]

You ladies had some amazing teachers. In Alberta we don't study history the way you all do, we do social studies right through grade 12. I don't really ever remember any of it, it is boring as heck. But we did have a teacher obsessed with the cuban missile crisis and was sure the world would have a ww3 with nukes and we would all be dead before social studies ever became important. It didn't matter what we were studying by the end of class we were back to the cuban missile crisis. Now keep in mind, I graduated high school in '95. The missile crisis was long over, but he didn't seem to know that. He also insisted that we grade each other's work with red pen only, and if you didn't have one he threw one at you from across the room while saying don't throw pens you can put out an eye. That is all I remember from 12 years of social studies teaching. No wonder I now teach history instead of Canadian social studies lol

[Alte Veste Academy]

Most of my oddest and sickest teachers were history teachers. I think the principal must have thought history wasn't as important as the other subjects, so if we were not learning anything, it wasn't such a big deal. I don't know.

 

:iagree: :lol:

 

My high school history teachers were the football coaches. Can you say ZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzz? :lol: Sadly, I never had a truly great history teacher. When I first began to self-educate for homeschooling, I was shocked by how much I enjoyed history! I never knew how much fun it could be. I absolutely love history. I like "teacher books" for helping me be a better facilitator in different subjects. For history, I have really enjoyed Social Studies That Sticks, Doing History, and Making History Mine, I also find the Differentiating Instruction books a wonderful source for creative assignments. DD and DS9 love the enrichment activities we do that come from this series.

 

I'm :bigear: for more stories.

[Pippen]

 

Now see this is more what I *assumed* was going to get in a thread like this. It has surprised me that the majority of the responders were actually enjoying it because it became more of a philosophical/viewpoint approach, that they were really thinking and wrangling with the history and being treated as READY to think.

 

 

They did do a lot of thinking and wrangling, but under an umbrella of very active learning.

 

And did I mention that she LOVED the topic? ;-)

[Alte Veste Academy]

Now see this is more what I *assumed* was going to get in a thread like this. It has surprised me that the majority of the responders were actually enjoying it because it became more of a philosophical/viewpoint approach, that they were really thinking and wrangling with the history and being treated as READY to think.

 

See, now, I think this (activities, projects, fun stuff) is great for elementary and on into junior high but then needs to morph into the philosophy and heavy thinking with truly extraordinary projects on the side. For now (and I'm looking forward into logic stage history next year) I try to offer fun activities that encourage deeper thinking. Instead of fun fluff, fun with substance.

[Lori D.]

Honestly, I remember nothing from my high school history or government classes. As teachers, the history teacher was very poor, the government teacher was fine. BUT...

 

What is still *burned* into my brain all these years later are their first hand accounts of WW2. The History teacher was at Pearl Harbor when it was attacked. The Government teacher was a colonel in the US army and helped liberate and then oversaw the administration of the Dachau death camp. I cannot tell you what an impression their personal stories had on me.

 

And combined with hearing the stories of the wonderful little German woman who was the cook at the restaurant I worked at as my first job as a teen... She was a teenager living in Germany during the war. I look back now and realize what a privilege to have been able to hear first-hand living history. That's what's truly amazing.

 

 

ETA: And that's what I'd suggest trying to add -- opportunities to speak with older folk who lived or worked in different countries and hear the history first hand.

[GWOB]

I had the very best high school history teacher! I loved him so much I took his classes for 3 of my 4 years in high school. I took freshman World Geography, junior American History, and senior Western Civ. with him. He had a PhD. in Latin American studies and actually taught school in Argentina. He threw out the syllabus and taught from his heart. His passion for history showed in every class he taught. He talked to us and made us think about history-not just the "whats" but the "whys". He probably had a bit of leeway with us as he only taught the "gifted" kids. His second job was teaching college history classes at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette. He treated us as thinking human beings and required much from every one of his students. I attribute my lasting love of history to Dr. Lanoue.

[Farrar]

I had two really memorable history teachers in high school and they had very different approaches.

 

My 10th grade world history teacher was a bit of a hippie. She was super cool and my friends and I sort of worshiped her. She was an extremely rigorous grader. Classes were very seminar based. We had to read, discuss, pick apart and write about an astounding amount of primary sources. Discussions in that class were excellent. We had intense projects and had to do lots of outside research all the time. One thing I will always remember was that something like a third of our final was that we were given a large blank paper and had to freehand draw and label EVERYTHING on a world map. She also took half off if you spelled something wrong. Yet she did all that and was still liked. That's a great teacher.

