BRIDGEPORT – Students at Bridgeport High School are delving into the area’s history and gaining new insights along the way as part of Social Studies teacher Jason Hanson’s new research class.
The class kicked off this school year, and seniors are exploring the past with enthusiasm. Following the first semester’s projects, Hanson said this semester’s students have the option of researching an alumni from the school’s Wall of Fame and Hall of Fame. They also created a PowerPoint presentation focusing on the school district area’s history.
“I have a whole list of topics that the students have picked regarding for example just traditions in the school. I have students who are doing interviews of past alum: what are some of the traditions they did when they were in school? Which ones have maybe faded away? Which ones are new? Which ones have stood the test of time?
“There are those who are looking at sports life. I have one student who is researching entertainment in the area, going back and looking at musicians, actors, actresses, anybody from within our school district who may have contributed to the arts. I have two students who are researching the industrial history of the area. I have one student who is continuing to do research on Perkins Field, all the different types of events that have been held here.”
His students have found that Perkins Field has hosted open air boxing matches in the 1920s.
“One student is actually looking at the contributions people in this district have made to science. Some of the early doctors in the area and what they’ve contributed.”
Another student has kicked off a project working with the alumni association to gather information about Bridgeport High School graduates who have earned Purple Hearts. Hanson said the initiative has garnered support on the alumni Facebook page.
“We’ve already had a bunch of people contacting us.”
The presentations can be viewed on the kiosk at the front entrance of the school building. The screen and search system was purchased with the help of sponsor Ascent Energy and Hanson said visitors to the district have been impressed by the presentations.
“That kiosk is a one-stop place to gather information about our district,” he said. “We want it to be something special so when people walk in the physical building they have access to certain things.”
The students are self-directed and demonstrate detective skills as they follow leads. Hanson said the students often search the Bellaire Public Library’s digital archives, which extend back to the 1870s, and the Ohio County Library, as well as military records, birth announcements and obituaries.
“This particular class requires a little bit of everything,” he said. They’re researching with a purpose, especially on a local level. They’ve realized a lot of things they’re trying to look up aren’t easily Googled. You have to get into digital archives.”
Hanson said one student researcher found three generations of men with the same name and who had reached the same military rank, and so had to check dates and context clues to make certain the material was about the same person.
Students also take the opportunity to interview alumni and family members.
“Some relatives have reached back, actually thanking students,” he said. “Thanking them for kind of keeping these peoples’ memories alive. A lot of the alumni appreciate these students asking them questions.”
One upcoming project is a series of video interviews with alumni.
Hanson said the class also helps students to look at their surroundings with new eyes. He has encouraged them to look more closely at area monuments such as the National Road mile markers. He recalls his students looking up old photographs to see how their neighborhoods have changed. Insurance maps have also given them an idea of the residential and commercial shifts that took place following the construction of I-70.
“They look at it a little bit differently now. They realize there’s a purpose and story behind each of those things and that somebody took time and energy to make sure these places are recognized.”
Hanson said these projects can be expanded upon by subsequent senior classes.
“I can’t see this class ever being ‘done.’ There’s always going to be something more,” he said. “There are students who are probably going to pick up where some of the other students left off.”
The possibilities are endless.
“I don’t think we could ever exhaust, looking at some of the people who’ve gone on to do great things whether in sports or medicine or law.”
Senior Xander Stauffer is one of the student researchers.
“It’s been kind of eye-opening,” he said. “The whole point of the class is to teach you how to better research, and I think it’s been effective at that.”
He said Hanson brought in a wide variety of material including fascinating documentaries about local history.
“It made me have a better understanding about why things are the way they are around here,” he said. “It’s neat to understand the cause and effect of how things came to be.”
Senior Kaleb McCamick also learned research skills. One of his projects focused on Marine Corps veteran Sgt. Major Terry Bennington, a class of 1972 graduate who helped evacuate people from the rooftop of the American embassy during the fall of Saigon in Vietnam.
“I watched an interview with him on CNN on his experiences and how he extracted those people off of that building.”
During an earlier report from Hanson, Bridgeport High School Principal Jack Fisher was impressed by the amount of information students found. “I think the topic’s pretty awesome and probably one of the coolest classes we offer,” he said. “Mr. Hanson has knocked it out of the park.”
