I was reading some postings and was reminded. I had, in the past, advocated for teaching local history in our schools. Like a lot of things that idea fell by the wayside and upon deaf ears. To be fair perhaps I just didn't speak to the correct people. Whatever the case I was reminded. I do believe that local history should be a course of study. I don't know if there is room for that in the common core curriculum. It is my understanding we much teach to the test these days in order to assure our school of funding. But I digress as I was thinking about teaching local history.
The town I grew up in is full of history. I grew up alongside that history and my ancestors where a part of it. As children we were aware of that history because of a few unique things. First their was Home Sweet Home. The house were it is believed the author of Home Sweet Home lived and wrote about is on main street, it sits adjacent to the Episcopal church. There is a windmill in the backyard. Speaking of windmills, there are several other in town as well. The old hook mill sits in the fork of the highway and can't be missed. We even had a witch ! She was put on trial but acquitted. Gardiners Island just off the coast a bit was once visited by the famous Captain Kid. He even left treasure there. There were tales of whaling ships and we had Indians. We were aware but I don't believe we were ever taught that stuff in school. Oh, we probably had a project or paper to write but nothing very extensive. Local history, it would seem is just taken for granted.
I do think a course of study should be assembled for every town and its' history. It should be required of every student to have an understanding of the past. I think it would create a sense of belonging and civic pride. I know I felt both of those when I was growing up. I was proud of my town and proud of its' history. I am still proud to say it was my birthplace. I admit to not knowing much about Greensboro, where I now live. I have read some histories and talked with some folks. I do not have any connection to the past here in Greensboro beyond twenty five years or so. In historical perspective that isn't much of a view. Now Greensboro, originally called Bridgetown, sits on the banks of the Choptank river, the actual town is just over one square mile in area. Still, there is a lot of history within that square mile. I have heard of river boats and a tannery. It was a stop on the underground railroad. Greensboro provided soldiers to both sides during the Civil war. There are many things of interest one could research. Most historians agree that 1732 was when Greensboro was founded. A portion of the land that is today Greensboro was once called " Ingrams Desire." Half of that land was given to a daughter named Sidney that married a Nathan Harrington. It was their son Peter Harrington that sold the lots of land that became the town of Greensboro. It wasn't a planned as a town just individual lots being sold. Personally I like the name " Ingrams Desire " and wished it had been retained. It is a rather romantic name don't you think ? Just a small piece of history though.
I'll think about this some more. I'll need to get in contact with some teachers and find out more about all of this. Perhaps there already is a course of local history that I am not aware of. I'm no historian and this would require a great deal of research or at least assembling what history has been written already into a comprehensive course of study. Something to think about. We really don't pay attention to what is in our own backyard and that is a shame.
The town I grew up in is full of history. I grew up alongside that history and my ancestors where a part of it. As children we were aware of that history because of a few unique things. First their was Home Sweet Home. The house were it is believed the author of Home Sweet Home lived and wrote about is on main street, it sits adjacent to the Episcopal church. There is a windmill in the backyard. Speaking of windmills, there are several other in town as well. The old hook mill sits in the fork of the highway and can't be missed. We even had a witch ! She was put on trial but acquitted. Gardiners Island just off the coast a bit was once visited by the famous Captain Kid. He even left treasure there. There were tales of whaling ships and we had Indians. We were aware but I don't believe we were ever taught that stuff in school. Oh, we probably had a project or paper to write but nothing very extensive. Local history, it would seem is just taken for granted.
I do think a course of study should be assembled for every town and its' history. It should be required of every student to have an understanding of the past. I think it would create a sense of belonging and civic pride. I know I felt both of those when I was growing up. I was proud of my town and proud of its' history. I am still proud to say it was my birthplace. I admit to not knowing much about Greensboro, where I now live. I have read some histories and talked with some folks. I do not have any connection to the past here in Greensboro beyond twenty five years or so. In historical perspective that isn't much of a view. Now Greensboro, originally called Bridgetown, sits on the banks of the Choptank river, the actual town is just over one square mile in area. Still, there is a lot of history within that square mile. I have heard of river boats and a tannery. It was a stop on the underground railroad. Greensboro provided soldiers to both sides during the Civil war. There are many things of interest one could research. Most historians agree that 1732 was when Greensboro was founded. A portion of the land that is today Greensboro was once called " Ingrams Desire." Half of that land was given to a daughter named Sidney that married a Nathan Harrington. It was their son Peter Harrington that sold the lots of land that became the town of Greensboro. It wasn't a planned as a town just individual lots being sold. Personally I like the name " Ingrams Desire " and wished it had been retained. It is a rather romantic name don't you think ? Just a small piece of history though.
I'll think about this some more. I'll need to get in contact with some teachers and find out more about all of this. Perhaps there already is a course of local history that I am not aware of. I'm no historian and this would require a great deal of research or at least assembling what history has been written already into a comprehensive course of study. Something to think about. We really don't pay attention to what is in our own backyard and that is a shame.
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