Turbulent Times

I am a United States history teacher at Heide Trask Senior High School in Pender County, North Carolina. I feel that my students are better able to understand history when they can see reenactments of or actual film footage of various historical periods. There are several films that would be of great value to me when teaching students about United States History in the 1950s and 1960s. Since we are located in a rural county and we are a new school, resources are limited. In addition, we have 51% of our students receiving free and reduced lunch. One of my favorite time periods to teach is the 1950s and 1960s. The combination of Cold War hysteria and the Civil Rights movement followed by the Vietnam War era has always fascinated me and interested my students. I like for students to see film footage of this era along with Hollywood portrayals of historical events. In order to help students understand the origins and nature of Cold War hysteria, I like to show “Atomic Café” and “October Sky.” “Atomic Café” includes excerpts of such civil defense films as “Duck and Cover” while “October Sky” allows students to view a film about the era. This allows students to understand why there was such widespread paranoia. At the same time the country was experiencing Cold War fears, the Civil Rights movement was just beginning. I like to show parts of a film made by PBS called “The Murder of Emmett Till.” This film documents the story of a 15-year-old African American male who was murdered by two white males. The story is very moving and the film does an excellent job of conveying the violence that existed at the time. When teaching students about the Vietnam War, a film that I have found to be a great resource for students is HBO's "Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam." This film includes real video footage from Vietnam. Various actors and actresses read actual letters from soldiers and nurses while Vietnam era music is playing. The film gives students a genuine feel for the era. The combination of primary sources of history with statistics from the war (troops sent, casualties, etc.) provides an invaluable experience. To pull all of these topics together, I like for students to look at great speeches of the era. The video “Greatest Speeches of All Time” includes speeches by Martin Luther King, Jr., John F. Kennedy, and other leaders of the day. These speeches help students understand the issues and emotions attached to various events in this era. I feel that the combination of pieces of these five films will greatly increase my students' knowledge of the 1950s and 1960s.