Students descend an observation tower after viewing the battlefields.
Literature Comes to Life
A Lesson to Learn
BY AMIE KEDDY, ENGLISH DEPARTMENT CHAIR
BY KATRINA SPICER-LINDQUIST, HISTORY DEPARTMENT CHAIR
Literature can illuminate life. In eighth grade English, to augment the history department’s curriculum and our fall trip to Gettysburg National Park and cemetery, our students read Michael Shaara’s Pulitzer Prizewinning novel, The Killer Angels. While this piece of historical fiction is written at an adult comprehensionlevel, we challenge our students to read and enjoy it, so that by the time they visit Gettysburg in late October, they will have not only studied the battles and major events of the American Civil War, but have also come to understand the personal struggles and internal conflicts of both Northern and Southern men who fought for the preservation of their dearest beliefs. In order to write The Killer Angels, Shaara immersed himself in the writings of men on both sides of the war and used extant letters and documents to inform his humanization of generals and soldiers alike. Without fail, studying Shaara’s novel has always personalized and broadened the Gettysburg adventure for our students.
This school year’s trip to Gettysburg was unique. In the fall of 2013, the federal government’s shut-down closed many of the national parks and historic sites. Gettysburg is a national park and if we were not able to tour the battlefields, the experience for students would be significantly impacted. Dave Belcher, who doubles as our tour guide, worked behind the scenes to find alternatives if Congress could not reach an agreement and re-open the parks by Bement’s October trip. Students in history class learn that the United States is a “government by the people and for the people” and therefore called the Speaker of the House, John Boehner and Massachusetts Senator, Elizabeth Warren. Students were surprised that their voices could actually count! “We wanted to experience and be in the spots where history happened,” said Gabby Cator, an eighth grade student, “If the government shut down, we felt as if or education wouldn’t have been as fulfilled as it could have been.” We were all proud of the work they did and important lessons learned. Mere days before the trip, the government shut-down ended. Students filed into the bus on a chilly Wednesday morning, headed to Gettysburg and the national park battlefield. While on the trip, I found myself standing back and observing the students; they appeared more attentive, engaged, focused, and interested in all they were experiencing. Upon return, several students wrote reflective essays, and those observations were confirmed; students shared their perceptions of the importance of all that took place over three days in October and their gratitude in having the opportunity to experience the place, not just the “story.” Their awareness is what I found most moving—something they described as “special, important, and real” almost did not happen for them. As a history teacher, I was moved by the insights they shared in class, realizing that they now understand they have a voice and a right to use that voice collectively to participate in the governmental process. These were civics lessons that taught students much more than anything they could merely read.
Katrina Spicer-Lindquist (left) and Amie Keddy
BEMENT BULLETIN 2014
17