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One advantage of doing historical research would be that there are other historians analyzing similar artifacts with whom you can compare notes to confirm your interpretations. On the other hand, because I have different experiences from other researchers, they might interpret the photos differently.

I found it challenging to name norms of society by looking at the photos because I know that the photographer captured a moment in time. I would more confidently be able to make generalizations with more documentation. I have some knowledge of that era which influenced my interpretations. I’m not sure if that would be an advantage or disadvantage because some of it comes from media, like movies, which are not always reality.

I see the advantages of approaching history in the classroom in this way. As it would “make the study of history more personal, more interactive and therefore more interesting.” (Milson & Downey 2001; Grant & VanSledright 2001; Barton, 1997 as cited by Sandwell, 2003, p. 1). A disadvantage of using these documents in the classroom might be that the students miss learning an important piece of information about the time period they’re studying because it isn’t shown in the document. For example, I couldn’t learn about that time period’s economy from the photos but I would’ve been able to had I read about it.

Sandwell, R. (2003). Reading beyond bias: Using historical documents in the secondary classroom. McGill Journal of Education, 38(1), 168-186.

here are 28 students visible in photo 3 with possibly more not in the photo which is more than the current cap in B.C. Perhaps class size was bigger in the fifties because of the teaching strategies used or the lack of students with high needs at that time. All of the students’ hands are in front of them which tells me that this was an expectation with which they are complying. Most of the students are either looking at the t.v. or at the teacher which tells me they are engaged in the lesson. The girls are wearing dresses while the boys are wearing pants and shirts which I interpret to mean that there were distinct gender roles in society at the time. The boys could’ve been more rough and tumble while the girls were cautious and neat. They were probably raised to fill different roles as adults like stay at home moms and working dads. Because all the boys have short hair, and the girls have longer hair, I think that they lived in a conservative society with traditional norms. The students are not always sitting beside someone of the same gender. Perhaps there was assigned seating which means that the teacher needed to control their behaviour somewhat. I assume that the students didn’t need many visuals to keep their attention since the classroom walls seem bare. The children obviously didn’t need a lot of stimulation. Perhaps this means people weren’t regularly bombarded with visuals in their daily life like billboards, commercials, etc. Because the teachers removed the desks to allow students to sit in chairs, I am led to believe that the students were sitting for a long period of time. Otherwise, they wouldn’t go through the hassle of doing that. This suggests that the students were able to concentrate for a long period of time. Maybe it was because of the technology which holds the attention of many of our youth today or because of their ability to focus. The children were all caucasian which I interpret to mean there was not a lot of cultural diversity in Calgary at that time. People must not’ve done a lot of travelling or air travel wouldn’t have been accessible to everyone. If there were other ethnicities around, the children didn’t go to the same school. These documents are important to analyze because they show a glimpse into education and childhood of my parent’s generation. From looking at the differences between their childhood experiences and mine, I can better understand their point of view on certain topics like how to raise my child. Considering I work with some teachers who are my parents age, I see why it would be harder for them to embrace 21rst century teaching methods and technology because it is a very different approach compared to how they were taught.

I was a passive observer at a playground today. I wonder if my presence affected the behaviour of one of the boys I was observing. He looked at me at least three times while on the playground. He was not as athletic as the other boy and struggled with playing on some of the features. Gay, Mills, and Airasian (2009) say that you need to have a rapport with those who you are observing. Maybe this boy was partly nervous because a stranger was watching him play.

Since I was not involved in the situation, it was easier for me to record field notes. However, I know it would be more difficult to do so if I had been an active observer. It would be hard to take mental notes of what was happening and engage with the participants at the same time.

I found it time consuming to type the notes after the observation. Gay, Mills and Airasian (2009, p.406) say, “One of the challenges for time-strapped educational researchers planning to do ethnographic research is the length of time in the field…and the length of the written account.”

I offered my interpretations of what I had seen but I would’ve liked to interview the boys as well to clarify questions I had.

I found it difficult to separate myself from my observations. I wonder if someone else would’ve interpreted the situation the same as I did. At the end of my notes, I realized I had assumed the non-athletic boy probably did better in school which was a major stereotype.

Gay, L.R., Mills, G.E., & Airasian, P.W. (2009). Educational research: Competencies for analysis and application (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall.