Hillsborough High School Social Studies teachers, Robert Fenster and Robert Longo, recently held a day-long symposium for their US History I Honors students to introduce the capstone project assignments for their classes.
Students in both Fenster’s and Longo’s classes will pursue independent research, engage in debate, and discuss ideas surrounding 14th Amendment issues in American history after 1877.
At the conclusion of the semester, students will submit a written visual essay as well as present their research to their peers in lieu of a final exam.
“History students often want to rattle off a string of facts without taking a stand,” Fenster said. “By having students pick subject matter outside the chronology of this year’s curriculum we are forcing them to take analytical leaps. This project will push them into uncharted territory and help them tie together themes from their current US History I course with next year’s course.”
The best essays submitted by Hillsborough High School students will be published online on the University of South Carolina Beaufort’s website for the National Endowment of the Humanities program on America’s Reconstruction: The Untold Story.
The March 15 symposium included a screening of the Academy Award-nominated documentary, “13th,” as well as two guest speakers brought in to discuss gender identity, race, and disabilities and how these identifiers have been applied in our country’s recent history to equal or unequal protections under the law.
The students began the day by viewing “13th,” a documentary that addresses racial inequities and focuses on the disproportionately large percentage of African-Americans in the nation’s prison population. Following the documentary, students heard from attorney Lenore Horton, who has done work on due process and equal protection issues.
Horton discussed ways in which the 14th Amendment may be interpreted and applied to various groups in American history. Students then examined unidentified photographs that involve various 14th Amendment incidents in the last 125 years. The students then learned how to digest the images, research their origins, and investigate the subject matter.
In the afternoon, Fenster conducted an hour-long interview with 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry winner, Gregory Pardlo. The interview focused on both Pardlo’s poetry and memoir. The subject of race was addressed on a number of occasions as it is a theme that Pardlo, an African-American author, often visits in his work.
Following this day-long symposium, the US History I Honors students continued researching and discussing topics for their capstone projects based on the images and discussions from the day.
Student topics range from those related to race and ethnicity to gender, gender identity, and mental and physical impairment issues, and how these tie-in to the modern interpretations of the 14th Amendment.