Students at one Sacramento high school are getting a uniquely interactive history lesson through an annual event they're sure to be talking about for years.
Mira Loma High School students spent last Friday recreating a time gone by. Girls wore polka-dot dresses to below the knees; guys donned sport coats, fedoras and ties.
“We are doing a 1950’s city simulation,” said English Teacher Mike Bender. “The kids have chosen topics. They’re researching them thoroughly and finding out the before, during and after of that topic and representing it during an event we call Pleasantville.”
With a six-string strapped over his shoulder, Bender plays the part of Bill Haley as his students reprise an influential 50's personality or group they chose to study in recent weeks.
“It’s one thing to just sit there and read a book about the 50’s and study them in a history book,” Bender explained. “When you can act it out and feel it, like in our civil rights booth, it’s more impactful and powerful to the kids.”
Standing next to a Black '56 Buick Century, Andy Vanommen shared his new-found knowledge of classic cars.
“I can actually look at the car, point to the engine and tell people, ‘that is a wide-block V8 right there’” said Vanommen. “I can visually see it myself and learn.”
Eleccia Zeriax stood among the students who chose to study McCarthyism, the various movements of Fidel Castro, Mob Boss Meyer Lansky and even Lucille Ball. Adorned in a form-fitting floor-length black gown, Zeriax spent the day carrying a tenor sax portraying be-bop jazz singer Anita O'Day.
“She was born in Chicago, Illinois,” Zeriax pointed out. “She originally started as a doo-wop show girl and then became a solo artist. I really like her character and her style.”
The interactive learning experience is likely to expand Zeriax’s music collection.
“Before this project I wasn’t so much a fan of jazz music, I more so listed to Johnny Cash and Elvis,” Zeriax confessed. “Through this project, I opened up to listening to more genres of music like jazz… I really enjoy it a lot!”
Bender hopes his students will note the similarities between life in the 1950's and the present day.
“It’s an interesting time,” Bender continued.“ I lived through the 80’s when there was that age of anxiety between certain superpowers. Now we’ve got some tensions going on between countries. The students have traced it now all the way back to the Cold War that started in the 50’s, so I think they’re making those connections and realizing that every other age lives through some kind of anxiety.”
Bender says graduates who've participated in previous years typically remember their experience with the annual event as one of the best days of their high school career!
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