More
than Child’s Play: Teaching the History of Children and Youth
Lisa L. Ossian, Contributing Editor
Children’s history, whether integrated into
the history survey courses or explored in separate undergraduate
or graduate courses, is more than the teaching of toys and play.
Playtime is certainly a fascinating topic, yet children’s
history, like all aspects of social history, explores politics,
economics, health concerns, and many, many more aspects of life
as well. That is the focus of this column--defining children’s
history and exploring how it can be taught in the college classroom
and lecture hall.
Last summer, when I wasn’t teaching and could awaken in the
morning with ideas and energy, I brainstormed a dozen ideas for
this column. After further consideration, I will list and explain
ten in this issue; then suggest one as a focus point per issue
of this newsletter.
(1) Established courses. Who currently teaches college
courses specifically labeled children’s history in the university
or college catalog? What are the specifics: titles, summaries,
instructors, institutions, and enrollment? I believe we need a
beginning point. (No courses in children’s history were offered
when I was an undergraduate twenty years ago, and the idea of
adding a chapter concerning children to my WWII home front dissertation
was flatly discouraged by my major professor just five years ago.
I can’t imagine I’m alone on these points.) Although
this won’t be a scientific survey, this introduction could
offer some numbers and facts. Are only several courses or dozens
offered throughout the country in private and public colleges?
And from these course listings, can a pattern be established?
(2) Suggested readings. What texts and documents best emphasize
the teaching of children’s history to either specific courses
in children’s history or other topical history courses? What
kinds of readings should perhaps be avoided and why? Are certain
archival sources recommended?
(3) Syllabi. How are courses and topics conceived? What unique
projects, exams, and papers can be suggested? How have courses
evolved? (Editor's Note: H-Childhood hosts a syllabus
exchange page at http://www2.h-net.msu.edu/~child/syllabi/
To share your syllabus with the list, send the file to Kathleen
Jones at kjwj@vt.edu
(4) Teaching techniques. What techniques have been created
and utilized in large and small classes? How has children’s
history been introduced in topical classes with more of an economic,
military, or political focus?
(5) Survey courses. How is children’s history depicted
in the general survey courses of United States, European, or world
history? Are topics concerning children more apt to be integrated
into the general material or offered as separate entities? How
have traditional-aged and adult students responded to aspects
of children’s history introduced in the survey courses?
(6) Other disciplines. How is children’s history explored
in other courses such as children’s literature or psychology?
Is interdisciplinary cooperation and research encouraged or discouraged
at certain institutions?
(7) Introducing new courses. Who has proposed children’s
history courses at either state universities and private and community
colleges? Who is considering this process, and who has been discouraged?
Please add such specifics as proposals, conflicts, and success
stories. (In other words, if I knew then what I know now . . .
how might I propose that course?)
(8) Education majors. What are the courses contained within
education majors which pertain particularly to children’s
issues? Are historical perspectives represented within these courses
or is this lacking?
(9) Myths and misconceptions. How do instructors “tackle”
myths of children’s history within the classroom? How do
instructors best encourage students to “unlearn” certain
aspects of history as taught in the elementary classroom? How
are tragic and complex topics of children’s history best
explored?
(10) Graduate programs. Is children’s history encouraged
at all within graduate history programs? Or is it dismissed, perhaps
as “a career killer”? What opportunities exist for graduate
students who do study children's history as part of their professional
training?
As the foregoing suggests, we will not lack for material in this
column. I will start at the beginning of the list and work through
the series. At the end of each column, I will send out a call
for the next issue’s topic. This focus will allow a depth
of exploration as well as an organizational focus for the newsletter’s
archives.
Days
ago, I asked my Western Civilization II students to examine photographs
of the turn-of-the-century and to propose their own stories based
on the images in the primary documents. These antique postcards
included children, perhaps 15 of the 40 images, which especially
sparked the imaginations and interpretations from my students
because they too could remember their own children’s history
and draw theories from the representations.
Children’s
history promises exciting new ways to reach our students, colleagues,
and the public. Let us gather our own snapshots of the current
state of children’s history but also project our future images
of the field. It will be fun, interesting, and, yes, frustrating
at times because as readers of this newsletter know, teaching
children’s history is much more than child’s play.
Call
for Next Issue: The current state of children’s history courses.
If you teach or know of someone who teaches a college
course with the main focus on children’s history, please
describe the course and its history along with any relevant material
such as course title, institution, years taught, catalog descriptions,
syllabi, and enrollment figures. Send these ideas, comments, and
descriptions to my home e-mail (LLOssian@aol.com)
with attachments in RTF format.
