In The Beginning…

 

Sunrise - Photo by Larry Foulk, Jr.

December 21, 2021

IN THE BEGINNING…Lesson 1

What is your first memory? Does it elicit good or bad feelings? How often have you revisited some of your earliest memories? Can you know where you are going if you do not know or remember much about where you have been?

In terms of a HAH approach to studying history (or, perhaps, any discipline), it is clear to me that a certain degree of purposive and rhythmic structure or order to things is not only important but also necessary to the development of academic skills and acquisition of content knowledge. HAH stands for "Hum Dinger, Assignment, Homework." It serves as the order - a call to us to exercise some discipline - in the HAH to AHA! experience. One is hard-pressed to make sense of the past without some disciplined approach to the study of it. Perhaps, this observation explains why the world of academia refers to fields or departments of study as "disciplines."

As the first step in HAH, the "Hum Dinger" is a question that invites us to a relationship with a subject or topic. For those of you who are teachers, administrators, and/or parents responsible for instruction or curriculum design, please consider the question inherent in the lesson you are teaching that serves as an RSVP to your student(s) or child(ren). The "Hum Dinger" also serves as a manifestation of our continued curiosity about the world around us and our place in it. Curiosity is so important and something we should continually return to as the source of our desire to learn and grow. 

The "Hum Dinger" is a critical part of the beginning of our experience in teaching and learning; however, it is not the only part. Secondly, let us consider the "Assignment." Your "Assignment" is to seriously consider questions like "Who are you and where are you going?" OR the question above as concerns your first memory. As part of this "Assignment," use a composition notebook (the paper-bound one) to record one of these questions at the top of the first sheet of paper in the notebook. Skip a line after the question, and begin composing your thoughts and ideas on the subject/topic. One to two paragraphs is a good length for starters. Do not write beyond the front side of the page you recorded the question. Third, there is the "Homework." For "Homework," consider what questions were spawned by the opportunity you realized to reflect upon the subject/topic at the heart of the question. 

Lesson 1 is just this simple...HAH. Click here for a different view of the HAH, especially for those of you who are teachers, administrators, and/or parents. Artifacts are essential to the development of any curriculum. Recording and organizing lessons are essential to the process. 

Be Good,

Larry Foulk, Jr.