Archived Jamesburg Articles
Learning borough history
Thursday, July 25, 2008
By Maria Prato-Gaines, Staff Writer
JAMESBURG - When Jamesburg third-graders return to their classrooms this fall they may be learning about local history from a custom-made lesson plan.
The Jamesburg Historical Association employed the services of a Rutgers University student over the spring semester and, with the help of Borough Historian and Councilman Thomas Bodall, composed seven 45-minute Jamesburg history lesson plans.
"It all started because at one time in our history the students in third grade used to take a trip to the (Lakeview: Buckelew Mansion)," Mr. Bodall said. "That ceased a few years back. I figured that if we can’t bring them to the history, then we can bring the history to them."
Mr. Bodall said that when the field trips stopped the children lost an important learning tool, as the borough had grown up around the Lakeview: Buckelew Mansion, mostly at the hands of a previous owner, Jamesburg’s namesake James Buckelew.
Lindsay Kelly, a Rutgers student who is seeking her master’s degree in early childhood education with a concentration on history, compiled the lessons from various materials, including newspaper articles, historical association publications and pictures, Mr. Bodall said.
"They focus on all the different aspects of Jamesburg’s history," Mr. Bodall said.
Some of the lesson plans include a section on community overview, "then and now," American Indians, transportation and the railroads, James Buckelew’s impact, Jamesburg’s maps and newspaper articles from both The Cranbury Press and the Jamesburg Record.
The JHA provided unit plans along with a teacher’s guide to each third-grade classroom in July 2007, Mr. Bodall said.
Jamesburg Superintendent Gail Verona said the Jamesburg Board of Education will likely vote in August on adding the course to its third-grade curriculum.
"We’re very excited about this," Dr. Verona said. "It’s a perfect example of learning about history that’s authentic, that’s tangible."
Dr. Verona said she doesn’t see the current curriculum suffering because of the new lesson plans, but rather that the children will have additional resources to learn from.
"Curriculum drives instruction - it’s not an instruction guide itself," she said.
"It would be supplementing or taking over portions of our current communities unit," said JFK Elementary School Principal Al Perno. "We’re not dropping either. We’re just sort of melding the two."
Mr. Bodall said that part of the JHA’s mission is to educate, and the organization feels that it’s important for the borough’s youth to understand their past.
"Knowing your town’s history helps you understand state and national history. And knowing state and national history helps you understand its impact on our history and the way we developed," he said.