History Teacher Makes History By Teaching All Over The Country

OAK FOREST, IL — The COVID-19 pandemic has shown how far teachers will go above and beyond for their students. An Oak Forest High School American History teacher does this, by going to historical locations to teach his students about the history of some of the most memorable moments in our nation.

Mike Brown, an American History teacher, was looking for ways to engage more with his students during remote instruction and said that it is tough to create meaningful relationships between students and teachers during this time. An idea to travel around the country and teach in locations he is referring to in his lessons sprang to mind.

"I thought it would be fun to [kind of] bring back my classroom," Brown said. "After the first couple of weeks of class, I went on the road and I taught from the American Revolution and French and Indian war."

Brown said his first trip was to Boston but that he wasn't 100 percent sure it would work.

"I told my students the Friday before I left, I planned to meet them Monday in Boston. When I left for Boston, I left before school was out [during my free period]. I got in my car and drove for an hour before the start of my last class," Brown said. "I stopped at the campus of Purdue University Northwest and taught in the parking lot, just to make sure I could do this at a different location. It worked out fine, so I just kept driving to Boston."

Brown said his students thought it was neat to see these locations in real-time rather than in a history book. He said the students were able to engage more and looked forward to what was to come next.

"It was a lot for them because I stopped at a lot of places. I could only teach from one place at a time, but I would stop at other places, film, post, and require them to keep up with what I was doing," Brown said. "I think they enjoyed it. I also think it has broken up the monotony of it for them and brought a little more life to their notes."

When asked if Brown will continue to do these adventurous learning paths, he said that he has hope of returning to in-person learning to make even better connections with students.

"It would be awesome if I could, but I don't see that happening right now. We're supposed to start back up in school on Oct. 19," Brown said. "I know that is the hope of everyone, that we will be able to safely go back. If we stayed on this remote course for an extended period, I think I would try to do it again and go to other places."

The American History teacher said he appreciates that his school district allowed him to have the creative responsibility to hold classes these ways.

"I'm just really grateful that I work in a district that allows me to use that type of creativity," Brown said. "I think it's important that the people of our community understand that this district does that for its teachers and that its teachers, in turn, become more creative and do things like this for their students."