TASTING AND LIVING HISTORY
By Bruce A. Scruton

New Jersey Herald, NJ
Oct 16 2007

Tuesday, October 16, 2007 Mail to a friend Printer Friendly Version

HOPATCONG – It was one of the props the two teachers planned to use
later that day in their English/Social Studies class, but the cook
spoiled the broth, so to speak.

"She said, ‘I couldn’t serve the kids that,’ so she put lots of extra
stuff in it," laughed Jeff Ryder, the Social Studies part of the
teaching team. The particular section they were teaching was based on
the book "Night," by Elie Wiesel, the Holocaust survivor who became
known as "The Nazi Hunter."

The teachers were preparing stale (more than two-day-old) bagels and
what passed for soup to be served as the students’ "first meal" when
they arrived at the prison or concentration camp (classroom). While
the soup was richer than anticipated, the rest went off as planned –
students herded into a darkened room, being yelled at and not knowing
what would come next.

Ryder and Lisa Kenny – the English part – used the mock arrival
scenario as part of a program they call "Global Mosaic," which brings
the two fields together for ninth graders.

The program will be among those highlighted during the annual Parent
Fair from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday in the Hopatcong High School gymnasium
on Flora Avenue.

The program will have nearly 80 groups with tables and booths
explaining their programs. Most are part of the instructional program
for all grades in the borough’s school district, but some tables are
from service organizations, ranging from Cub Scouts to soccer clubs
to the county prosecutor’s office.

There will be baby-sitting services provided and for slightly older
students – grades 5 to 8 – there will be a dance in the auxiliary
gym. Door prizes include a digital camcorder, IPods and a laptop,
among other items.

Thursday’s session is a warm-up of sorts for Ryder and Kenny. They
have been invited to present a talk on their program in mid-November to
the National Council for Teachers of English meeting in New York City.

The idea for Global Mosaic was born just over a decade ago over
lunch. Ryder and Kenny taught honors sections in their respective
disciplines and had back-to-back sessions. They began talking about the
idea of combining their subject matter, while she taught a particular
book, like "Night", or "Of Mice and Men" or "Kite Runner", he could
take the students to that time in history and the cultural issues
discussed.

The school board liked the idea and gave permission to bring it into
the honors classrooms. After two years of success at that level,
the team pressed to take it further.

"Now we have three teams and it’s mandatory for all ninth graders,"
said Ryder, adding that the program, including one of the teams,
is for special education students.

The idea was embraced so well, the revamped high school has a special
area for the teams; side-by-side classrooms, which have a moveable
partition to create one large space; special audio-visual equipment,
including several computers; and, most importantly, the school’s
library across the hall.

"If we get bogged down on a question, we can just move over there to
do research," said Ryder.

Throughout the class, students are encouraged to get involved.

"Activity driven," the teachers call it.

While the Holocaust is the focus of that time period, Ryder brings
into the discussion the genocide from other time periods, like Armenia,
Cambodia and Rwanda.

The Wiesel novel and the bad food, yelling, darkness and a touch of
fear add a sensory overload. "Start them off with an emotional unit,"
said Kenny. "Hopefully, we can grab them."

Posters cover the walls of the classroom and a large hallway display
case is filled with projects on the section dealing with "Night." On a
recent afternoon, teams of students worked at the computers, creating
Powerpoint presentations on the Chinese dynasties. The book being
studied is an autobiography by a man whose Chinese family owned land
before Mao’s Cultural Revolution took their social status away.

Both teachers said it is professionally satisfying to have students
come back a few years later, remembering particular parts of the class.

"I think it helps them become thinkers," Ryder said. "We try to make
the connections with culture and geography. It’s a perfect way to
weave the concepts together."