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Citation for History Teaching-Bonnie Feick

Making History Come Alive
Mummified chickens and Socratic trials in Bonnie Feick’s sixth grade class

Bonnie Feick has always been a history buff.

As a third grader, she spent an entire day learning the names of every president and first lady in the United States.
Later, she learned that some of her ancestors had died during the Salem Witch Trials, which sparked a life-long interest in social studies. Once, she even became a winner on the television game show “History IQ.”

As the sixth-grade social studies teacher at the Anderson School, Feick, 36, goes “above and beyond the expected” in order to make history come alive for her students, said the principal, Brian Culot. “She really tries to bring the kids back to the times,” he explained. “I learned about Ancient Egypt in school and I didn’t think it was that exciting. I knew about mummification, but I never actually mummified a chicken.”

Yes, that’s right.

As part of their unit on ancient Egypt, Feick’s students learned hands-on how chemicals were used to preserve the dead by mummifying a headless hen. “Cluckopatra” was then given a proper Egyptian funeral, complete with eulogy and professional mourners.

Karen Kennedy, whose child is in Feick’s class, said it is creative methods like these that get the students interested and engaged. “Before, Devon thought history was boring,” Kennedy said of her son. “Now, it’s his favorite subject, and I don’t think he’s alone in that.”

Barbara Small remembers the day her 12-year-old twins came back from school demanding sheets to make togas. Her son Griffin was put on trial as Socrates, while his brother Dylan was part of his defense team. “It was nerve-racking, thinking that I could go to jail,” Griffin said. (During questioning, the defendant decided to employ the Socratic method, answering every question with another question. It didn’t work. He was found guilty of treason and ordered to drink a cup of orange juice.)

“Those are the kinds of experiences that kids hold on to forever and that make the knowledge run deep,” said Brian Culot, the principal.

According to Feick, it is not just the children who get to expand their horizons every day. “I love to learn, and when you’re teaching, you’re always learning,” she said. One day, the students pointed out to her that she had a tendency to always praise the same children. “We had a very productive conversation about it. It made me grow as a teacher.”

Feick, who was raised in Queens, proudly calls herself a product of the New York City public school system.

An English major at the University of Pennsylvania, she initially spent two years writing for real estate magazines before realizing that office life was not for her.

Thinking back to her days as a day camp counselor, she decided to combine her love for children with her passion for learning and went back to school. Her first job out of Columbia Teachers College was at Anderson, where she is now in her 10th year.

— Anne Gehris