On April 29, 2015 The Associated Press released an
article written by Maureen Magee and published in the Nation's
Report Card stating that 8th-graders are weak in history, civics, and geography. Their
scores barely budged from the 2014 National Assessment of Education Progress.
Twenty seven percent of eighth graders scored proficient in geography; twenty three percent
scored proficient in civics; and eighteen percent scored proficient in history.
Michelle Herczog, president of the National Council for the Social Studies,
said the results "point to a need for immediate action." She said
"that tackling issues such as terrorism, human rights, race relations, and poverty
require a deep understanding of the historical and geographic context." Ms.
Herczig also said this poses a question to our nation. How do we maintain our status
in the world in the future if our students do not understand our nation's
history, world geography, or civics principles or practices?
I can certainly relate to people not knowing their geography
and history and included this in my unpublished middle grade historical fiction story, The Wind Called My Name, which is set during the Great Depression. In the story, the local Wyoming girl asks the protagonist
where she's from, and the protagonist answers, "New Mexico", which is misinterpreted
as Mexico through much of the story.
About ten years ago we visited Gettysburg where they
advertised you could get your ancestor's records if he fought in any of the Civil War battles. Since I knew my ancestor's name and where he fought, I excitedly
approached the desk to get my records. The woman at the desk asked what state my ancestor
fought in and I replied, "New Mexico." Her response was, "That's
not in the United States." Unfortunately, this is a common identity
problem for the state of New Mexico. In fact, the magazine, New Mexico, even has a monthly column called
"One of Our 50 Is Missing", where people submit various anecdotes
about New Mexico's mistaken identity.
The U.S. government may have added to New Mexico's identity
problem when they kept the mission of the Manhattan Project in Los Alamos, New
Mexico during WWII a secret. The first atomic bombs were designed and
manufactured here. |
| Goodreads image |
Ellen Klages the author of The Green Glass Sea,which won a Scott O'Dell Award in 2007, does a fine job of presenting the events surrounding the Manhattan Project as it was experienced by the people who came to work in this northern New Mexican town during WWII. Here is a summary of the book from Goodreads.
It is 1943, and 11-year-old Dewey Kerrigan is traveling west on a train to live with her scientist father—but no one, not her father nor the military guardians who accompany her, will tell her exactly where he is. When she reaches Los Alamos, New Mexico, she learns why: he's working on a top secret government program. Over the next few years, Dewey gets to know eminent scientists, starts tinkering with her own mechanical projects, becomes friends with a budding artist who is as much of a misfit as she is—and, all the while, has no idea how the Manhattan Project is about to change the world. This book's fresh prose and fascinating subject are like nothing you've read before.
***
Another middle grade historical fiction book which highlights the role Los Alamos, New Mexico played in WWII, and takes the reader back to that time, is The Secret Project Notebook by Carolyn Reeder.
This is my Goodreads review of the book.
Franklin Madden, age twelve, has a new home and a new name, Fritz, at a secret location in New Mexico during WWII. His dad's a scientist at the lab there, but that's all Fritz knows until he starts adding clues to his secret notebook, so that he and his new friend, Kathy, can decipher what the lab work is all about.
I found it interesting to see what family life might have been like for the scientists and regular civilians at Los Alamos, New Mexico.
Readers of these historical fiction books will gain much historical knowledge about the part Los Alamos, New Mexico played in our country's history. Both books can also bring to light the fact that New Mexico really is the 47th state admitted to the United States, even though our government might have preferred to think of the state as missing during WWII.
Another middle grade historical fiction book which highlights the role Los Alamos, New Mexico played in WWII, and takes the reader back to that time, is The Secret Project Notebook by Carolyn Reeder.
 | ||||||
| Goodreads image |
This is my Goodreads review of the book.
Franklin Madden, age twelve, has a new home and a new name, Fritz, at a secret location in New Mexico during WWII. His dad's a scientist at the lab there, but that's all Fritz knows until he starts adding clues to his secret notebook, so that he and his new friend, Kathy, can decipher what the lab work is all about.
I found it interesting to see what family life might have been like for the scientists and regular civilians at Los Alamos, New Mexico.
Readers of these historical fiction books will gain much historical knowledge about the part Los Alamos, New Mexico played in our country's history. Both books can also bring to light the fact that New Mexico really is the 47th state admitted to the United States, even though our government might have preferred to think of the state as missing during WWII.
I grew up in New Mexico in the 1940s, and when my sisters and I traveled to Pennsylvania to visit relatives we were amazed to learn that our cousins thought we lived in Mexico. We had a lot of fun with them pretending that we had to fight off Indians and bandits to make the journey east. Geography was always a favorite subject of mine, but perhaps students have struggled with it for a long time. It certainly deserves more emphasis in schools.
ReplyDeleteHere's another book aimed at kids, though this is a memoir by someone who grew up in Los Alamos:
ReplyDeleteSecrets of a Los Alamos Kid : 1946-1953, by Kristin Embry Litchman: ike all kids, Kris loves secret clubs and games. In the years right after World War II, even the town where she lives is secret: the Atomic City, Los Alamos, New Mexico. A book written from a child's point of view, full of true childhood experiences, and enchanting reading for anyone who ever was a child. Many photos of early Los Alamos.
When people ask where I'm from, I always try to emphasize the New in New Mexico. I don't *usually* get mistaken for someone from Mexico. Most often, when someone sees me again much later (for example, at a conference that meets once a year), they say "Oh, you're from Arizona, right?"
Here's another book aimed at kids, though this is a memoir by someone who grew up in Los Alamos:
ReplyDeleteSecrets of a Los Alamos Kid : 1946-1953, by Kristin Embry Litchman: ike all kids, Kris loves secret clubs and games. In the years right after World War II, even the town where she lives is secret: the Atomic City, Los Alamos, New Mexico. A book written from a child's point of view, full of true childhood experiences, and enchanting reading for anyone who ever was a child. Many photos of early Los Alamos.
When people ask where I'm from, I always try to emphasize the New in New Mexico. I don't *usually* get mistaken for someone from Mexico. Most often, when someone sees me again much later (for example, at a conference that meets once a year), they say "Oh, you're from Arizona, right?"