CHARACTER PROJECTS — In Carissa Christenberry’s class, first-graders identified what issues MLK was trying to solve and what issues they’d like to solve, such as pollution. Pictured are Evie Porter and Carissa Christenberry. (Photo by Elisa Walker)

KOSCIUSKO COUNTY — It’s always said knowing one’s history is important, but teachers in Kosciusko Country are explaining exactly why it’s imperative to learn from history and move forward with the knowledge in their classrooms. Rather than throwing information at students, teachers are implementing Martin Luther King Jr. and Black History Month into their classes in a way that connects with students on multiple levels.

“I really like to focus on character traits of MLK and other famous African-Americans and what they contributed back to society,” explained Carissa Christenberry, first grade teacher at Jefferson Elementary. “We learn about what was going on at the time of MLK, what ideas he implemented and how he implemented them.

“We bring that down to a first grade level by looking at the problems we see in the world today and what are character traits that MLK had that we can implement into fixing those problems.”

There are challenges of bringing such a history down to a first grade level, an age where most problems involve something as simple as them not getting what they wanted in their lunch box. In January and February, students focus on problems existing in the world and identifying traits in MLK and other BHM figures that would help solve those issues.

“We have a motto of putting someone else’s needs before our own, so we’re getting them to think less about themselves and more about others,” said Christenberry. “When you’re studying people like MLK, or Jackie Robinson, in history it’s easy to point back to that.

“I don’t want the kids just consuming information but thinking about what to do with it. Even though they’re first-graders, they have the capacity to do it.”

While Christenberry teaches character development at Jefferson, Paula Fiscus navigates identity and critical thinking in her seventh grade English classes at Milford Middle School.

Fiscus incorporates various media forms — from speeches and articles to videos and poetry — to give students a sense of what it was like during the Harlem Renaissance and civil rights movement — events that happened less than 100 years ago.

“We talk about how things have changed — or not so much — and get kids to see why it’s important to look at history.” Fiscus commented. “We need to study this, talk about it and think ‘What can we do better?’ If we don’t, it just repeats itself.”

While it seems historical, many prominent activists and figures are, or would be, still alive today. Ruby Bridges, the first black child to desegregate an all-white elementary school in 1960, is only 64-years-old.

Being inclusive of others’ experiences, culture and everything that makes someone who they are is important in Fiscus’s room. Later, she will teach a unit about social injustice literature that expands to issues in the rest of the world.

“The year focuses on identity — where we come from and where other people come from. As we continue, we have them focus outside themselves,” elaborated Fiscus. “I feel responsible in making sure those kids’ eyes are opened up — that the next generation forms their own opinions and they have information and know how to find it. I feel responsible in helping them think critically about different topics and opinions.

“By the end, they’re more empathetic. I don’t know that they feel like they have their voices yet, but that’s what I’m trying to help them get.”