On Thursday, Oct. 26, KO juniors and U.S. History teachers took a field trip to Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, Mass., to spend a day in the 1830s. The experience complemented the recent curriculum on culture and life in colonial and early American history.
When students arrived, they met briefly in the Friends Meeting House to discuss the layout of the day. In the morning, students and faculty were able to roam around the village, visiting shops and houses, as well as talk to interpreters of historical characters. After lunch, the group gathered again for a Town Hall meeting designated to debating the future of the town’s impoverished.
History teacher Steph Sperber discussed the benefits of this model of learning. “We give students the family profiles and have them think about what they would do if they were in this situation, depending on their economic level and their family,” she said.
Students were able to visit a blacksmith shop, an old bank, a glasswork gallery, a historical mansion, and many more places around town. Throughout the morning, they were tasked with speaking to the interpreters about their opinions about the poor people in the village.
Some were in favor of buying public land to use as a “poor farm” where the town could support those who could not support themselves. Others wanted to continue the vendue system, which gave families a small bit of compensation for housing a poor person who helped with work on the farm or in the house.
Ms. Sperber organizes this field trip every year, and the event is always something she looks forward to. “I like watching students experience it for the first time, especially our international students,” she said. “It’s important for everyone because it’s the 1800s, but I like watching the students make connections and seeing the light bulbs go on.”
Ms. Sperber noted that in going to Sturbridge, students can talk to people with different experiences or learn about unique aspects of an early American lifestyle. School Librarian Nancy Solomon also talked about the importance of learning this history through immersion at the village, referencing her experiences on the horse-drawn carts. “The driver will always stop and talk about where we’ve stopped,” she said. “This isn’t a script. You always learn something new, and I think it’s based on what the particular driver is most interested in. That’s what he talks about.”
The trip also provided an opportunity for learning outside of the classroom. Junior Abby Craig explained that she preferred the visual and physical models of life in the 1800s. “I do think we get more information in the classroom,” she said, “but this was a cool hands-on trip where we could actually walk around and talk to portrayers of people who lived like this.”
Junior Pindar Chen agreed and spoke to the interactive nature of the field trip. “It wasn’t like a teacher giving you all the resources,” he said. “You had to get answers yourselves.”
Looking ahead to next year’s visit to Sturbridge, Ms. Sperber hopes to further bring together the trip and her classes’ curriculum. “There is a really great essay that I would have liked to assign in coordination with the trip,” she said, “but it didn’t happen this year.” Hopefully, next year will present an opportunity for students to write an essay that can help to enhance the students’ experiences at Sturbridge.
Overall, students truly enjoyed having the opportunity to go back in time to the 1830s and visualize their curriculum.
