Story as history; history as story

I just got back from a day visiting social studies teachers in public school classrooms scattered across a city.  It’s part of my role as a consulting content coach in a federal “Teaching American History” grant initiative.

We chatted about many things, but one point of common ground was constant.  Kids of all ages respond to stories.  They love drama and characters and plot.  A well-executed story at the start of a class can draw students in and hold them long enough to move toward some historical understanding.

Today I found a blog post on this theme of history as story that really says the same thing in the guise of a book review.

I know as well as any trained historian that history is an orderly interpretation and analysis of the past, an argument based on a thesis.

And yet.

When I see fifth, eighth and tenth-graders held engaged as a storyteller/social studies teacher spins a vignette based solidly on historical fact, I marvel at the power of story as a vehicle for creating passion for and understanding of the past.

Judging from my years in college and university classrooms, it works for young adults – and more mature evening students – as well.

Kathy Carter
Managing Editor, JNCAH
Deep River Press