Dickinson College / Gilder Lehrman Institute

Old Courthouse

 

Excellent!  I was awed watching the “Old Courthouse”. The video capture the era and tension perfectly. The human elements were there to make it come alive. It spoke of a “national uproar” that took place at the time and the experience was magnified by adding quotes from 15 year old Dickinson student Montigue Conway.  This was very moving.

I was a 15 year old when another “national uproar” occurred, the Kent State shootings.  I was a high school sophomore at the time and remember being confused by what was going on.  My high school was literally three blocks from the University of Pittsburgh campus and I remember the demonstrations going on after the students were shot.  To compound matters, one of the students who was shot and died lived only a few miles away.

The video was very powerful as it added the human elements that are so often left out of historical events.  I believe it is our duty as educators to put a human touch on the history we teach, this video provides excellent examples.

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2 Comments

  1. tmyers

    I agree with this. Students would find this so interesting and personal. I want to become proficient myself in creating videos such as this and then assign it as a group project and just see what my 8th graders are capable of when given a challenge such as this. I bet they would surprise me.

  2. aforss

    Thanks for sharing about the Kent State Massacre. Having that personal connection gives students a window to see through, way past the textbook images.

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