making history

Last weekend, I was in Williamsburg (as my last post mentioned). There, I remembered how much i loved history. When i was little and we visited Colonial Williamsburg, I dressed up in colonial garb and wore my green raincoat as a cape. I immersed myself in the old world.
Revisiting my childhood haunt reminded me that history isn't boring. For the last few years in college, dry lectures and never-ending reading assignments have jaded my inquisitive mind, at least when it comes to history.
I'm afraid this disenchantment with the world that came before started in high school--in my American History course. My teacher became so bogged down by forcing tables and lists and chronologies in our heads that we all lost sight of the wonder of progress and the value of respect.
So many of the facts I remember about American History didn't come from textbooks or teachers at all, but from my addiction to historical fiction novels. They even came in handy while studying the Amish in my U.S. Religion class this semester. Reading for pleasure in elementary and high school is another way of promoting just the learning-in-disguise that Rachel is talking about. When you get caught up in the story, you don't realize that you're learning about Amish social customs or the make up of the colonial militia; it's only when questions come up on tests or in papers that you remember facts you never thought you knew.
Reading is really one of the most valuable skills to teach a student.