A "Useful" Past

Greetings all! 

I will keep things short this week because I am in the throes of putting the final details on my yearly field trip to Civil War sites of historical significance around the Washington DC area. I've been doing this with my students now for a while, and the trip has evolved in interesting ways. Recently, I have been leaning more and more on historical memory and how the legacy of the war is still with us in many ways. Of course we tackle military topics on some very famous battlefields - but I especially like taking my students to places of remembrance - especially cemeteries. Monuments too, and the discussions surrounding how we might today interpret them always stands out in sharp relief. A topic that tends to come up frequently: how do individuals at any given time choose their points of reflection? Are they pulling from the past in ways that are useful in their present? And...do we do the same thing today? I think there are plenty of examples in the media of journalists, activists, politicians, and lay-people picking events from the past to support their understanding of the present. What is just fantastic is my students have the opportunity to discuss these things beyond the classroom - in places that carry great historical meaning. If you are a teacher and have the means to do so...I highly recommend taking your kids into the field. So for now, please stay tuned. Whenever I head out on one of these excursions I return with plenty to discuss...and I will, of course, keep you all in the loop. 

With compliments,

Keith