Practicing History: A High School Teacher's Reflections

Abstract

hate American history, it's boring. Who wants to learn about dead people? flunked the Constitution test twice; I couldn't remember all those amendments. I'm sick of memorizing facts and dates, what does this have to do with real life? These represent the typical comments that high school students made when asked what they thought of American history. In the spring of 1990, I was finishing my seventh year of teaching American history and other social studies courses at Queen of Peace, an all-women's high school of fifteen hundred students outside Chicago. I was beginning to question whether I should remain in teaching. The daily grind of 150 students; five periods of fifty minutes each; two or three different course preparations; the avalanche of essays, projects, and exams to grade; meetings before and after school; days without free periods; and student apathy and resistance had started to wear me down. I had found that high school students initially dislike history of any kind. The requirement of two and a half years of history at Queen of Peace did not exactly engender a deep, abiding love of the subject. I was not sure I could continue to present history in an interesting, innovative, entertaining, and engaging manner every single day. I began to consider my options. I decided to take a year's leave of absence and attend graduate school to earn a master's degree in American history. I thought this experience would benefit me in a number of ways: Graduate study would help me determine whether I wanted to remain in teaching. If I decided to do so, a master's degree in American history would immeasurably revitalize and improve the quality of my teaching. One of the difficulties of teaching history in high school, I had found, was keeping abreast of new historical understanding. A master's degree would supply me with the knowledge to become a true master teacher. Graduate study would also provide a wonderful opportunity to establish contacts with other