Although I had been to the Museum of History many times, as a parent chaperon, interested individual seeking historical knowledge, or to introduce out of town visitors to sites in Raleigh, seeking instructional resources had never been a purpose for me to be at the museum. The museum field trip experience provided me with a totally new motivation for visiting museums. For the first time, I actually paid careful attention to the exhibits and information plaques, relating them to different curriculum content and how I might be able to utilize the vast array of resources offered by the museum for an interdisciplinary teaching approach in all subjects. From connecting flight and motion to science, to the weight of a backpack soldiers during the Civil War carried to mathematics, to size of corn before practices of contemporary farming, and to laws and rules governing even the most unruly of groups, the pirates, the museum has available more than enough resources to help me plan engaging units of instructions.
My personal view of students today is that most consider events, places, and people from the past to have little or no impact on the lives in their contemporary world. People today are very focused on the NOW rather than the past or future. Students of today are future citizens of tomorrow, without places like the Museum of History to provide engaging programs and exhibits to offer them information about the past; students miss out on opportunities to learn and understand that history from the past shapes the present of today and impacts the future of tomorrow.
As I left the Museum of History after our field trip, I cannot help but let out a sigh of relief knowing that there is a place here in Raleigh for me to turn to for resources and help when I am trying to provide relevant instructional lessons to our citizens of the future.
Funny Wallpapers Quotes And Sayings
11 months ago
"People today are very focused on the NOW rather than the past or future. Students of today are future citizens of tomorrow"
ReplyDeletePhoenix, I'm such a sap! My eyes really teared up with I read this--it stirred up a lot of emotion. I think it is very true and that honest to God scares me.
I am honestly scared that these recent generations are becoming too self-absorbed, too caught up in instant results and too ambivalent to the world around them. I know it is our job as teachers to inspire, but how can we help ensure that those seeds of inspiration and interest we plant in our students carry through-out their lives? Is that too lofty of a goal or hope? Maybe the trick is to plant the seeds in students and to cultivate growth in the community itself.