Imagine this:
An elementary school devoting an entire day to celebrating Canadian history.
Classrooms and hallways lined with tables displaying colourful posters and models.
Vibrant projects bearing diverse titles like The Royal Canadian Mint, Community Policing, Niagara Falls, Emily Carr, Tim Hortons, even Robert Munsch!
And an infectious atmosphere of energy and excitement resonating throughout the hallways as students present their history projects to visitors and each other.
A day devoted to history in the classroom. A school-wide heritage fair honouring the multitude of stories that make up Canada’s past while getting kids interested and engaged in the telling of history.
Is this just some fantasy dreamed up by a wishful Public History graduate?
Thankfully not!
This was, in fact, what I witnessed this past April, when I had the privilege to serve as a Heritage Fair Adjudicator at my former elementary school, Sir Richard McBride.
It was my first introduction to the BC Heritage Fairs Program at a local level – and surely not my last! As a Heritage Fair Adjudicator, I had the opportunity to meet students from grades 4 to 7 and learn all about their projects.
If you ever want a crash course in Canadian history, adjudicating at a Heritage Fair is surely one way to do it! I learned all sorts of interesting stories and facts about Canada’s past, as wonderfully diverse as the students that I had a chance to interview.
From the amusing tale of how the Albertan city of Drumheller got its name as a result of a fateful coin toss to the inspiring one about the honorable conduct of Vancouver’s Asahi Tigers baseball team in the face of internment, I left McBride that day convinced that if more people attended such fairs, the commonsensical notion that Canadian history is <gasp!> “boring” would not persist.
What impressed me so much was that so many of the students chose topics to explore that were meaningful to them. They started from a place of personal interest and curiosity – and many, I believe, ended up learning not only about Canadian heritage, but also about themselves in the process.
One student investigated the history of the Vancouver Film School and his beautifully designed poster board was a clear indication of his interest and talents in the fine arts. This student was contemplating a career in the fascinating world of makeup and design, and he used the Heritage Fair assignment as a launching point to explore the development of an institution that he’s (already!) thinking about attending.
Another student was inspired by a visit with his family to the Wing Sang Building, the oldest structure in Vancouver’s Chinatown and now a refurbished art gallery housing a private collection. He decided to do his project on the history of this building and the ways in which it has been preserved in recent years. His emerging interest in the preservation of Vancouver’s built heritage was so evident in his enthusiastic presentation on the Wing Sang Building.
A third student began from a deeply personal place: the story of her family’s flee from Vietnam to North America. Her mother’s family had left their native country by boat to carve out a new existence in Canada. They went on to achieve success in their newly adopted homeland: the student’s project included newspaper articles that featured particular family members and stories about their accomplishments – and tenacity. The project also encouraged intergenerational dialogue as this student had a chance to interview her mother about the emigration experience and to learn more about the story of her family’s past and the larger historical forces at work in shaping it.
Ms. Joanne Carlton, my former Grade 7 teacher, who is still as indefatigable and passionate about teaching as ever, emphasized this story aspect when she met with all Heritage Fair Adjudicators prior to the judging. She mentioned that the projects were really about the personal stories that the students connected with, that were relevant to their lives. The school fair, she said, was a celebration of these stories, which the students had researched so diligently and presented in such creative ways. They took pride and ownership in their work – as they should – and really valued the written feedback provided by the Adjudicators. (One student, she said, had even framed the comments he'd received from a previous Fair!)
Ms. Carlton also noted the kinds of skills that the students were acquiring: not only were they learning how to do research and write reports, they were also gaining other practical skills, such as contacting and interviewing subjects as well as designing and delivering presentations.
From the projects I judged, I think I would also add cold-calling and practicing perseverance to the list! One plucky student, for example, managed to arrange for a Police Officer to be a part of his presentation on the history of the Vancouver Police Department. His persistence in calling the non-Emergency line (right up to the morning of the Fair ) in order to make this happen was impressive! It's so encouraging to see that school-based Heritage Fairs, such as the one at McBride, are equipping students at an early age with skills that will stand them in good stead in the future – no matter what field they decide to pursue. (I’ll remember this the next time I hear someone question just how “practical” a history degree is.)
I left the Fair that day also extremely impressed by the creative capacities of the students. Part of the challenge of a Heritage Fair project is not simply to present a written report of your research topic, but to incorporate the written and the visual in a meaningful way, so that, as a whole, the viewer experiences the subject at hand.
If you have ever enjoyed Purdy’s chocolates, you might have mistaken the model which one of the students made to be the real thing. Painted in a glossy brown and decorated with colour and texture, the “chocolates” appeared real enough to tempt many to inquire if she was handing out samples. They were a perfect visual accompaniment to her project on the history of this famous chocolate factory and their recognizable goodies packaged in signature purple and gold boxes.
Another student’s project on Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, a tranquil and well-frequented site in Vancouver’s Chinatown, included a model of the actual garden itself. Made out of the materials of the everyday – including a corrugated cake tray that became the tiled roof of the wall surrounding the garden, and green-painted sponges cut into triangles to represent scenic bushes – it was a breathtaking model that masterfully represented the scale and beauty of the Garden in miniature.
Yet another presenter, one of Ms. Carlton’s grade seven students, did a wonderful project on the history of Granville Island and its transformation from an industrial area to the vibrant market place that it is today. Form and content came together beautifully in her poster board which emphasized the theme of transformation in its very design. A “Before” panel on the left showed black and white pictures of a historic industrial area in contrast to an “After” panel on the right that displayed colourful photos of the market and its visitors. The student also put her artistic skills to work in designing the poster’s title to resemble the actual illuminated Granville Island Public Market sign and in making miniature models of the kinds of scrumptious goods available in the market. It was a feast for the eyes!
If you ever want to be inspired by the ingenuity, enthusiasm, talents, and tenacity of elementary school students, I suggest you serve as a Heritage Fair Adjudicator at your local school one year. It’ll open your eyes to their creative and intellectual capacities for Canadian Heritage. As Janet Morley, seasoned Adjudicator and energetic organizer of the Vancouver Regional Heritage Fairs for many years, has said, “Sometimes you forget that you’re speaking to an eleven year old.”