Chapter 1: How to Get Started
To get started, you must introduce the Living History Program to the school administration, parents, and ultimately to the students, but first, you must have already mastered the basic elements of the program. This means learning all you can about the period which is to be the focus of your efforts.
First, learn the history of the period (s) you want to replicate in your program. Because this is not a program to promote war or about its history, you will want to learn about how the people in your time period lived to include their most mundane activities and mode of living.
Example: You want your students to “live” in the time of the American Revolutionary War. You will want to be knowledgeable about the military aspects of the period, such as how to load and fire a musket or throw a tomahawk. But you must know about the clothes people, such as farmers, shopkeepers, and homemakers wore. Among the other aspects of life you need to know about are the people’s occupations, their education, their home life, their entertainment, and their challenges. To “sell” your program, you may need to de-emphasize the military and concentrate on the “civilian” life. There is copious literature available, and the Internet should not be overlooked as a source of information. (See ANNEX A for examples of additional sources of information.)
Second, it is recommended that you participate in Living History seminars and field programs in which you can immerse yourself and “know” what it was like to live in that time period by actually taking part in programs which allow you to experience such a thing as the discomfort of sleeping on the ground that a Continental soldier in the American Revolutionary War would have experienced.
Example: You want your students to experience what it was like to be a volunteer who enlisted in a Confederate regiment in 1862. The Living History Education Foundation conducts weekend and longer programs which challenge you to face the same perils as a Confederate or Union soldier would have in the American Civil War. As a teacher you can also earn credits towards an advanced degree or a higher pay step in your state’s education system where additional hours of study are so awarded.
Third, assemble material for making presentations to those individuals you need to convince about the efficacy of a Living History Program in your school. Here it is important to “target” your audience with reading material appropriate to the group you will address.
Example: You want your program to encompass the time of the American Revolutionary War in the upcoming school year. Gather promotional literature about the period, which you can give to your audience. The Living History Education Foundation, for example, produces brochures which explain an American Revolutionary War program which is appropriate for an adult audience. On the other hand, to address students, use the film Private Yankee Doodle.
Example: You will have to convince fellow teachers to join you if your school uses the “teaching team” approach. You will want to view the film The Truth About Teachers hosted by Whoopi Goldberg and produced by Pyramid Film and Video at 2801 Colorado Avenue, Santa Monica, California 91404.
Fourth, now that you have done your homework, you want to plan out your Living History Program for the year. Having participated in Living History Programs designed for teachers, you have made contacts with other teachers who have either started their own programs or are planning to. Obtain copies of plans of their programs, and ask to use portions that would be applicable to what you want to do. Also, contact the Living History Education Foundation for advice on writing a program plan.
Example: You plan to introduce a program dealing with the American Civil War period. Having attended one or more three-day Living History teacher programs, you have made contact with a couple of teachers in nearby towns who planned and executed a Civil War program. In talking to them you learn about their experiences in getting the program going. They share with you their plans and point out to you what did, and did not, work.
Fifth, introduce your plan to conduct a Living History Program to your school administrators. You will encounter doubts among your fellow teachers and administrators as to whether or not such a program is feasible in your school. Indeed, you will most probably have had doubts yourself about the program and may want to start small. Your prior preparation as noted in the steps above, however, should make it easier to “sell” your proposed program.
Example: You want to introduce your program to the school administrators who have supported your proposals in the past. Having drawn up a comprehensive but simple plan, you sound out the principal about his or her interest in allowing you to conduct a Living History Program in the school. Once you have the principal’s attention, you present him or her with your plan and offer to answer any questions that might arise. The principal is tentative about your proposal but agrees to consider it. Your enthusiasm about the plan will be key to the principal’s approval.
Example: Your principal is very reluctant to hear your proposal, in spite of the amount of prior preparation you have made to explain your program. He finds it too “militaristic” and that parents will complain that it promotes war. You need to be prepared for this argument. One of the best ways is to stress what Mr. Thomas says about instilling a sense of responsibility in the students. At the same time, you can discuss Mrs. Ruesink’s experience in developing her own self-esteem as a student. You should couch your discussion with the principal in terms of the overall historical experience in which military aspects play a subordinate role.
Example: You want to convince the school authorities to agree to a Living History
Program, but you are skeptical about it being approved. You are a member of a teaching team.
Before you address the principal or assistant principal, you make an informed presentation to your team members. They like the idea of such a program and agree to support you. Now with allies you ask the school authorities if you might present the program for their approval and support.
Sixth, having won approval of the school principal, you will now want to build interest and enthusiasm within the rest of the school hierarchy for the program. This means not only the teachers on your team, but other staff members, to include the janitorial, secretarial, and kitchen staff. You will want to find ways of incorporating them into the program so that it is as broad based as possible.
Example: In the program’s disciplinary system, merits are awarded to student participants for certain acts which contribute to the school’s proper maintenance. A student participant assists the janitorial staff by picking up trash in the school parking lot. The janitor is then entitled to recommend that student for a “school merit.” The janitor then becomes part of the team.