 

My 12th grade AP European History teacher was a bizarre character. He spoke German and... well, he was odd. Anyway, that class was basically us memorizing the textbook and goofing off. Every week, we had to read a chapter of the book and outline it in detail. Then he would give us a quiz with five questions. The questions were absurdly difficult. I remember he would ask things that were only mentioned in the captions of pictures, for example. And if there was a long German word, you could bet that would be on it. At the end of a unit (several chapters), he would give us a full AP exam but only about that one unit - multiple choice, DBQ and timed essay. But other than that, all we did was watch videos and do stupid skits and goof off in class. But I will, always, always remember taking that AP exam - my friend and I finished it, walked across campus and our friends were like, so, how did you do? My friend looked at me and said, "We got fives." And she was right. The AP exam was like a joke after that teacher's quizzes. A total joke. I remember him smirking at us after the exam when we were like, that was kinda easy, because he knew he'd drilled us to death on this stuff.

 

So, basically, my 10th grade teacher taught me to think about history and my 12th grade teacher drilled me to know enough about it to have something to think about.

[boscopup]

My AP US History teacher was very memorable. He had a real passion for the subject, and it came out in his lectures. He told us interesting side-stories that we wouldn't find in our textbooks. When discussing certain events during the exploration time, he would shout, "Manifest destiny!" so we'd remember why someone was doing what they did.

 

We did zero projects or hands-on things in high school history classes. It was all about the lecture by someone who is passionate about the subject. I cannot recreate that in my homeschool with me teaching. Sorry. I'm just not passionate about history.

 

My AP Government teacher was also an interesting critter, though I didn't care during the class and didn't read the book, so I wasn't well liked by him (my sister and brother had been favorite students of his, and then I come along and don't even try, so he was disappointed). One time he said that he was walking downtown, and someone asked him where the courthouse was. He pointed the opposite direction. He told the class that if you live in a town, you should know where the courthouse is. :lol: Not something I would have done, but it kept the class interesting. That was just the type of guy he was - one with very strong opinions.

[Donna]

I never liked history much in high school or middle school. Memorizing a bunch of names and dates...yuck!

 

Then I had a college professor in an elective American history class I took who really made me love history. The difference was he discussed the reasons behind the things that happened, what was going on in society during the times, what the people were reading and writing and thinking, and how differences in thinking caused things to happen. He really brought history alive and made it relevant for me. I have tried to teach history to my kids the same way.

[Pat in MI]

My 7th grade Social Studies teacher was the best. We participated in many activities that year like having an election where everyone in the 7th grade had a role to play in the election process. You were either the candidates, campaign manager, reporters, etc. We also acted out a court case, did buying / selling of cars. It seems like we had a few others that year. It was my best year for social studies.

 

Blessings,

Pat

[VeritasMama]

My history teacher in high school was amazing, but he wasn't flashy. He was also a football coach, but I went to a private school so even the coaches were excellent teachers. He wasn't loved by everyone, we didn't do any amazing projects or do hands on assignments. He simply stood at the front of the class and told the story of history. He was a great story teller, and he would add in a lot of really interesting less known stories from history that were really eye opening and gave you a new perspective. He was also very thorough, and he would often ask questions that forced us to make connections between what we were learning and the present day world. He was really great at illustrating how our current events have been shaped by the past, and every few weeks we would have a current events quiz for extra credit.

 

His tests were quite detailed. You really had to take good notes and study the text in detail to do well. It required a lot of memorization, which I appreciate now that I am older and still have a pretty decent chronology of history stored away in my brain. This memorization was seen as pretty dry and boring by many, but I enjoyed the challenge. The tests also included some interesting essay questions, where we were expected to expand on the meaning and significance of historical events and their influence on our present day world, which was challenging and fun as well (for me anyway).

 

My private school high school required 4 full years of world history, along with a year of a seperate American history course, so we were able to learn about world history from the ancients up through the 1980's quite thoroughly. I feel like this helped give me a great perspective to judge current events from, and I'm really grateful for it. It made me into a lifelong history buff.

[Pippen]

See, now, I think this (activities, projects, fun stuff) is great for elementary and on into junior high but then needs to morph into the philosophy and heavy thinking with truly extraordinary projects on the side. For now (and I'm looking forward into logic stage history next year) I try to offer fun activities that encourage deeper thinking. Instead of fun fluff, fun with substance.

 

 

 

Yeah, the teacher I mentioned was a 6th grade teacher.

[Photo Ninja]

The best history teacher was n junior high, and I had him for two years, for world history and again for US history. I lived in fear that he would get fired because he seldom used the textbook. He - gasp - had us read books. He made history alive by using real books and activities. We researched a lot and discussed even more. He asked questions that required thought to answer. We played games to illustrate historical events and why they happened, which deepened understanding. Instead of reading the text chapters about the middle ages and renaissance eras, we read books, then each chose a novel set in the time period to read and write essay about. We then had to make a costume to become a character from the book. We put on a renaissance faire for the school, wearing our costumes and talking to students about our characters, sold indulgences, etc. we earned enough money for our class to go to the Renaissance Faire for a day.

