Notes from the Classroom: "Hamilton" in Luxembourg

Denschdeg, 7 Juni.

Today, I began my lesson with the 4e students at my lycée by asking them to take a trip back in time to 2009. Seven years ago, President Obama had just been elected, no one had yet heard of swine flu, and I was a fresh-faced student in an AP U.S. History class. We had been studying American history for a semester when a particularly timely video went viral: Lin-Manuel Miranda's performance of "Alexander Hamilton" at the 2009 White House Poetry Jam.

A theatre geek, I knew Miranda from his hit musical In the Heights, a musical to which we were rumored to have secured tickets on an upcoming school trip. (Spoiler: We did not see In the Heights. It's okay. I'm fine.) I don't remember if we watched the video in school, or if it just filtered down to me through the news feeds and wall posts of my classmates. I do, however, remember that Miranda's pop culture approach to history had a big impact on our end-of-year projects. While no one succeeded in creating a hip hop musical, I do vaguely recall a musical version of the life of Teddy Roosevelt...?

Either way, while the video was at once intriguing and inspiring, I eventually forgot all about it. It was only relatively recently, as hype began to build about a new off-Broadway musical, that I even remembered watching the 2009 video. Needless to say, Hamilton has been a runaway success. But although it seems like everyone in America is going ham for Hamilton, the musical is -- to my knowledge -- relatively unknown outside of the United States. But not for long. Enter Elisabeth, Fulbright English Teaching Assistant and fan of musical theatre / alternative historical narratives.

Notes from the Classroom: Westward Expansion

Denschdeg, 26 Januar.

Between all the blog posts about castles and hiking and going to Christmas markets, you may have forgotten that my real reason for being in Luxembourg -- and the thing that takes up the vast majority of my waking hours -- is teaching. Which, as it turns out, is going pretty well!

Today, I finished up a two-week lesson about Westward Expansion and its role in American history with my 4e class, a group of students in their second year of studying English. The previous week, we had discussed the regions of the United States, both official (southeast, northeast, midwest, west, and southwest) and unofficial (Bible Belt? Tornado Alley?), and I had introduced students to "The Fifty Nifty United States" -- a song which then stayed in my head for 36 hours. (You've been warned.) I wanted to talk a little more about the U.S., but through a lesson focused on reading comprehension, and decided to talk about Westward Expansion after finding some cool resources online.

Last week, during our first lesson, I introduced the concept of Westward Expansion. We began by looking at the same map of United States regions that we had examined before and by thinking about how drastically the country has expanded from the thirteen original colonies. The students were then introduced to the story of the Louisiana Purchase and how dramatically the addition of this new territory changed the landscape of the United States.

With this group of students, who feel the need to take constant notes but are only in their second year of learning English, I have found that fill-in-the-blank exercises (with the "answers" provided on PowerPoint slides) keep them actively listening and participating without overwhelming them. Fill-in-the-blank exercises can feel a little childish, however, and I struggle to keep the lesson at their language level without making it too simplistic for their intelligence level.

Do you have suggestions for teaching this kind of content? Let me know in the comments!

One of the most influential images that I remembered seeing when studying this period of American history was John Gast's "American Progress." This 1872 painting depicts a timeline of Westward Expansion and provides a really interesting jumping-off point for discussions about the period. (How did the settlers view themselves? What were they bringing to the West? At what cost?)

My students aren't talkative on the best days, but the idea of analyzing a painting seemed to have them stumped. So we started simple. "What do you see? Describe the painting to me."

Mountains.

Trains.

A flying woman.

Notes from the Classroom: The American Dream, Deferred

Méindeg, 16 November.

As you know, one of my teaching assignments is at a local high school, where my role in the classroom varies from course to course. I was given quite a bit of freedom in one of my classes and decided to organize a semester-long course that would give students a thematic introduction to American history and culture. (It's called, creatively, "American History and Culture: A Thematic Introduction.") My goal is to teach them about some of the historical and cultural themes that will allow them to understand why the United States is the way it is today.

So far, we've spent our 50-minute lessons discussing the American Revolution and Civil War and studying the evolving interpretation of the phrase "all men are created equal" through textual analysis of the Declaration of Independence, the Gettysburg Address, and the Declaration of Sentiments. (Did I mention that these are some smart kids?!) Last week, we began a discussion about the Civil Rights Movement with a lesson called "The American Dream, Deferred."

"If I Say America..."

Méindeg, 5 Oktouber.

"If I say America ... what do you think of?" So began the first class of "American Studies I: Ideas and Ideals" -- one of the courses I'm helping to teach at the University of Luxembourg this semester. My supervising professor and I divided the classroom into groups, challenging the students to share what values, cultural icons, and issues came to mind when they thought of the United States of America.

As they finished their lists, representatives from the group made their way up to the front to write their ideas on the board. I could hear a groan as one group realized that "Thanksgiving" was already taken.

I honestly wasn't expecting to be surprised by their responses. After studying abroad in France and speaking with friends and relatives about American stereotypes, I feel like I've heard it all. Still, I found myself surprised by what did -- and didn't -- come up in our conversations.

Among the values or ideals that came to mind? Freedom. Patriotism. The military and the Allied Forces. (I was particularly interested in the inclusion of "the Allied Forces." My supervising professor later mentioned that many Luxembourgers of a certain age consider America beyond repute because of the American soldiers who liberated the country at the end of the Second World War.) The American Dream. A strong national identity. (In a country where the national motto -- "mir wëlle bleiwe wat mir sinn" -- means "we want to remain what we are," this reference to a particularly strong American national identity also surprised me.)

The cultural touchstones proved to more a diverse list, with everything from Hollywood and the fast food industry to the Stars & Stripes and the bald eagle. One of my favorites was the cultural concept of "Republicans vs Democrats." Although I'm accustomed to our historically two-party system, it must seem particularly foreign in a country where no fewer than SIX distinct political parties currently hold seats in the national legislature,