Going that extra mile, for education

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

John Blomstedt's 8th Grade McCook Jr. High Social Studies class participates in a real-world reenactment of what Confederate forces experienced under the command of Gen. George Pickett during the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. Above, far left, Mr. Blomstedt, a UNK Student Teacher, takes a moment with students to explain how the exercise will work. Students, from left, Shane Prentice, Paige Robordi, Cameron Dack, Lane Cole and Taylor Patterson. Above, far right, Cameron Dack serves as the "guidon bearer" during the first leg of the excercise, running the length of the football field and back, in an effort to gain both a physical and mathematical understanding of what Confederate forces experienced during the battle. Following the 200 yard timed trek, students ran up the hill from the base of the school's track in an effort to recreate the steep hill known as Cemetery Ridge that Confederate forces also faced, following their 1000 yard run. Below, students running the hill, from left, William Brown, Shane Prentice, David Lopez, Kyle Geisler, Brandon Smith and Cameron Dack. After timing each leg of the exercise students were tasked with multiplying the time, to compensate for the 1000 yards actually run by the 15,000 soldiers, and take into consideration items such as the 30 pounds of uniform they wore and 15 pound rifle the soldiers carried. Mr. Blomstedt said it wasn't difficult to explain to a student that the soldiers ran 1000 yards, up a hill, all the while taking enemy fire, but unless they see it for themselves sometimes they just don't get it. Judging by the gasping of his students that participated in the exercise, they appeared to have new-found respect for what the young soldiers experienced that day in 1863.

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