MBE students experience Alabama history

Every year, fourth grade students across Alabama look forward to an in-depth study of Alabama history. For Mountain Brook Elementary students, that study was brought to life with a day-long trip to Montgomery on Nov. 14. Fourth grade teachers Jennifer Wilson, Ashley Margaritis, Loretta Rowan and Meredith Collins designed the trip to introduce students to all aspects of Alabama history, government and society as they study it throughout the school year, culminating with an Alabama history play in the spring.

The field trip started with a visit to the Alabama State House, where Representative David Faulkner explained the structure of the Alabama Legislature and how bills are passed. Representative Faulkner led a mock vote with a pretend bill while the students sat in representatives’ chairs on the house floor.

Afterward, the class toured the Rosa Parks Museum, where they learned about Rosa Parks’ arrest and segregation in Alabama’s past. Wilson says that the museum was intended as an introduction to the Civil Rights era, which students will learn more about as the year progresses, including how events in Alabama—like the work of Martin Luther King Jr. and the Montgomery bus boycott—had national implications. Student Arden Turnbull named the Rosa Parks museum as one of her favorite stops on the field trip.

Lunch was served aboard the Harriot II, an 18th Century riverboat, as it cruised down the Alabama River. Student Chiles Novak said riding on the riverboat was “a lot of fun.” After lunch, students were provided a guided tour of the Alabama State Capitol where they learned more about Alabama’s history. Fourth-grader James Petrey said he “loved the rocks from each state in the USA circling in front of the capitol.”

For their final stop, the students visited Old Alabama Town, a museum that provides a walking tour through authentic 19th and 20th century buildings with volunteers dressed in attire from the era. It allowed the students to experience what it would be like to live and work in Alabama’s past. Fourth-grader Vann Inscoe said he “thought that going back in time to see what life was like in the 1800s was awesome because I enjoyed seeing what their houses, schools and churches looked like back then.”

For this group of MBE fourth-graders, Alabama history and government were brought to life thanks to significant planning and coordination by fourth grade teachers and the assistance of parents.

Submitted by Carla Ward.