What is a historian? What does a historian do? I bet you're picturing an older bespectacled man (or woman) flipping through old books in the dusty back room of a library, aren't you? Despite what we see in the movies and popular media, the job of a historian is so much more than this. Historians are the keepers of the past, so to speak. Historians hold the answers to many of the secrets and mysteries of those who came before us. And ultimately, historians are storytellers. They help us understand the why and how of where we are today.
You may be saying to yourself, "But who cares? We don't live in the past. We live in the present. Why should I care at all about something that happened 100 years ago?"
Over the course of this school year, we are going to work together to help you answer that question. This year, in 8th grade Social Studies, we will be learning about the geography, history, government, and economics of the state of Georgia. However, we will be taking on this task like a historian would - and I bet that you'll be surprised at how interesting and RELEVANT an in-depth understanding the past can be.
Remember: We cannot know where we are going until we understand where we have been.
I hope that this year you will learn to look at history as an opportunity to tell (or hear) a really good story. But before we jump in to learning about Georgia, I want to learn a little bit more about you. I want you to tell me your story.
Your first assignment for this class is to write me a letter. This letter should be a minimum of one full page typed, double-spaced, and in 12-point Times New Roman or Arial font. Be sure that your letter is addressed to me and that it contains the following three things:
1) Practice your storytelling. Tell me a story about you and your life. This could be a special memory that you have, or maybe even your very first memory. Maybe something funny, scary, or just plain interesting happened to you over the summer. Whatever story that you would like to share, go for it!
2) Note one thing that you hope to learn in my class this year. You can put this in the form of a statement or a question. Who knows? If you're paying close attention, you just might hear the answer to your question in class one day.
3) Tell me three things about yourself that you feel are important for me, as your teacher, to know about you.
"If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten." - Rudyard Kipling
If you feel that your letter needs to be longer than one page, go for it! Make it as long as it needs to be in order to tell your story well. Be sure to sign your letter. You may submit your completed assignment via Google Classroom under the Introduce Yourself assignment link. I can't wait to get to know each and every one of you and I look forward to exploring where we came from and where we are now as a team!