History Comes Alive in the cemetery
Some people will tell you that the past is the past. Don’t look over your shoulder. But I’d like to suggest everyone should makes time to visit a cemetery. Preferably on a day when you’re not rushed and it can be a source of relaxation too.
During the overseas trip, I went on a city tour of Edinburgh. Different from boring fact telling approach we usually experience in Hong Kong local tours, the tour here very much focused on the storytelling element. Our tour guide John, was excellent in his role and he delivered a 2-hour experience that was informative, humorous and thoroughly enjoyable. We went to many places from Royal Mile, Victoria Street, Grass market and end at Greyfriars Kirkyard where JK Rowling got inspired for her Harry Potter.
How can we make history relevant to people?
There’s no better way to understand a city’s history than to tour its cemeteries. From the resting place of renowned economist Adam Smith at Canongate Kirk to the Soldiers’ Dog Cemetery at Greyfriars Kirkyard. They are the most historic cemeteries to explore in Edinburgh. Cemeteries like open air museums, full of history, art, stories, nature, wildlife and even gardening. When you go to a cemetery, you see what’s important to a society and what gets remembered by the people.
Researching a cemetery can be lots of work but very entertaining and informative for students to discover clues and make inferences about the history of the community in which they live. For example, the shape and material of the tombstone, its design, and the inscription are all clues to history. “Cemetery Hunt” can be a form of entertainment and inspiration, and even a history, cultural and art lesson.
A cemetery hunt as a lesson?
Believe it or not, this can be an ABSOLUTELY cool activity because cemeteries are completely full of history! History “comes alive” when students realize that the people buried there actually lived and contributed to their community what it is today. Students were immersed in an engaging learning experience for their cemetery hunt. The hunt is a perfect way to show off a local or social resource and helps connect students’ experiences into history lessons. It teach students how to make connections between past, present and future. Moreover, these kinds of practices give teachers a chance to show students how to handle facts, then question and investigate using resources that aren’t common in a classroom setting.
If teachers can get students to do something out of the box, it’s such a more
plentiful experience than just a lecture in class or even just looking at dull pictures in textbook!
