By KELLI FONTENOT
Published in the July 2008 issue of Women In Business, a publication of The Dalles Chronicle
Taking students to the history
Paulette Brook, history teacher
Paulette Brook readily admits to her nerdy tendencies. She loves researching archives at the library. She wears thick-framed black glasses. She prides herself on her realistic chicken impersonation. She lacks plumage, but when duty calls, Paulette balances on one leg, flaps her arms, pecks at the air with her chin and makes a clucking noise in the back of her throat.
For a self-proclaimed "boring person," Paulette has seen quite a bit of the world. She lived in Costa Rica as an exchange student for a summer in high school. She has visited every country in Central America. She managed a doll-making company called "Heartwarming Creations" that sold about $250,000 worth of handmade dolls. She worked at a jewelry store, and later at an airport as a ramp agent (the people on the runway who signal directions to the pilot with reflective wands). She went to college as a 40-year-old with two grown kids. And next summer, she plans to take a group of nearly 30 high school students on a trip to Europe to study World War II sites.
When Paulette started teaching 9th grade history at The Dalles Wahtonka High School four years ago, she knew the best way to get kids to learn and appreciate history was to pull them out of their textbooks and make them experience it for themselves. In class one day, she suggested that the students take a trip to Europe. She asked how many students would be interested, and most of them raised their hands.
"I think they thought that I was just getting them to chitchat about stuff. Well, I came home and I did some research on tour companies, and I contacted one and they sent me information. And I said, 'OK, I want to do this tour.'"
The tour group, Education First, leads high school students to historical sites in several different cities, including London, Paris, Berlin and Munich. Some students might show more interest in gazing at the Eiffel Tower or shopping at Dior than perusing the artifacts of the imperial war rooms in London or witnessing the beachheads of Normandy, but Paulette says the World War I - World War II class will prepare them for the sites they will visit.
"My job is to make sure that those kids understand that we are going there somewhat as a pilgrimage to the people who sacrificed so much so that we could have what we have now."
Paulette's education philosophy emphasizes physical learning. Students should see real buildings, build detailed replicas and discuss history with other people so that they can do more than grasp at challenging concepts. Paulette plans to put her students in regular contact with World War II veterans next year so that by the time they take the trip, students will have personal associations with the locations they see.
Physical experiences like this, Paulette says, can become memories that help spark ideas in the classroom. This is one way she says we can preserve dwindling culture. Paulette also encourages her students to read, have discussions in class and seek entertainment in education rather than more frivolous things, like the E! Channel.
Paulette says she tries to make history "palatable." In the classroom, her sense of humor plays an important role in connecting with students. At the beginning of the year, she said some students would enter the classroom with bored expressions on their faces. To get their attention, she told them they would have to dance the funky chicken if they didn't perk up. She followed that comment with her own squawking, flapping demonstration. Of course, the ludicrous assignment was not without reason.
"You have to be a little zany in the classroom in order to keep kids engaged."
She encourages conversations, uses the art of digression (sparingly, of course) and keeps a "House"-esque cane behind her podium so that she can perform her impression of Dr. House (from the popular television show) at a moment's notice.
Next year, Paulette will certainly have to generate interest in her class offerings. The Dalles Wahtonka now offers 9th grade history classes as electives instead of required courses.
Paulette's course list comprises the World War I - World War II class, two Oregon history classes, a language arts class for bilingual students, an honors history course and a historical crafts class.
Even though she is making plans for the upcoming trip to Europe, Paulette says she is most excited about her historical crafts class. To organize the class, she teamed up with a member of the Historic The Dalles Days committee and contacted historic art guilds in the city. Students will learn how to perform lost 20th-century arts like candle-making, wool-spinning, soap-making, blacksmithing, woodworking and wagon-making. The class will study each activity and try it firsthand with the help of professionals.
Paulette says teaching these rare skills could make students feel valuable and unique. Elementary school students often visit historic parks on field trips, but Paulette says that high school students are better equipped to understand the concept and significance of creating simple objects with ancient tools.
"It's the older kids who I think can actually grasp the applications of some of these things. You don't want a small six-year-old or a seven-year-old playing with a tool that a blacksmith would be using. But that's something that a teenager can start to learn how to use, and with proper education, they can make some wonderful things with it. Some of those old-timey crafts are kind of making a resurgence, and I think that's a good thing because when you lose those, you lose part of your culture."
Paulette acts comical in the classroom, but she says she feels serious about life. She says people will get more out of life by trying to preserve dwindling traditions, improve the world and make a difference than by constantly seeking entertainment at movie theaters. Paulette's a shining example: the last film she saw at a cinema was "Saving Private Ryan."
