One of the names in the connection chapter jumped out at me- Foxfire. Back in the early 70s, as an English major interested in folklore, the Foxfire books formed a staple for conversation in several of my classes. This sort of living history was new for me. I attempted to do my own collecting and very quickly found that it was a lot harder than it looked. Some of the collection and sharing of material is serendipitous I imagine, but the sort of mindset and planning that had to go into this sort of collection was more than a not yet 20 yr old could manage. However, when I see the sort of work that was done by students in the Hudson Falls living history project, I know that it can be done and is being done by students all over the globe and if anything today's technologies make that even easier.
Cross generational connections are a favorite project of mine. We celebrate grandparents day at my school every fall. For the last several years I have had students interview their grandparents, make glogs about them and post them online. I have to say that for the most part, the grandparents ( or special friends, dependent upon the family) are appreciative, and are the most fascinating people I have ever met. Several of my students have interviewed their own parents about their grandparents who are deceased. Looking at the faces of my students' parents recalling special times with their own parents is amazing.
So, reading about Foxfire again, really got me thinking.
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