American History
Monday was President’s Day, there was an article on the front page of the Duluth News Tribune (see my link and look at it on Feb. 19th), about one of the history teachers at East High School here in Duluth, Ken Jensen. All three of our children were lucky enough to have him as a teacher when they were at East. They all liked him so much. I remember my daughter telling me how he made history be alive, and that she had never liked history until she had him for a teacher. One of the reasons he is such a good teacher is that he has a passion for American History, especially about the Presidents of our country. He tells his students interesting stories about each president, he inspires his students with his stories.
I knew what my children meant when they talked about him. History was brought alive to me because I had 3 wonderful history teachers that had passion, so much passion for their subject that us students couldn’t help but get interested and as passionate about the things they taught. My first history teacher that gave me passion for Egyptian history, the Nile, the pyramids and Egyptian mythology was Mrs. McMullen in 7th grade. (World History). In 8th grade and in 11th grade, we studied American History. Both of these teachers were excellent, and they both focused a lot of time teaching about the Civil War. 8th grade was Mr. Smarsh, and 11th grade was Mr. Kennedy. They knew everything about the Civil War, all the battles, and especially the Battle of Gettysburg. Guess what their summer jobs were? They were tour guides for the park service at the Gettysburg Battlefield. Now, I grew up very close to Gettysburg, however I never saw the battlefield until Mr. Smarsh took us there for a field trip. In 11th grade, Mr. Kennedy also took us there, and both teachers were determined that we would learn EVERYTHING there was to know about the Battle of Gettysburg! I loved studying about the civil war and the Battle of Gettysburg, but even those students who didn’t really get into the war, loved both of these teachers because of the passion and interest they had for their subject, and because they inspired their students.
This is from the News Tribune story: “Jensen cares about his students with equal enthusiasm. To drive home the importance of history, Jensen wrote letters to former presidents, senators and journalists asking them to write letters back to his students explaining why it’s important for them to sit through his class. Several responded, including Tim Russert from “Meet the Press,” Bill Clinton, Gerald Ford and Barbara Bush.
“It’s like I tell my students about the stories they hear over and over again from crazy Uncle Louie or Aunt Helen,” Jensen said. “They might get sick of hearing them, but they are important because they are the stories of their family. The presidents are part of American history, and that is the story of our nation. It’s the glue that holds us together.”
The photo above (photo by Amanda Odeski/News Tribune) is from Mr. Jensen’s classroom, he has cardboard figures of US Presidents and all kinds of interesting US History items and photos. Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Smarsh’s history classrooms were the same way, all about the American Civil War.
The stories that Mr. Smarsh and Mr. Kennedy told us about the generals, and the battles of the Civil War will never be forgotten. Any graduates that enjoy history, can thank these two teachers. At one time I thought I would study to be a teacher, if I would have, I would have become a HISTORY teacher! To this day, I love history, especially American History. I'm thankful that my children had a history teacher like my good history teachers. Thank you Mrs. McMullen, Mr. Smarsh and Mr. Kennedy, and Mr. Gifford (10th grade World History teacher).
(Bermudian Springs Jr./Sr. High School, York Springs, PA)
PS...will never forget where our class was the day President Kennedy was shot, we were in Mr. Kennedy's history class. He stopped his storytelling, and we all sat there for the remainder of the class in silence and grief.
I knew what my children meant when they talked about him. History was brought alive to me because I had 3 wonderful history teachers that had passion, so much passion for their subject that us students couldn’t help but get interested and as passionate about the things they taught. My first history teacher that gave me passion for Egyptian history, the Nile, the pyramids and Egyptian mythology was Mrs. McMullen in 7th grade. (World History). In 8th grade and in 11th grade, we studied American History. Both of these teachers were excellent, and they both focused a lot of time teaching about the Civil War. 8th grade was Mr. Smarsh, and 11th grade was Mr. Kennedy. They knew everything about the Civil War, all the battles, and especially the Battle of Gettysburg. Guess what their summer jobs were? They were tour guides for the park service at the Gettysburg Battlefield. Now, I grew up very close to Gettysburg, however I never saw the battlefield until Mr. Smarsh took us there for a field trip. In 11th grade, Mr. Kennedy also took us there, and both teachers were determined that we would learn EVERYTHING there was to know about the Battle of Gettysburg! I loved studying about the civil war and the Battle of Gettysburg, but even those students who didn’t really get into the war, loved both of these teachers because of the passion and interest they had for their subject, and because they inspired their students.
This is from the News Tribune story: “Jensen cares about his students with equal enthusiasm. To drive home the importance of history, Jensen wrote letters to former presidents, senators and journalists asking them to write letters back to his students explaining why it’s important for them to sit through his class. Several responded, including Tim Russert from “Meet the Press,” Bill Clinton, Gerald Ford and Barbara Bush.
“It’s like I tell my students about the stories they hear over and over again from crazy Uncle Louie or Aunt Helen,” Jensen said. “They might get sick of hearing them, but they are important because they are the stories of their family. The presidents are part of American history, and that is the story of our nation. It’s the glue that holds us together.”
The photo above (photo by Amanda Odeski/News Tribune) is from Mr. Jensen’s classroom, he has cardboard figures of US Presidents and all kinds of interesting US History items and photos. Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Smarsh’s history classrooms were the same way, all about the American Civil War.
The stories that Mr. Smarsh and Mr. Kennedy told us about the generals, and the battles of the Civil War will never be forgotten. Any graduates that enjoy history, can thank these two teachers. At one time I thought I would study to be a teacher, if I would have, I would have become a HISTORY teacher! To this day, I love history, especially American History. I'm thankful that my children had a history teacher like my good history teachers. Thank you Mrs. McMullen, Mr. Smarsh and Mr. Kennedy, and Mr. Gifford (10th grade World History teacher).
(Bermudian Springs Jr./Sr. High School, York Springs, PA)
PS...will never forget where our class was the day President Kennedy was shot, we were in Mr. Kennedy's history class. He stopped his storytelling, and we all sat there for the remainder of the class in silence and grief.
posted by Linda at 7:29 PM
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