Vicksburg Middle School and the district’s high school students will have two new courses to choose from in the fall.
Board of Education members at their March 10 meeting approved “History Through Film” and “America: History Since 1980.”
An overview of the courses was provided by middle school teacher Matt Brussee, who currently teaches seventh-grade social studies as well as computer science. He said his knowledge of history through film dates to his teaching days at Gull Lake High School, where basketball students he coached talked frequently and enthusiastically about the course.
“It was just one of those things I put in the back of my head and … long story short, I got to thinking about this and realized the high school was wanting to do the same type of thing (in Vicksburg),” he said.
Brussee said he surveyed more than 400 middle school students about whether History Through Film is a class they would consider taking. The response? About 70 percent said they would, Brussee said.
“It’s really cool to see them excited about something that’s social studies related,” Brussee noted.
He explained the course involves components related to research and critical-thinking skills. Brussee said he has already talked to media specialist AmySue Manley about using library resources and tapping into her expertise in sharing research techniques.
Brussee said he envisions showing all or significant and relevant portions of a movie. Students would be expected to take notes about characters who were real people in history.
“And then we’d go into the research side of things when it’s done. So, it’s very, very clear that we don’t just pop a movie in and we go,” he said. “The research and the project side of it … might be a week of diving in in the library, it might be a week of us getting presentations around. I want to make sure it’s very research-oriented, so one movie might take a week or two.”
The course will resume in high school, be taught by social studies teacher Daryl Zartman, and offered as an elective for sophomores, juniors and seniors.
Brussee said due consideration for age-appropriateness will be given. For example, a film shown at the high school level might not be as suitable for students at the middle school, Brussee said. He and Zartman will, however, have the ability to edit films via technology offered through Amazon called “Clear Play.”
Board member Stephanie Willoughby cautioned Brussee about possibly over-editing. She explained.
“I don’t want to see the stories edited because if you have a story like Emmett Till, the violence is really important, that the kids recognize what happened to this young man, and the true story of what happened to him and why,” Willoughby said. “When ‘Schindler’s List’ was aired on television, there was more fuss over the topless scenes of Schindler’s girlfriends than the concern of the horrors of the Holocaust. I don’t want to edit out the real history that we need to make sure we don’t keep repeating.”
As the father of two daughters – albeit in elementary school – Brussee said he will exercise judgment to help determine what is important in the context of history and what is truly inappropriate for middle school students.
A waiver signed by parents or guardians will be mandatory. In addition, they will be made aware of a list of movies potentially shown during the 18-week course. A list of movies under consideration was presented to the board and featured more than 70 titles. A final decision on which films are shown will be made during course development over the summer, according to Superintendent Keevin O’Neill.
“We put a lot of time and effort into figuring this out and the kids are very, very excited about it,” he said. “As we go through these films, we’re just tying it to the eras that we’re talking about.”
He said “Star Wars” is on the list. Its parallels to the Roman Republic and their connections make it a suitable movie to show, he said. Other movies would mirror the rise and falls of real-life empires.
Brussee said all movies will be viewed in class; students will not be required to watch at home.
Regarding the America: History Since 1980 course, Brusse said it will be taught at the high school by Kyle Roberts. Brussee said due to time restraints, social studies at the high school currently ends around the period of the Vietnam War.
The elective class will feature a look at subjects including the Cold War, globalization, dawn of the digital age and the War on Terror that gained attention after 9/11.
Brussee said the two new courses could be taken in the same school year: History Through Film the first semester with Zartman and America: History Since 1980 the second semester with Roberts.
Board President David Schriemer added a degree of levity as discussion on the proposals wrapped up.
“I’m dismayed that I just figured out I could be a primary source for your history class from 1980 to present,” he said. “I am a historian because I lived there.”