 

He was the teacher who showed me that history was interesting, and I have loved it ever since, even though my high school history teachers tried their best to make me hare history again. Because of his methodology, I have taught my dc with real books and not textbooks. My dc have benefitted from him, but he would never know.

[Corraleno]

Wow, these are some amazing stories ladies!! Now I'm trying to think of how a non-history-loving homeschool mom can carry this over and create such an effect...

 

 

Two words: Teaching Company. :D

 

Seriously — what most people are saying here is that the teachers who made the biggest impact were those who were not only knowledgeable but truly passionate about history, and who managed to transfer that passion to their students. I can thank Bob Brier, John Hale, Garret Fagan, John McWhorter, and bunch of other awesome professors for my DS's passion for ancient history & linguistics.

 

Jackie

[PeterPan]

 

They did do a lot of thinking and wrangling, but under an umbrella of very active learning.

 

And did I mention that she LOVED the topic? ;-)

See, now, I think this (activities, projects, fun stuff) is great for elementary and on into junior high but then needs to morph into the philosophy and heavy thinking with truly extraordinary projects on the side. For now (and I'm looking forward into logic stage history next year) I try to offer fun activities that encourage deeper thinking. Instead of fun fluff, fun with substance.

 

Yes, my dd is a doer and has always been very active in her enjoyment of history. It's not exactly history, but she just got done sewing dresses for herself and a friend to wear to The Hobbit. I've been try to find ways this can flesh out in high school that are, as you say, connecting with their increasing maturity and interest in the philosophical while still recognizing that some kids are DOERS. I found this link of plans for Dickens' A Christmas Carol http://eclassroom.110mb.com/Dickens/index.html that sort of merges that. I haven't tried it out on her yet, because we spent the entire week finishing the dresses, oy. And actually when I've TRIED to google and find high school teacher websites that have stuff like this, I've come up dry. I found this one because I was searching the specific topic. For lower grades I found stuff (like the amazing Mrs. Renz 4th grade site), but for the upper level I've been having trouble.

[PeterPan]

Honestly, I remember nothing from my high school history or government classes. As teachers, the history teacher was very poor, the government teacher was fine. BUT...

 

What is still *burned* into my brain all these years later are their first hand accounts of WW2. The History teacher was at Pearl Harbor when it was attacked. The Government teacher was a colonel in the US army and helped liberate and then oversaw the administration of the Dachau death camp. I cannot tell you what an impression their personal stories had on me.

 

And combined with hearing the stories of the wonderful little German woman who was the cook at the restaurant I worked at as my first job as a teen... She was a teenager living in Germany during the war. I look back now and realize what a privilege to have been able to hear first-hand living history. That's what's truly amazing.

 

 

ETA: And that's what I'd suggest trying to add -- opportunities to speak with older folk who lived or worked in different countries and hear the history first hand.

 

That's a fascinating suggestion, thanks! I've heard of people doing this. She's into an age/stage where she's finally ready.

[PeterPan]

I had the very best high school history teacher! I loved him so much I took his classes for 3 of my 4 years in high school. I took freshman World Geography, junior American History, and senior Western Civ. with him. He had a PhD. in Latin American studies and actually taught school in Argentina. He threw out the syllabus and taught from his heart. His passion for history showed in every class he taught. He talked to us and made us think about history-not just the "whats" but the "whys". He probably had a bit of leeway with us as he only taught the "gifted" kids. His second job was teaching college history classes at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette. He treated us as thinking human beings and required much from every one of his students. I attribute my lasting love of history to Dr. Lanoue.

 

So were there any particular things he had the kids do? If this was a gifted class, how did he handle it in a way that differentiated it from the regular classes?

[idnib]

I really enjoyed my AP History teacher. He made us do debates on all major topics, two people facing each other at podiums while the rest of the class watched. He would assign people to sides and we had to defend things vigorously, including lots of thing we didn't agree with. He had a knack for assigning people to something they would never have taken on their own, for example the most feminist girl in class was assigned to represent the side against women's right to vote!

[kalanamak]

We had a man who gave lectures about life in a castle, the progression of battles in the Civil War, and many other things. He should have been on Broadway. He was so funny, I remember exactly where he was standing when he talked about the grubby rushes laid about on the floors of castles. He liked to remove the Hollywood version of history.

 

He was also quite the boss. No monkey business in his class. He looked like a handsome version of Bewitched's first husband, slick black hair and all.

[PeterPan]

These are all amazing stories!

 

TC I have, not sure how it's going to fly.