More Resources on PBS

Seems I have had a little more time to sit and watch tv lately..... another perk of snow days! I was reminded again of what a good resource PBS can be for teaching history. I watched a couple of worthwhile programs.

Ironically, after our discussion in class on Saturday about recent advances in DNA testing and its use in geneology, and specifically Henry Louis Gates's work with it, I saw the first segment of a Gates program called "Faces of America". In this program, Gates has done research on the immigrant families of well-known Americans, among them Kristi Yamaguchi, Dr. Oz, Yo Yo Ma, director Mike Nichols, and others. The stories he uncovers for these people are fascinating in themselves. But what I found the most intriguing is the insight he gave them into some of the ironies of their ancestors' lives. For instance, Krisiti Yamaguchi's Japanese American grandfather was a decorated soldier serving in the US army in World War II while his wife was being held in a "relocation center" in Arizona. Mikes Nichols's grandfather served in the German army in World War I, then immigrated to the US to escape persecution of the Jews. His sons then went back to Germany as US soldiers in World War II.
This series could be a valuable resource for use with older students when studying immigration or World War II.

A second program I saw was part of the series called "Independent Lens". These programs usually highlight more contemporary subjects through documentaries done by filmmakers who are not in the mainstream. But last week's segment was about the 1960 non-violent protest started by 4 African American students at the Woolworth store in Greensboro, North Carolina. It was a very well done documentary which did a fantastic job of showing the determination of the 4 young men who started the protest as well as the many other students and local citizens who joined them.

I don't know if PBS lends DVDs of these programs as they do of some of their "educational" series, but it would be worth asking!