Example: A student spills food and liquid on the floor in the dining area. Instead of someone from the kitchen staff cleaning up the mess, a student participant volunteers to do the chore. He or she is recognized for doing the clean up by a member of the kitchen staff who recommends the student for a school merit. Again the individual on the kitchen staff becomes part of your Living History team.
Example: A student participant is required to speak to the principal about a disciplinary matter. While waiting for the principal in his secretary’s office, the student becomes unruly and disrespectful to another person also waiting to see the principal. The principal’s secretary, who knows about the merit/demerit system, warns the offending student that she can recommend him for a school demerit. Besides discouraging the student’s behavior, the threat of a demerit - an undesirable bad mark - gives the secretary the ability to have a direct influence on the offending student and brings the secretary on to the team.
Seventh, while the school authorities and staff are now backing your Living History Program, it is important that you get the students’ parents directly involved. You will be counting on their support as volunteers for several activities, but you will also need to have their approval for their children to participate.
During your “Meet the Teachers Night” at the beginning of the school, year you introduce your program to the parents. You invite them to form a Continental Congress (for the Revolutionary War) or a Parliament (for the British in the French and Indian War, the American Revolutionary War, and the War of 1812) or a Republic and Confederate Congress (for the Civil War).
Example: You have prepared information about the Living History Program which is directed at the children’s parents. It emphasizes building an appreciation for the history of the period, developing a sense of responsibility, and providing a means for enhancing the self esteem of students. This information is mailed to the parents by you to ensure they receive it.
Example: You have developed information about the program and had a brochure and letter reproduced to explain it. You give your students the information and tell them to take it home to their parents or guardians. Several students either forget to take the information home or misplace it. The students on returning home, however, enthusiastically tell their parents that they are going “to play soldier” at school. The surprised parents immediately complain to the principal that they do not want their children exposed to guns, war, and militarism in school. Had you sent the parents the necessary information explaining the program before the students returned home you would have obviated the difficulties engendered by antagonizing the parents and jeopardizing your program.
Example: Several parents who have participated in Living History Programs elsewhere or who have had children participate in another school’s program, contact you about helping with your program. You immediately follow up on their offers by incorporating their interest into your plan and enlisting their help in encouraging students to participate in your program.
Example: Your Living History Program replicates the War of 1812. At the “Meet the
Teachers Night,” you invite the parents of students representing the British to form a Parliament and those whose students are Americans to form a House of Representatives. You make a list of those parents who are interested in actively supporting the program and are willing to contribute time and effort to the program.
The final, or really the very first, step is to have the students vote on whether or not they want to participate in a Living History Program. The interest you have instilled in the administrative staff, teachers, and parents for such a program should now be used to propel the program forward. You can exploit their enthusiasm and pass it along to the student body. A vote by secret ballot is recommended.
First, learn the history of the period (s) you want to replicate in your program. Because this is not a program to promote war or about its history, you will want to learn about how the people in your time period lived to include their most mundane activities and mode of living.
Example: You want your students to “live” in the time of the American Revolutionary War. You will want to be knowledgeable about the military aspects of the period, such as how to load and fire a musket or throw a tomahawk. But you must know about the clothes people, such as farmers, shopkeepers, and homemakers wore. Among the other aspects of life you need to know about are the people’s occupations, their education, their home life, their entertainment, and their challenges. To “sell” your program, you may need to de-emphasize the military and concentrate on the “civilian” life. There is copious literature available, and the Internet should not be overlooked as a source of information. (See ANNEX A for examples of additional sources of information.)
Second, it is recommended that you participate in Living History seminars and field programs in which you can immerse yourself and “know” what it was like to live in that time period by actually taking part in programs which allow you to experience such a thing as the discomfort of sleeping on the ground that a Continental soldier in the American Revolutionary War would have experienced.
Example: You want your students to experience what it was like to be a volunteer who enlisted in a Confederate regiment in 1862. The Living History Education Foundation conducts weekend and longer programs which challenge you to face the same perils as a Confederate or Union soldier would have in the American Civil War. As a teacher you can also earn credits towards an advanced degree or a higher pay step in your state’s education system where additional hours of study are so awarded.
Third, assemble material for making presentations to those individuals you need to convince about the efficacy of a Living History Program in your school. Here it is important to “target” your audience with reading material appropriate to the group you will address.
Example: You want your program to encompass the time of the American Revolutionary War in the upcoming school year. Gather promotional literature about the period, which you can give to your audience. The Living History Education Foundation, for example, produces brochures which explain an American Revolutionary War program which is appropriate for an adult audience. On the other hand, to address students, use the film Private Yankee Doodle.
Example: You will have to convince fellow teachers to join you if your school uses the “teaching team” approach. You will want to view the film The Truth About Teachers hosted by Whoopi Goldberg and produced by Pyramid Film and Video at 2801 Colorado Avenue, Santa Monica, California 91404.
Fourth, now that you have done your homework, you want to plan out your Living History Program for the year. Having participated in Living History Programs designed for teachers, you have made contacts with other teachers who have either started their own programs or are planning to. Obtain copies of plans of their programs, and ask to use portions that would be applicable to what you want to do. Also, contact the Living History Education Foundation for advice on writing a program plan.
