Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1060790
Last year, Barnett created the Genealogy and Video Project — with help from CTA's Institute for Teaching (IFT). It had a profound impact on students. Students told the stories of others who overcame hardships, in the process discovering a great deal about themselves. In some cases, the walls came tumbling down. Barnett, who has been teaching for 12 years, has always enjoyed incorporating movie making into project-based learning. The IFT grant money allowed him to purchase new video cameras and computers with editing software, with the intent to have students research their ances- try and interview family members to provide context for major events occurring throughout the world. But plans changed, in part due to laws pertaining to students and information they can make available on such sites as ancestry.com. Many students confided to Barnett that family members were either unavail- able or unwilling to be recorded on camera: Some did not trust how the information would be used; others did not feel safe because they had immigrated illegally. "It was about the same time that the events of Charlottesville occurred, with President Trump tak- ing a hard line on immigration, and there was a lot of emotion in the air," recalls Barnett, a member of Ventura Unified Education Asso- ciation. "So, I asked students to collect stories from people in their community who had migrated to this country or other countries. It was history- and standards-based learning." Students interviewed and filmed those willing to participate, includ- ing a man who immigrated from Central America and achieved his dream of starting his own landscaping business; a classified employee from their school who arrived here from Mexico as a child; and a concentration camp survivor who lost her family before landing on U.S soil. Students practiced their inter- viewing techniques in the classroom before filming their interviews in a local public television station, where they learned about audio, lighting, background, camera angles and teleprompters. They edited 10-minute videos into short segments, which will be shown on the station. Many of the students were trans- formed by the powerful stories they brought to life. "I learned a lot about people from learning a little bit about each per- son," shares Teah Cobey, a senior, S T U D E N T S T H I S AG E WA N T TO B E I N VO LV E D I N R E A L- W O R L D, P R O F E S S I O N A L P R O J E C T S T H AT I N T E G R AT E W I T H T E C H N O LO GY A N D S T R E TC H T H E I R S K I L L S E T S." urriculum about and by California Indians that goes beyond stereotypes or one- sided history books is something Rose Borunda is making readily available to teachers and stu- dents throughout California. Borunda, a Sacramento State University professor, coordinates the California Indian History Cur- riculum Coalition (CIHCC), which compiles California Indian-vetted lesson plans and reading lists to augment the new standards for teaching California Indian history. Educators can go to csus.edu/coe/cic and find links to many lessons from California Indian community members, experts and educators about indigenous people of California. "We are trying very hard to change the narrative in the classroom," says Borunda, who teaches in the university's counselor education/doctoral programs. "Native American his- tory is often taught from only one perspective. And it's not the fault of teachers, because that's how they were taught in school. Many need to be re-educated. Our goal is to help both veteran teachers and those entering the profession." One of the CIHCC site links leads to a history lesson on Miwok Indians designed by Folsom Cordova Education Association member Chelsea Gaynor, a teacher at Mitchell Middle School in Rancho Cordova. Gay- nor's goal was for her students to be able to distinguish between facts, misconceptions and ste- reotypes. Borunda was delighted in the documentation showing students' perspectives changed drastically after the lesson. "Native Americans were used in movies to show that they are savages, but in reality, Native C Continued on page 69 32 cta.org the Innovation issue the Innovation issue I T I N O I N N E O S S V U A Innovation Issue 2018 I I 2018 Innovation issue the 2018