A wise person once said:
"If you don't know history, you are setting a table for fools."
Welcome to our history project for this nine weeks! Have you ever heard this question: "What's so historical about Brookville?" The signs posted along Route 322 and Interstate 80 provide little clue to the exciting historical role that Brookville and surrounding communities have played in Pennsylvania history. Try some trivia for yourself with these true or false questions:1. Brookville served as one of the links for the underground railroad in Western Pennsylvania?
2. Shawnee Indians once lived in this region?
3. Cleer Creek was once a French and Indian trading post?
4. Embalming was first practiced in Brookville?
This school year my eighth grade history class will be involved with a project that is designed to enable students to identify historical aspects of our region and the communities in which they live...The benefits of involving students in local history include:
- Instilling pride in their communities.
- Educating the future communtiy leaders to evaluate the economic, social and environmental issues in order to make informed, political decisions.In addition, this packet will introduce your son/daughter to the advantages of "working across the curriculum" which is a technique involving more than one area of study. For example, the project will involve history, but also art, English, and computer studies. Further support has come from Mr. Randy Bartley, President of the Brookville Historical Society, the Brookville Eduacational Association, and the Brookville High School Administration. Learning local history is the keystone of a deeper based knowledge of Pennsylvania and American History.
If you have never had the opportunity to discover "What's so historical about Brookville?," this may be the time for both you and your family to experience the Brookville area's exciting past.
If you have questions with this project, or have ideas to contribute, please call me at the school or at my home.
Remember, we're here for you- Education is everyone's business.
Mr. John D. Johnson
Pennsylvaina History Instructor
Brookville Area High School
Return to the What's Historic About Brookville, Pennsyvania
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