U.S. History 101

I have been blessed in my evening class with a group full of history buffs who love conversation and love the fact that they can pick my brain about U.S. history as well as English grammar. Having discovered our mutual interest in history, the class brings this topic up frequently, and they get really excited about teaching me the history of the Ottoman Empire, the battle at Çanakkale (Gallipoli), the Turkic peoples, and of course Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, in return.

As a teacher of the English language, with students who are trying to become proficient in English, I can only be delighted that they've hit on a topic that brings up lengthy discussions allowing them to practice using the language while I get to learn much more about their view of history and what's important to them. However, I've had to brush up on my own history a bit, because so far I've been called upon to explain

• Why Abraham Lincoln is so respected in the USA
• the history of slavery and the Civil War
• the setup of the U.S. government, including separation of powers and what the President can and cannot do
• U.S. involvement in World War I
• The Protestant Reformation (they remembered that I'm Lutheran so they figured I must be an expert in this area....)
• The Louisiana Purchase and westward expansion (including a history of which European powers have occupied the entire American continent)
• The Founding Fathers and what they did

This last one came after my four students worked together to tell me about Ataturk, and asked me if there is an American equivalent. I divided the glory between Jefferson, Washington, Franklin, Adams, Madison, and Hamilton, and explained briefly the role each played in the formation of the USA. (Imagine all those fellows rolled into one and you'll get an idea of how very much Ataturk accomplished)

But this has all made me realize how very unique and incredible the American narrative is. I feel proud when talking about Lincoln or Jefferson or those who have shaped the course of our country, and I get goosebumps when talking about the Bill of Rights. I have also realized how ridiculous some of it sounds when you explain it to foreigners, such as slavery in a country that fought so hard for freedom. And unfortunately, tonight Hamilton was the last name on my list of Founding Fathers, so after this inspirational discussion about the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights, the end of the story was, "And then Hamilton was shot and killed by the Vice President in a duel." Good story, America. Or rather, good storytelling skills, Heidi.

So the moral of the story is this: teaching English is not for the faint of heart. Not only must you have the ability to explain the difference in usage between past simple and present perfect verb tenses, you must also be able to carry on an intelligent conversation on whatever topics the book or the students bring up. Yikes.