Re: Are family trees hurtful?

[Tom Kemp <TomK@HERITAGEQUEST.COM>]

An approach I have always used with teachers is to suggest that they handle
a family tree assignment by:

1. Giving the students 2 options
        a. Their family
        b. Family of a famous person, Abraham Lincoln, John Kennedy, FDR
etc.

2. Send a letter home to the parents explaining the goals of the assignment
and have them select which option they would like to have the student work
on. Have them sign and return the letter.

This eliminates misunderstanding and any privacy concerns the family might
have.
Most families are thrilled to have their kids work on such a project and I
have found that of all the school projects worked on in K-12, the papers
from this one are kept by the family for years to come.

Another concern is helping families recently arrived in the US to locate the
documents (birth, marriage certificates etc.) from their home country or
even another state to complete the assignment. The current issue of the
Local History & Genealogy Librarian News has an article on this: "Vital
Records: How Do I Get a Birth Certificate from Singapore?" see:
http://www.heritagequest.com/html/lhgl_010104.html#vital

A school project on tracing a family tree gets students gathering original
records, learning about history and likely learning something more about
their family.

Good luck with it.

Tom Kemp
Chair, American Library Association, Genealogy Committee
Editor, Local History & Genealogy Librarian
http://www.heritagequest.com/html/lhgl_010104.html









-----Original Message-----
From: Brad and Natalie Johnson [mailto:bnljohnson@KSCABLE.COM]
Sent: Saturday, January 06, 2001 8:43 AM
To: LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Subject: Are family trees hurtful?


Many of you pointed out to me that an assignment of this nature hurts those
that:  Are adopted, do not know who their father is, are foster children
etc., etc., etc.,

Regardless of how I feel about a teachers request for a library lesson, I
try to do for them what ever I can.

This did give me something to think about?  What should I do?  Advice this
teacher not to do this assignment?

My email address for my school in my original post was incorrect it should
of been
njohnson@usd259.net


---------------------------------------------------------------
"Your Friend in the Library!"
Natalie Johnson, Library Media Specialist
Funston Elementary School
4601 South Hydraulic
Wichita, KS  67216
(316)973-8960
njohnson@usd259.net
funstonlibrary@hotmail.com

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=
All postings to LM_NET are protected under copyright law.
To quit LM_NET (or set-reset NOMAIL or DIGEST), send email to:
listserv@listserv.syr.edu   In the message write EITHER:
1) SIGNOFF LM_NET 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL or 3) SET LM_NET DIGEST
4) SET LM_NET MAIL  * Please allow for confirmation from Listserv.
For LM_NET Help see: http://ericir.syr.edu/lm_net/
Archives: http://askeric.org/Virtual/Listserv_Archives/LM_NET.html
 See also EL-Announce for announcements from library media vendors:
    http://www.mindspring.com/~el-announce/
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=
All postings to LM_NET are protected under copyright law.
To quit LM_NET (or set-reset NOMAIL or DIGEST), send email to:
listserv@listserv.syr.edu   In the message write EITHER:
1) SIGNOFF LM_NET 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL or 3) SET LM_NET DIGEST
4) SET LM_NET MAIL  * Please allow for confirmation from Listserv.
For LM_NET Help see: http://ericir.syr.edu/lm_net/
Archives: http://askeric.org/Virtual/Listserv_Archives/LM_NET.html
 See also EL-Announce for announcements from library media vendors:
    http://www.mindspring.com/~el-announce/
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=