Example: You plan to introduce a program dealing with the American Civil War period. Having attended one or more three-day Living History teacher programs, you have made contact with a couple of teachers in nearby towns who planned and executed a Civil War program. In talking to them you learn about their experiences in getting the program going. They share with you their plans and point out to you what did, and did not, work.
Fifth, introduce your plan to conduct a Living History Program to your school administrators. You will encounter doubts among your fellow teachers and administrators as to whether or not such a program is feasible in your school. Indeed, you will most probably have had doubts yourself about the program and may want to start small. Your prior preparation as noted in the steps above, however, should make it easier to “sell” your proposed program.
Example: You want to introduce your program to the school administrators who have supported your proposals in the past. Having drawn up a comprehensive but simple plan, you sound out the principal about his or her interest in allowing you to conduct a Living History Program in the school. Once you have the principal’s attention, you present him or her with your plan and offer to answer any questions that might arise. The principal is tentative about your proposal but agrees to consider it. Your enthusiasm about the plan will be key to the principal’s approval.
Example: Your principal is very reluctant to hear your proposal, in spite of the amount of prior preparation you have made to explain your program. He finds it too “militaristic” and that parents will complain that it promotes war. You need to be prepared for this argument. One of the best ways is to stress what Mr. Thomas says about instilling a sense of responsibility in the students. At the same time, you can discuss Mrs. Ruesink’s experience in developing her own self-esteem as a student. You should couch your discussion with the principal in terms of the overall historical experience in which military aspects play a subordinate role.
Example: You want to convince the school authorities to agree to a Living History
Program, but you are skeptical about it being approved. You are a member of a teaching team.
Before you address the principal or assistant principal, you make an informed presentation to your team members. They like the idea of such a program and agree to support you. Now with allies you ask the school authorities if you might present the program for their approval and support.
Sixth, having won approval of the school principal, you will now want to build interest and enthusiasm within the rest of the school hierarchy for the program. This means not only the teachers on your team, but other staff members, to include the janitorial, secretarial, and kitchen staff. You will want to find ways of incorporating them into the program so that it is as broad based as possible.
Example: In the program’s disciplinary system, merits are awarded to student participants for certain acts which contribute to the school’s proper maintenance. A student participant assists the janitorial staff by picking up trash in the school parking lot. The janitor is then entitled to recommend that student for a “school merit.” The janitor then becomes part of the team.
Example: A student spills food and liquid on the floor in the dining area. Instead of someone from the kitchen staff cleaning up the mess, a student participant volunteers to do the chore. He or she is recognized for doing the clean up by a member of the kitchen staff who recommends the student for a school merit. Again the individual on the kitchen staff becomes part of your Living History team.
Example: A student participant is required to speak to the principal about a disciplinary matter. While waiting for the principal in his secretary’s office, the student becomes unruly and disrespectful to another person also waiting to see the principal. The principal’s secretary, who knows about the merit/demerit system, warns the offending student that she can recommend him for a school demerit. Besides discouraging the student’s behavior, the threat of a demerit - an undesirable bad mark - gives the secretary the ability to have a direct influence on the offending student and brings the secretary on to the team.
Seventh, while the school authorities and staff are now backing your Living History Program, it is important that you get the students’ parents directly involved. You will be counting on their support as volunteers for several activities, but you will also need to have their approval for their children to participate.
During your “Meet the Teachers Night” at the beginning of the school, year you introduce your program to the parents. You invite them to form a Continental Congress (for the Revolutionary War) or a Parliament (for the British in the French and Indian War, the American Revolutionary War, and the War of 1812) or a Republic and Confederate Congress (for the Civil War).
Example: You have prepared information about the Living History Program which is directed at the children’s parents. It emphasizes building an appreciation for the history of the period, developing a sense of responsibility, and providing a means for enhancing the self esteem of students. This information is mailed to the parents by you to ensure they receive it.
Example: You have developed information about the program and had a brochure and letter reproduced to explain it. You give your students the information and tell them to take it home to their parents or guardians. Several students either forget to take the information home or misplace it. The students on returning home, however, enthusiastically tell their parents that they are going “to play soldier” at school. The surprised parents immediately complain to the principal that they do not want their children exposed to guns, war, and militarism in school. Had you sent the parents the necessary information explaining the program before the students returned home you would have obviated the difficulties engendered by antagonizing the parents and jeopardizing your program.
Example: Several parents who have participated in Living History Programs elsewhere or who have had children participate in another school’s program, contact you about helping with your program. You immediately follow up on their offers by incorporating their interest into your plan and enlisting their help in encouraging students to participate in your program.
Example: Your Living History Program replicates the War of 1812. At the “Meet the
Teachers Night,” you invite the parents of students representing the British to form a Parliament and those whose students are Americans to form a House of Representatives. You make a list of those parents who are interested in actively supporting the program and are willing to contribute time and effort to the program.
The final, or really the very first, step is to have the students vote on whether or not they want to participate in a Living History Program. The interest you have instilled in the administrative staff, teachers, and parents for such a program should now be used to propel the program forward. You can exploit their enthusiasm and pass it along to the student body. A vote by secret ballot is recommended.