(a little blurry, sorry)1990: Next year I will MEET THE WORLD!
1991: I start shooting rubber bands.
1993: I ran a race with my dad. [Dad's wearing a t-shirt that says 1994]
2000: 9th birthday, New millenium, went to Boston, started school at Redeemer [... you know, the usual]
Neil put this timeline together when he was ten years old, so what he'd put on his timeline now might make it look radically different. What's important to the Story of Neil might now be different; although you'd probably still mark the first rubber band you shot, right Neil?
I wonder how interesting it might be to look at timelines and play with them as a medium for demonstrating progression. By definition, they're formally linear, so does that mean that the stories they tell must also be linear? Or might the form antagonize the content in interesting ways? It would be kinda cool, I think, to look at timelines in K-12 history textbooks. What's important enough to be included? What must get left out in order to clarify the progression? Maybe I could create a lesson plan that asks my students to timeline out some odd, seemingly unrelated stuff, and then see if by cementing events in a line we can make silly connections across them to tell a story.
1 comment:
Ellen, you make the most awesome observations, and you write lesson plans/activities in your head like me.
I think that's an interesting topic -- taking it a bit further. Telling children a story, with lots of details and richness. Then asking them to make a timeline in which they highlight the most important points -- giving them limiters (no more than ten words a point; no more than 10 or so important points). Not only does it help them synthesize the material in the story and pull out important points, but it also illustrates to them how much 'history' can leave out. How much HAS to be left out, sometimes, and to start asking questions to fill in the middle.
Today Ron's little sister (12, 6th grade) was reviewing for a test. She was asking us if we knew the little trivia questions she had to know for the test: two mountain ranges in the Appalachians; the presidents on Mount Rushmore. I shook my head. They're spending so much time teaching them useless facts sometimes, they don't know the importance of the material. My brother had to memorize the Preamble to the Constitution in school. He wrote a rap. He remembers it, but he has no idea what it means. I, however, can't tell you the words, but I know what it means.
"Next year I will MEET THE WORLD!"
-melissa
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