Posted by
CUBFAN on Saturday, July 12, 2008 7:30:00 PM
"You Are There!"
What an awesome television show for a fledgling American growing up in the black-and-white world of television in the 1960s sheltered from the kaleidoscopic world of politics of the same era. I lived 35 miles west of Chicago in the simmering summer of 1968, yet had no clue as to the chaos erupting in the streets of the Windy City. I was safely ensconced in my bedroom mesmerized by the character actors on my Zenith TV portraying George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and other important figures in our nation's history. I thrilled at the commentary of Walter Cronkite, imploring me to place myself in their shoes, to relive these moments in history as if "you were there"! And yet, 40 years later, I have the unique opportunity to share these memories with my students in the classroom with the "You Are There!" DVDs. I realize that these black-and-white images of my youth are a challenge to today's kaleidoscopic students, but I am amazed at the number of them who look at me and ask in bewilderment: "They had cameras back then?!" I have to admit that I, too, had the same thoughts when I first witnessed these episodes. But this is the honesty and curiosity that I crave as a teacher--students opening up to the vulnerability of possibilities. "No question is a dumb question" is the favorite mantra of teaching, and it's true. And I challenge them daily with this credo:
"Stay Curious"
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"You Are There" (2008)
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