WAR IN THE CLASSROOM
Bringing the French and Indian War to Students

WQED Multimedia is producing a four-part documentary that will bring to life the French and Indian War, a fascinating yet little-understood conflict. Produced and filmed locally, the production is an important, regional economic-development project. "The War That Made America" is planned for broadcast on Wednesdays Jan. 18 and 25, 9-11 p.m.

Chances are you've learned about many wars in school: the Civil War, the American Revolutionary War, World Wars' but what about the one that Winston Churchill called "the first world war?" The French and Indian War may not be as widely covered in history classes these days, but some new teaching resources from French and Indian War 250 are designed to give this moment in history the attention it deserves.

"It is time to change the conversation about the French and Indian War so educators can help students to understand its seminal relationship to the Revolutionary War, our national history and the larger context of world history in the 18th century," says Susan Buckley, national education coordinator for French and Indian War 250 Inc. Buckley has enlisted the help of a National Education Advisory Board to achieve that goal. The advisory group, which is co-chaired by Jane Burger, retired director of the Grable Foundation, and Andrew Cayton, Distinguished Professor of History from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, includes representatives of a variety of key disciplines. Almost two-dozen people, including educators, historians and museum professionals, participated at the group's first meeting.

Several French and Indian War projects are already available or in the planning stages. A teacher-education kit for elementary-school teachers of grades four to six was produced by the National Park Service's Fort Necessity and has been widely distributed in Western Pennsylvania. Called "The French and Indian War: 1754-1763," the kit can be ordered through the park’s Web site. This past summer, 28 educators from seven states participated in the second year of Worlds in Motion at the Sen. John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History Center. This three-year exemplary education project focuses on the role of American Indians on the Colonial frontier, and project participants are creating curriculum resources that will be available nationwide.

Working with the education staff at Mount Vernon and author Carolyn Yoder, Buckley is creating a classroom curriculum based on George Washington's "Remarks," a rare manuscript in which the soon-to-be president reflects on his French and Indian War experiences. This autobiographical document is the centerpiece of an exhibition that has been traveling to French and Indian War historic sites.

Several leading classroom magazines, including National Geographic Explorer and AppleSeeds, have included articles or produced special issues on the French and Indian War. Other education ideas currently under way include developing resource materials and workshops for A.P. history teachers, working with publishers of heavily used history and social-studies publications for the K-12 market to revise their presentations of the French and Indian War, creating classroom activities that explore Braddock's defeat and establishing a presence at meetings for historians and educators to stimulate ongoing professional discussion of how to present this period of history to students. In conjunction with the 250th-anniversary commemoration of the French and Indian War, the National Council of History Education has already scheduled its 2005 annual meeting to take place in Pittsburgh in May. For information, visit the website.

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