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Alternative Application Of Oral History In The Secondary Classroom, Alan English

Educational Considerations

While oral history has been demonstrated to hold potential as a more engaging and rigorous alternative to textbook-centered instruction, it has also failed to replace textbooks as the mainstream methodology in high school classrooms. Here, the author presents oral history data from Jim Walch, a WWII, Korean War, and Vietnam War veteran who “retired” as a Red Cross emergency relief worker as well as sample classroom activities derived from that data. The objective is that these sample activities may be received as more approachable than traditional oral history methodology to secondary teachers who are accustomed to textbook-based instruction. It is …