Today marks the 100th anniversary of “The War to End All Wars.” In an attempt to guide high school history students toward a world in which that moniker rings true, Christian Mann (Walker Valley High School - Cleveland, TN) obtained a Fund for Teachers grant to experience across French battlefields and museums the centennial commemoration of World War I. He explains his motivation below:
“I teach World History, US History, and Contemporary Issues to 11th/12th grade. For them, WWI is arguably the least understood of struggles in a long and heinous history of human conflict. There was no “bad guy,” no rabid political dogma, no genocide; only a war responsible for combined civilian and infantry deaths of 16 million. A war which laid waste to the landscape of a centuries-old people, a war which had no logical beginning and an end assuring future conflict. How do I, as an educator, make any sense of WWI?
This guiding question motivated Christian’s historical quest for one week in June. His fellowship began where the conflict ended - Versailles, France, followed by a walking tour of related monuments in Amiens. The Somme battlefields constituted the next step of his research, where he studied archives, photographs, postcards and other documents at the Museum Historial de la Grande Guerre in Péronne and the Musée Somme in Albert. He also completed a 40 mile self-tour called the “Circuit of Rememberance,” with an MP3 audio-file description of multiple battles, memorials and cemeteries. His fellowship concluded in Ypres researching several seminal events: the first use of chemical weaponry in the history of war, the final major battle of 1914 and the Race to the Sea and the Christmas Truce.
This fellowship presented an opportunity to put a face to my lesson, to see history through new eyes. To interact with people, stories and the land and forge new connections with the events I know inside and out. Direct access to multiple primary sources tailored to the specific areas I visited now necessitates a complete revision of my curriculum. Hands on examination of documents, meaningful discussion with experts and interactions with communities still recovering from war and desolation dramatically increased my (and will consequently increase my students’) personal connection with the facts. A wealth of first hand experiences and increased frame of reference paves the way for a more extensive repertoire of knowledge from which to base content-rich, common-core focused.”
This fall, Christian plans to transfer these experiences to his students through multiple activities, such as:
- Analyzing primary source data he collected to compare/contrast WWI attitudes with current sentiments on technological use/innovation;
- Composing a lyrical narrative in any musical style discussing a related topic;
- Engaging in cross-curricular readings of Tolkein and C.S. Lewis to study their fantastical re-telling of WWI experiences; and,
- Conducting Skype chats with contacts Christian made during his fellowship.
“I have read and assigned many lessons on “The Great War” from pasteurized textbooks, but these do not always make it personal for a student within the sterile vacuum of a classroom,” said Christian. “My aim is to improve my ability as an educator, a story-teller and a facilitator to empower students towards empathy armed with an understanding of global interaction and their role in the world.”
You can follow Christian’s fellowship through his blog that he maintained while in France and Belgium.
Christian has taught social studies in Cleveland, TN, for 12 yrs. His passion is to use history as a vehicle to challenge the ideology of status-quo with which many students enter the classroom, allowing them a safe environment in which to stretch and grow as both US and world citizens. When not teaching, Christian is also married and a father to three “amazing” children. On the side, Christian is a musician, writing and performing in Chattanooga and uses music in the classroom regularly.