Layers of History

In Mrs. Kim West’s classroom, students become part of the foundations of history. How? Her archaeological photo gallery. Each year, Mrs. West’s bulletin board in the back of her classroom gains more photos of current students. “I always tell my students that history is happening around you and that you are a part of it,” Mrs. West explained. “The photos are a great way to commemorate their role in the history of the school and the outside world. This year, more than ever, it feels essential to document what is going on.”
She starts each school year with a reflection on the previous students and what happened during that particular year. “Because there are only three years worth of photos right now, my students know many of the kids in the older photos and immediately know which year it correlates with,” Mrs. West started. “It will be great to see in ten years if the students can guess which year is which based on the clothing, popular songs of the team, and so on.” 

After a walk down memory lane, each of her current seventh-grade U.S. History students has a side profile photograph of themselves added to the wall. This year’s students actually get to have two photos on the board: one with their masks and one without. While COVID will certainly be a notable aspect of the year 2020, we are excited to see what 2021 brings to Mrs. West’s history board. 
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