Percoco Book Review - April 10, 2008

Book Reviewed:
Percoco, James A. (1998). A passion for the past: Creative teaching of US history. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

James A. Percoco is a dedicated educator who brings U.S. History and applied history studies alive to his students in the West Springfield High school in Springfield, Virginia. Since beginning his teaching career in 1980 Percoco has sought out instructional methods that reach beyond the typical lecture and in class projects so common in many US history courses. Since 1991 he has actively engaged high school students in real world investigations through his innovative Applied History course.

The theme that winds through all his curriculum and lesson plan design is “thinking like a historian.” Percoco practices what he preaches to his students. Over the last 25 years he has received many outstanding educator awards including the Outstanding Social Studies teacher awards (1993) at the Walt Disney Company American Teacher and election to the first USA TODAY All-USA teacher team in 1998. A Passion for the Past: Creative teaching of US History, the book highlighted in this review, was granted the American Historical Association’s James Harvey Robinson Prize in 2000. He also served on the board for the National Council for History education.

Recognition of his awards provides only a superficial view of his educational influence. The teaching methodologies described in the book have delivered many students into the world of historic research and advocacy. Students in his Applied History course have worked side by side with professionals at historic sites and agencies, and museums, logging in over 20,000 volunteer hours. He has also actively participated in international educational exchanges programs in Russia and China. He was also appointed to an adjunct professor position and named, in 2005, as a History Educator in Residence at American University. In 2007 his work was documented in Paul Sanderson’s Augustus Saint- Gaudens: Master of American Sculpture.

It is quite fitting that Percoco’s most recent award focuses on American Sculpture. The methodologies described in the book bring together successful pedagogy from across multiple disciplines and are all tied together with his obsession with history, particularly Cleo, the muse of history. At the beginning of each semester he declares his love for all things history by revealing his “Clio Corner.” A depository of photos depicting events either Percoco or his students have experienced surrounds a picture of the sculpture of Clio found at the Old House of Representatives Chamber in the US Capitol. In his classroom she is the central point for recording history for his students and all humanity.

Throughout A Passion for the Past he focuses on innovative ways to bring the documents and artifacts of history to the students present conscious. He uses dynamic, enthusiastic presentation though film, interviews, primary source investigation, site visitation, literature review, and musical and art exploration, as a means to engage his students. His text describes activities he used and how he broke away from lecture, the dominant mode of instruction when he began his teaching career in 1980.

Percoco expresses the need for networking and using outside resources throughout his book. Many history teachers rely on textbooks and staged documents provided by publishing houses for soul sources of reference in their instruction. Percoco emphasizes the need or history educators and thus inferred other educators to hone skill and knowledge base by reading and experiencing history for themselves.

He also encourages educators to engage in the art of networking. Educators should find local and regional facilities and educators might serve as resources during field trips, video conferencing or in-class speaking arrangements, and internships. These resources are often free, especially when linked to tax funded organizations such as the National Archives, and provide a contemporary real world connection to the past.

Alternate forms of expression and artifacts for assessment are also important. These activities include such zeitgeist expressions such as summarizing historical themes or messages on bumper stickers. Creation of journals (written and photographic), songs, artwork, and other creative applications such as “if a statute could talk” encourage students to move beyond recitation of historic fact and internalize both the content as well as the historic thinking process necessary to become a historic literate citizenry.

This interdisciplinary approach to social studies promoted is very important for novice educators to witness and experience whether in Social Studies or other disciplines. As a teacher educator in the Environmental Education field I intend to incorporate the methodologies demonstrated in A Passion for the Past. The recommendations transcend all disciplines and have sound place across all disciplinary curriculum.