{"id":5694,"date":"2022-03-14T09:00:06","date_gmt":"2022-03-14T09:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/classicalconversations.com\/?p=5694"},"modified":"2024-11-14T16:12:35","modified_gmt":"2024-11-14T16:12:35","slug":"faces-of-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/classicalconversations.com\/blog\/faces-of-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Faces of History: Peace, Process, and Play!"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

The following post was written by Laura vanHofwegen, a Classical Conversations Local Representative, about her and her son’s experience with Faces of History.<\/em><\/p>\n

Faces of History: What is It?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Faces of History, a research paper and presentation, is a pinnacle assignment culminating each year of our Essentials<\/a> program. Choosing a historical character to research, the student writes a five-paragraph research paper after selecting sources, exploring topics, and practicing their writing skills developed over the course of the academic year. Students plan costuming and prepare oral presentations based on these papers, often speaking from first-person perspectives. Finally, families gather together in community and celebrate these presentations together as the capstone event of the Essentials year.<\/p>\n

Peace Over Panic<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201c…But don\u2019t you step on my blue suede shoes,\u201d blared out of a portable speaker on a makeshift stage while a jumpsuit-clad figure, tapping his foot and glancing over the top of his over-sized reflective sunglasses, brushed a coiffed hank of black synthetic hair from his forehead.<\/p>\n

Insecure about such presentations and initially dreading the day, my second son came alive that afternoon, not as himself, but as Elvis Presley. To the audience, Elvis himself recited three minutes of first-person testimony. To me, my precious 10-year-old boy brought his best. And the previous four weeks of diligent \u2014 sometimes painful \u2014 effort flashed through my mind.<\/p>\n

In March, there was fear and panic. How could my timid boy succeed? By April, there was rest.\u00a0 How did we come to a place of peace? Looking back, I am now reminded of a beautiful quote from Louisa May Alcott\u2019s Little Women<\/em>, \u201cI am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.\u201d Learning to proceed in peace (not panic) took deliberate thought. Clear instruction, an opportunity for practice, and measurable expectations early on helped us to ease my son\u2019s fears. The Faces of History project is not to be missed, for storms like these are weathered by practicing the process \u2014 learning to sail our ships.<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/p>\n

Process Over Product<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In Teaching<\/a>Writing: Structure and Style,<\/a><\/em> Andrew Pudewa, founder of the Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW)<\/a>, comments, \u201cTeaching a skill is more about process, less about product.\u201d<\/p>\n

But wait \u2014 isn\u2019t the Faces of History project all about the final product? The final presentation? Recently, I asked my same son, now four years older, to remember that first Faces of History project.\u00a0 Interestingly, instead of recalling the presentation itself, he mentioned, \u201cBoy, it was a challenge to find good research sources, but I sure did love fusing those outlines!\u201d He continued reflecting on some of the key skills he had practiced during the multi-week assignment, including not only choosing sources and penning outlines, but also composing, editing, and adapting the research paper into a first-person oral presentation… completely memorized!<\/p>\n

I internally cheered. Yes!<\/strong> These steps and skills are developed over the course of the entire academic year \u2014 indeed, over the course of the three years a student typically spends in the Essentials program. Diligent, intentional commitment to the steps, cycle after cycle, leads to mastery and confidence.<\/p>\n

My son, now in the Challenge<\/a> program, continues to use these skills on a weekly basis. We might hardly remember the final Elvis presentation today, but there is tremendous and lasting value in faithfulness to the process<\/strong> as there is tremendous and lasting value in learning to sail our ships.<\/p>\n

Play Over Perfection<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Children like to do what they know how to do. Decide with your student: Where are we aiming our ladder? Are we aiming for the \u201cperfect\u201d presentation or are we committing to the enjoyment of a process? To gaining skills adeptly? To practicing perseverance along with pleasure?<\/p>\n

Children effectively learn through play without the expectation of perfection. Modeling this big-project progression one small rung at a time makes a large assignment manageable, and we as parents can rest and enjoy the process when the focus is on experiencing the project parts for what they are and, more importantly, the souls of our children for what they are.<\/p>\n

According to Dictionary.com<\/a>, the origin of the verb \u201cto play\u201d comes from an Old English word meaning, in part, \u201cto leap for joy, rejoice.\u201d One joy of this project is that it doesn’t have to be so serious. We ditched the expectation of perfection and instead applied some creativity while continuing to work within the established framework. My boy\u2019s Elvis presentation was far from perfect but viewing this project as play leading up to it was priceless. We slowed down, rejoiced in the small victories along the way, and loved our son. We celebrated then, and we celebrated the next year while repeating the process again (Poseidon!) and again (Shakespeare!) during his final Essentials tour.<\/p>\n

Faces of History: A Project Worth the Investment<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Parents, your investment in the skills gained by stepping deliberately through this multi-week, multi-step assignment is not in vain. At the culmination of Faces of History, ask yourself: Is my student the same person he was when we began? Am I? Look ahead with expectancy and relish the gift we grasp by walking alongside our children through character-developing assignments like Faces of History. Rest in peace, utilize the process, and incorporate play.<\/p>\n

My timid boy was not afraid in the end; he was and is learning to sail his ship. I knew it was so when he clomped off the stage in his blue suede (spray-painted) shoes and his curled lip uttered assuredly, \u201cThank you, thank you very much!\u201d<\/p>\n

Not yet a Classical Conversations member and interested in our community-based approach to homeschooling? We’d love to hear from you! To learn more about us, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The following post was written by Laura vanHofwegen, a Classical Conversations Local Representative, about her and her son’s experience with Faces of History. Faces of History: What is It? Faces of History, a research paper and presentation, is a pinnacle assignment culminating each year of our Essentials program. Choosing a historical character to research, the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":87,"featured_media":5745,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-classical-conversations-programs"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFaces of History: Peace, Process, and Play! - Classical Conversations<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What is the Faces of History project in the Essentials program? 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