“What I love about history is that it’s really just a collection of good stories. The role of historians is to dig deeper for more and better stories based in more and better facts.” – Mike Timonin
TEEN DAY follows a three-year History course rotation. From Modern Times to our Contemporary Era is the final installment in this cycle. It begins with Prehistory Through the Middle Ages, to Our Modern World, and finally, From Modern Times to Our Contemporary Era. This year, students are studying the events from the 1820’s (the end of the Napoleonic Wars) and working their way through history to get as close as they can to the current day.
They have already covered major events such as the creation of European nations, including Italy & Germany, the Civil War in the United States, colonialism in Africa & Asia, anti-colonial movements in South America, worldwide industrialization, and the First World War. They will soon discuss the Great Depression and the beginnings of the Second World War.
“He’s very good at making [his lectures] interesting, more like stories.” – Nadia H.
Because so much time is being covered and so many different places, it can be hard to get the scope right. Mike Timonin, the instructor for this course, balances his own interests and the interests of the students to determine what events to spend the most time on.
Something Mike is consistently praised for is his inclusion of play in his classes and the role of storytelling he takes on. Many students have mentioned the characters they create in a specific historical period and the process of thinking through how their day-to-day would look, how their lives would be affected by the events taking place.
In contrast, Mike instructs students to bring in current news articles every week. This informs students of the history they are currently living in and makes them more aware. This year, that has also evolved into them learning about democracy. At first, students would vote to see who would share their article first, but this led to arguing and bribing. They shifted their focus to secret ballots, but, of course, every system has its flaws, and students are experiencing that firsthand with votes for non-candidates. A simple ritual has turned into another educational experience!
“He also has us bring in news every week to share with the class, which is awesome because we get to talk about the history we’re living in currently!” – Avani Q.
At the end of the year, Mike has asked students to research the history of something—anything, and present their findings to the class. Students are getting really involved with this because they’re able to follow their interests.
Overall, students are engaged and excited to be learning about history, whether that be the industrialization of China, the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, or examining current events as a part of history. Mike has created a class where an interesting narrative shapes the events and format of the class.
“I will be researching the history of the best food in the world, peanut butter. (You could argue with me on that, but you would lose.)” – Nadia H.
TEEN DAY Ithaca 