Learning from Past Generations

Students have completed their final Out of Eden Learn footstep for the year, Learning from Past Generations. Students interviewed someone, typically a family member, about a meaningful and old object (at least 30 years!). They learned to develop their interviewing skills through the types of questions they would create and ask. Each student wrote a story that highlighted the most important details from the interview. Learning the story behind the object and why it is meaningful were key things to learn. I love this activity because students learn new things about their parents and their own family history. Here are some excerpts from some stories:

“Overall, I had an awesome time learning about something that I never knew my mom was carrying with her for the past fifteen years!!” – Emi

“After the interview was over, I thanked my grandmother for letting me interview her. In addition, this interview has helped me get to know my grandmother more. Furthermore, this experience has improved my relationship with my grandmother.” – Nashiha

‘I think this was a valuable interview because I learnt a lot about my mother.   I always knew she was nostalgic about most of her possessions and this ring had a great memory.  I am so satisfied at the end since I know she was very proud to be in a family which respected female children.  As quoted by her, “This ring is so precious not only because it has travelled several generations but also it shows the respect of a female child in my family.”’ – Suman

“At the end of this interview, I learned quite a bit about the dynamics between my mother and grandfather. It’s quite inspiring how inspired my mother was by my grandfather!!!  I think my mother will keep this letter for as long as humanly possible!” – Shanmuga

‘“Objects that are from the past are like flashbacks you have on the back of your mind.” I interviewed my grandmother. The object I interviewed her about was a necklace that she had ever since she was a kid. My grandmother has had it since 1956, when she was 5 years old. The necklace is made out of gold. The necklace is about a foot long.’ – Shandaneh

“People have many things that are meaningful to them. These can be an artifacts, heirlooms, or something that reminds them of good memories. For this footstep I interviewed my mom about something that meant a lot to her. This happened to be a stuffed animal. Surprisingly, it is in fairly nice condition considering that it is over 40 years old.” – Owen

“Anything can hold memories. It can be a photo or something passed down from generations. That one thing for my grandmother was a large bowl. The bowl is heavy and is gold in color with black specs on it. It’s shiny and clean, but you can still tell that it is still old. I never really wondered what it was even though I walk past it every day. In conclusion, my interview with my grandmother was very informational. It helped me learn about an object which I thought was just a random artifact in my house. It also helped me learn about my grandmother’s love for my great great grandmother.” – Shiv

“In conclusion, my interview with my dad was very, very interesting because I learned a lot of things about him and now I feel like just listening to this interview again because it inspires me to do a lot of things. For example, achieving a lot of things like helping other people in many ways.” – Lokesh

Tags: Out of Eden Learn