Graded Entry: March 16, 2020
Our Stories Make History: Reflection
Our unit, Our Stories Make History, pushed us to create primary sources about our lives, experiences, feelings, and thoughts during the time of COVID-19. During this unit, I learned how to find reliable sources, document our findings, write fluidly about my experiences, and show my audience my thoughts without many words. I organized my project chronologically and emotionally, meaning pieces with alike emotion are put together in the binder. I organized it this way because organizing it chronologically felt right, you don’t find a historical portfolio of sorts not in order. I decided to organize it emotionally because, again, it made sense to me. It made sense to have moments from around the same time pieced together. If you read something sad and then read something happy, I don’t usually get it. You want to piece things that make you smile together. Piece the ups with the ups and downs with the downs.
This would be useful for a historian because it kind of captures how bad things happen, hundreds of thousands of people are getting sick and infected and die and yet, life goes on. I feel like the project itself captures life going on. It doesn’t just end because others’ lives are. It goes on. Historians may also find this useful for what keeps people going and how that varies and changes. Between people but also over time. In 1918, when there was a huge flu outbreak, what kept people going was probably family and people sick now, especially adults, are probably feeling the same. They’re trying for their family, parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, their kin. I feel like if you turn and look at millennials and kids, they’re probably thinking about their friends. Going for their friends, going for the chance to see them at school and not over FaceTime or Skype. Of course, this means that they look at others’ projects and sources. The other thing that historians would find useful about this is, and I don’t know if others may have included this, when there was the flu outbreak in 1918, the world was in a panic, in shock. Everyone didn’t want to be the one to spread it or pass it on – or get it. Historians can look at the world then, the emotions and fright, and then they look at the world now, in COVID-19 and what would they see? No changes. Fright, shock fear, panic. Well, it’s not exactly nice to hear the world hasn’t really changed over 100 years or so but it’s a turning point. Next time this happens we can know how to react differently.
I’m proud of being able to put up this. I’m proud of being able to create the project and present it (post it). I’m also proud of my poem. I knew exactly what I wanted to say and what I wanted to bring through the poem and I’m proud I was able to find words for my wordless thoughts. I think what I found the most challenging was getting into the habit of writing a journal. I just forgot most of the time. Or I rushed it. First to days were absolutely no problem I’d sit down at 11 am and write but then it got messy. I started, got distracted stopped finished school and couldn’t finish my train of thought on the lined paper of my journal. It was hard. Eventually, I got into the habit of doing it but, I repeat, eventually. So, yeah.