Describe your image
Describe your image
November 21th, 2024
Thursday
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The Power of Stories and Interviews
Yesterday we identified how to conduct research and analysis photographs. Yet, there is another way to do research and that is with gathering interviews.
The art of interviewing is one of the most powerful tools we have to connect with others and uncover these hidden gems of information. When you interview someone, you ask questions to learn more about their experiences, and through their answers, you discover pieces of history, culture, and human achievement.
Interviewing is like becoming a storyteller’s helper. Instead of reading about someone’s story from a book, you get to hear it directly from the person who lived it. This is especially important when learning about milestones, because those key moments in history often don’t come from just one person or one point of view. It is also a great way to capture personal stories that might not be found in books or on the internet.
Think about the stories you’ve heard about your family’s history or community events. Maybe your grandparents told you about what life was like when they were younger, or perhaps you’ve heard a local hero’s story of overcoming obstacles. These stories are milestones in their own right and is an opportunity to uncover a new part of history.
As you begin to practice the art of interviewing, remember that every person has a story to tell, and each story is part of a bigger picture. You can help keep important milestones alive, ensuring that future generations will learn, grow, and be inspired by the voices of the past.
Tools For Recording Your Story
StoryCorps has created several tools to help students and teachers best record and share their collected oral histories. Use StoryCorps Connect to record stories virtually, or the StoryCorps App to record in person:
Bell-Ringer:
Think about a story you have heard from a family member or an older friend about an event in the past. Write down a few sentences describing what it was about and why it was memorable.
What questions would you ask this person to learn more about their story? Write down two interview questions you could ask to get a deeper understanding of their experience.
For this lesson we will be taking you back to a small little high school in Florida!
Curtright Campus, also known as Eustis Vocational High School, is a historic Black high school in Eurtis, Florida. It is known for its rich legacy of resilience, academic excellence, and community leadership. Established in the early 20th century during segregation, Curtright became a pillar of education for African American students, offering a strong academic curriculum alongside programs in arts, athletics, and trades.
Today, the school has been closed down but they are still older members of the community who remember and even attended
To conduct a real oral history interview, it is important to practice ethical reporting techniques. One important step is to get signed permission from your interviewee to use their account as a piece of oral history. Just as stories are valuable parts of our cultural identity, they are also important parts of our personal identities and should be treated with care.
Use the following template to help your storytellers
understand their rights and permissions:
I, (interviewee's full name), hereby give and grant to (your county) County School District the absolute and unqualified right to the use of my oral history memoir conducted by (student's full name) on (date of interview). I understand that the purpose of this project is to collect audio- and video- taped oral histories of first-hand memories of a particular period or event in history as part of a classroom project.
I understand that these interviews (digital recordings, transcripts and images) will be deposited in a(your county) County School District school library and archives for the use by future students, educators and researchers. Copies of these interviews may also be stored at the (your county) County Public Library. Responsibility for reproduction, distribution, display, and the creation of derivative works will be at the discretion of the librarian, archivist and/or project coordinator. I also understand that the digital recordings and transcriptions may be used in public presentations including, but not limited to, books, audio or video documentaries, slide- tape presentations, exhibits, articles, public performance, or presentation on the World Wide Web at the project’s web site or successor technologies.
In making this contract I understand that I am convening to the schools of the (your county) County School District libraries and archives all legal title and literary property right which I have or may be deemed to have in my interview as well as my right, title and interest in any copyright related to this oral history interview which may be secured under the laws now or later in force and effect in the United States of America. This gift, however, does not preclude any use that I myself want to make of the information in these transcripts and recordings.
I herein warrant that I have not assigned or in any manner encumbered or impaired any of the aforementioned rights in my oral memoir. The only conditions which I place on the unrestricted gift are:
1._____________________________________________________
2._____________________________________________________
3._____________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
Signature of Interviewee/Donor
___________________________________________________________
Type or Print Name
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
Address
____/____/____
Date
Next step is to prepare your questions! Think about the information you want to know from your interviewee and how to ask certain questions to get that info for your report. You can use the classic "Who, What, When, Where, Why and How" to make sure you don't miss any details. For this activity, the theme would be finding out someone's favorite memory. You can the sample question provided below or create at least five questions to ask you partner.
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What is your favorite memory, and why does it stand out to you?
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Who was with you during this memory, and how did they make it special?
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Where and when did this memory take place, and what do you remember about that location?
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How did you feel at the time, and do you still feel the same way when you think about it now?
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If you could relive this memory, would you change anything, or keep it exactly the same? Why?
Now it's time to pair up and practice your interviewing skills! You and your fellow classmate will take turns being both the interviewer and the interviewee. Practice good listening skills, active note-taking, and coming up with any follow-up questions for clarification or more detail. The interview session should last for 20 minutes.
After both interviews are completed, you will write a short paragraph about your partner’s story, including a few meaningful details you learned about their memory. Your teacher may even select a few students to share these with the class to highlight the diversity of experiences.
Previously on #FLGeoWeek:
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