Detail.

8th grade history.  Readings were assigned and the classroom time came alive.  In the back of the classroom at Roosevelt Junior High School were Revolutionary and Civil War relief maps, full-scale guillotine replicas, portraits of generals and plastic-bound essays on history.

Mr. Stevens walked up and down the rows of desks, hands clasped behind his back, describing historic moments - battles, important meetings, compromises, and declarations.  

He told stories.

We brought history books into class and stacked them on the edge of our desks, ready to check his memory.  He spoke and four or five of us immediately started flipping through the reference books, checking his dates, names, situations and facts.  

As he began his stories, we would glance at each other, grab a book, and start flipping pages.

We never caught a detail out of place.

After a while, we gave up.  His mastery was beyond our challenge and we started listening.  Hanging on every word.  Learning through his lectures.  History came to life and we all learned the value of the lecture.  And we learned to love history.

CONNECT

Thanks, Kurt.