Student Sample Analysis and Reflection
The four letters above exemplify the range and variety of products I received from students. The students were given both the time and creative space to commit themselves to adopting a historical perspective. Of the above samples, all but one demonstrated a thoughtful level of historical empathy and imagination.The student that was unable to complete the task created a short, generic letter that did not incorporate the historical context and did not attempt to truly 'feel' the event from a defined historical perspective (see picture 5). While two other students also approached the assignment with this minimal effort, all of my other students really thrived in imaginative space were given to work with.
Of the above samples, the four students that were successful expressed their empathetic and imaginative skills in vastly different ways. The first letter (picture 1) emphasized the tragic, poetic nature of the great war. From the first line of the letter the audience can observe how Bea captured the feelings of a forlorn soldier longing for the comforts of home. "The bitter sweet scent of the general's coffee intrigues me into an amiable abyss of memories". This almost proust-like line captured my interest immediately. Bea came to class late but still had the opportunity to create an emotionally expressive letter. This activity may have given her the chance to demonstrate her emotional and intrapersonal intelligence. I do not know if she would have been able to express these emotions if it had not been a quiet writing activity. It was a safe space where she knew others did not have the opportunity to judge her.
The second letter (picture 2) used historical perspective to tackle larger philosophical themes. I would generally describe my student, Ryan, as a thoughtful but laconic writer. In great contrast to Bea, Ryan does not use descriptive or highly emotional words in his writing. However, his work in this letter, while still sparse, was both empathetic and thoughtful. He was able to address an individual person and situation yet still emphasize greater themes. "War is nothing like we imagined. We were fools to think fighting in a war was patriotic...". While his letter is shorter then others', every word he used was meaningful and essential to his greater message.
The third letter (picture 3 and 4) highlighted interpersonal connections between historical characters. Many of my students approached this assignment in a similar way to Lucy. They truly enjoyed creating the smaller details of their historical character's life. I encouraged this detail because such an approach has the potential to humanize historical characters that students may not have traditionally connected to. A majority of my students were not of European decent. Yet, like Lucy they really attempted to understand and imagine what some of these European men and women of WW1 experienced.
The fifth letter (picture 6 and 7) was once again steeped in detail. While others created personal details, Mathew focused on the historical facts we read about and researched in class. Ultimately, He transformed historical facts to fit a personal context. I do not know which approach is most effective. While Lucy focused on creating a character then incorporating historical detail, Mathew focused on creating the historical context and then creating a character to fit the context. While the former more effectively practiced historical empathy, the latter effectively practiced historical imagination (really confining his role to a historical context).
Of the above samples, the four students that were successful expressed their empathetic and imaginative skills in vastly different ways. The first letter (picture 1) emphasized the tragic, poetic nature of the great war. From the first line of the letter the audience can observe how Bea captured the feelings of a forlorn soldier longing for the comforts of home. "The bitter sweet scent of the general's coffee intrigues me into an amiable abyss of memories". This almost proust-like line captured my interest immediately. Bea came to class late but still had the opportunity to create an emotionally expressive letter. This activity may have given her the chance to demonstrate her emotional and intrapersonal intelligence. I do not know if she would have been able to express these emotions if it had not been a quiet writing activity. It was a safe space where she knew others did not have the opportunity to judge her.
The second letter (picture 2) used historical perspective to tackle larger philosophical themes. I would generally describe my student, Ryan, as a thoughtful but laconic writer. In great contrast to Bea, Ryan does not use descriptive or highly emotional words in his writing. However, his work in this letter, while still sparse, was both empathetic and thoughtful. He was able to address an individual person and situation yet still emphasize greater themes. "War is nothing like we imagined. We were fools to think fighting in a war was patriotic...". While his letter is shorter then others', every word he used was meaningful and essential to his greater message.
The third letter (picture 3 and 4) highlighted interpersonal connections between historical characters. Many of my students approached this assignment in a similar way to Lucy. They truly enjoyed creating the smaller details of their historical character's life. I encouraged this detail because such an approach has the potential to humanize historical characters that students may not have traditionally connected to. A majority of my students were not of European decent. Yet, like Lucy they really attempted to understand and imagine what some of these European men and women of WW1 experienced.
The fifth letter (picture 6 and 7) was once again steeped in detail. While others created personal details, Mathew focused on the historical facts we read about and researched in class. Ultimately, He transformed historical facts to fit a personal context. I do not know which approach is most effective. While Lucy focused on creating a character then incorporating historical detail, Mathew focused on creating the historical context and then creating a character to fit the context. While the former more effectively practiced historical empathy, the latter effectively practiced historical imagination (really confining his role to a historical context).