Part 1: Before You Watch

 Looking at the stories of the history of our city or community would help me situate myself within the larger history of Buffalo. It creates awareness to studying the changes in migration patterns to Buffalo and their impact over thousands of years to consider various reasons why different people (indigenous, European, African Americans, immigrants from Asia, Mexico, or the middle east) migrated to and from this community and how it compared to other communities, both in the USA and elsewhere. That awareness of the past would inform my present thinking of the living history of the Greater Buffalo Area. Looking at the stories of the history of the Greater Buffalo Area might help me understand the future better when considering how to encourage growth in commerce, education, and reducing poverty. What has worked or failed in the past and why did it work or fail?

Understanding the stories of our own communities can help us understand our current state by really allowing us to understand what makes us what we currently are.  What types of people currently make up our demographics? Why did they come here? What is their goal in living in this area? Better education? Jobs? Escaping other parts of the world due to war or myriad reasons?  I think that reading and learning about these stories can give us a better lens to look at the current status of the community that we work in and that some of us live in as well.  
These same stories can inform us of what possibilities exist in our future as well.  Learning about the migratory patterns that have gone on in our area and what the push/pull factors are that made those happen can help us forecast what we may see moving forward.  UB is a major driver of the population in Amherst and therefore Sweet Home. Knowing that many families are leaving neighborhoods and school districts that they believe failed their families to try and find a better situation in our school can help us know what areas of training we as staff may need to better serve these students and families. The demographic shift that our district has undertaken over the past decade should very much inform our practice moving forward as educators.  Seeing more training that targets learning about or ELL population or that focus on topics such as diversity and understanding of others shows me that we do value the history that we have lived through and are learning from it.

As stated in the video, having an understanding of the stories in the past helps us understand how the history of a place impacts us or applies to the present day.  For example, I wrote my model essay for my sophomores on the earliest recorded history of Buffalo.  Reading the research describing how some of our main roads were originally frequently travelled paths by the Iroquois was fascinating and broadened my whole perspective on places I felt I already knew very well!  Or looking at the change in the names of our main streets as it reflected the dominant culture in power at the time helped me understand the change in time of this area.  It really helps you get a more complete story of a place and a people.  You can look at so many different factors - people, events - that shape a place and a group of people to better understand how they've come to be the way they are.  And in the future, it can help inform decisions, ideas, and actions.  Maybe even bringing it all full circle to look at how we can help connect the future of a place to some of the original stories of its past.

I also really liked the idea for grouping history instruction by a question.  What a great line of inquiry to look at questions like "What has caused people to come and go" in a specific region?  I would love to explore that topic in relation to our home city - I'm sure the answers have changed dramatically over time!

When reflecting on our Amherst community, the biggest thing that sticks out to me is the continual rise of refugee, immigrant, and asylum-seeking families moving into our community. Buffalo has taken in large waves of refugee and asylum seekers, and now that these families are established, they are moving into the suburbs. This is called second migration. In the past several years, Amherst has experienced large amounts of multilingual and multicultural families moving into our community. Specifically, the North End. This has greatly impacted our school community--more multilingual learners, more languages, more diversity. This diversity makes us stronger! Because of these changes, we have implemented a more diverse curriculum, looked at our hiring practices, and even created and implemented a DEI committee and sub-committees. 

Understanding the history of our community can help us look at our history through a different lens. 
Amherst is in an area experiencing a wave of second migration, specifically for immigrant families. We can build understandings of our students when we have critically thought about what might have brought them to Amherst.  Did their parents grow up here? Did they move here to be closer to a business or religious institution? Are they here while their parent attends UB?  Thinking about our current students can also help us plan for the future.  I think one great example of this is the new community center located closer to the north end of our district.  I have spoken with one of the committee members about different programs the community center can offer to our multilingual families. Maybe we form partnerships with other community groups to help support families in our district.

Kids have to learn to see the history around us everywhere. History connects the past to the present, helping us understand how our world—and we—came to be. Learning history also encourages our sense of belonging. Each of us is part of multiple communities that give our lives meaning. We belong to nations, religions, small groups, and professions. We are shaped by our economic conditions, our ethnic background, and our gender. We become better caretakers of our communities, even when that requires using historical knowledge to criticize the present. Most of all, we discover that we are not the first to wrestle with the kinds of questions that possess us. We have much to learn from those who preceded us. History sheds light on the most important issues we face today. Making sense of other societies also encourages empathy for different cultures around the world. We thus study history to simultaneously situate ourselves in the present and to distance ourselves from it. The city of Buffalo has a rich complex past. We have always been a crossroads of people, cultures, good services and ideas. When you look to the indigenous people who first settled, to the French, Dutch and English that explored the region, African Americans, Germans, Irish, Poles, Italians, Hungarians, Ukrainians, Armenians, to more recently, Puerto Ricans, Vietnamese, Nigerian, Sudanese, Syrian and Pakistani to name just a few one can see how diverse our communities are and have always been. This diversity is what makes our city great. When kids study history and can see themselves in the story, that resonates. One thing we can do as teachers is to take kids on field trips to explore our past. This is a great way to help them understand their place in our community. It allows them to appreciate and celebrate our racial and cultural diversity. Over the years, I have taken kids to sites that celebrate our African American Heritage, our Native American heritage, and have toured many neighborhoods throughout our city. This allows kids to experience our past and present within an inclusive multicultural context. In addition, taking them to places like Forest Lawn Cemetery, the Freedom Wall, Teddy Roosevelt Inaugural Site, Old Fort Niagara, the Naval Park, on Architectural Tours, Olmstead Parks, the Erie Canal Locks Niagara Falls, helps give them sense of place and time. It the story of Buffalo, the story of us coming together to create a new society where everyone has a place and a voice. Helping kids make sense of the past and present will help them understand and anticipate their future.