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And I am very excited about it!
So, while I was checking my stats today, I found that I had procured a number of readers from this blog. If you click on the word "controversy," it will tak you to my post on Dr. Glen LaFantaise's article "The Foolishness of Civil War Reenactors."
I am very excited and pleased that my (hopefully) polite retort to Dr. LaFantaise's article was considered intelligent and well-written enough to be included in Brooks D. Simpson's post. Mr. Simpson, if your proper title is Dr., I do apologize, but I cannot access your profile currently. I was happy to see in the comments of Mr. Simpon's post, which I do suggest you read, my feelings were reiterated by others. One gentleman, in particular, stated reenacting is a teaching tool. All I can say is, thank you!
It is very difficult for children, especially, to gain knowledge strictly from reading a book or listening to someone talk. There are many different ways for a person to learn. I, personally, am a kinesthetic learner. This means I learn best by doing. The other most common types of learning are visual and auditory. If three students were being taught to do a complicated math problem, the auditory student would learn best by the teacher saying, "okay, add parts a and b, then divide by c and multiply by d." The visual learner would learn best by watching the teacher solve the problem on the chalk board: A+B=? ?/C=? ?xD=answer. A kinesthetic learner learns best by having the teacher walk them through the process. Add A+B. Now divide your answer by C. Now multiply your answer by D. That is the solution to the problem.
I find that reenacting combines all of these learning techniques. The visual learner can SEE the uniforms, the weapons, the tents, the battles. The auditory learner can TALK with the reenactors, hear the announcer's description of the battles. The kinesthetic learner can TOUCH the horses, smell the fire, feel the shake of the guns. Reenacting brings a taste of the history back to life for people to really get a grasp of.
Anyway, that was the big issue to get off my chest in regards to Dr. LaFantaise's article. I am glad that others agree with what I had to say. However, I do not want my blog to be some political stance for or against reenacting, Republicans vs Democrats, or, heaven forbid, a race issue. Mary's Modern Mishaps is about being a living historian/reenactor/entrepreneuer. It's about a 20 something year old woman who loves her boyfriend, family, dog, and history. It is not a sounding board for people who want to fight over anything that can exist harmoniously.
It is however anti-bullies and I still think Dr. LaFantaise is just that. Done, now. Let us not fight and argue over our differences, but accept each other for who and what we are.
So, while I was checking my stats today, I found that I had procured a number of readers from this blog. If you click on the word "controversy," it will tak you to my post on Dr. Glen LaFantaise's article "The Foolishness of Civil War Reenactors."
I am very excited and pleased that my (hopefully) polite retort to Dr. LaFantaise's article was considered intelligent and well-written enough to be included in Brooks D. Simpson's post. Mr. Simpson, if your proper title is Dr., I do apologize, but I cannot access your profile currently. I was happy to see in the comments of Mr. Simpon's post, which I do suggest you read, my feelings were reiterated by others. One gentleman, in particular, stated reenacting is a teaching tool. All I can say is, thank you!
It is very difficult for children, especially, to gain knowledge strictly from reading a book or listening to someone talk. There are many different ways for a person to learn. I, personally, am a kinesthetic learner. This means I learn best by doing. The other most common types of learning are visual and auditory. If three students were being taught to do a complicated math problem, the auditory student would learn best by the teacher saying, "okay, add parts a and b, then divide by c and multiply by d." The visual learner would learn best by watching the teacher solve the problem on the chalk board: A+B=? ?/C=? ?xD=answer. A kinesthetic learner learns best by having the teacher walk them through the process. Add A+B. Now divide your answer by C. Now multiply your answer by D. That is the solution to the problem.
I find that reenacting combines all of these learning techniques. The visual learner can SEE the uniforms, the weapons, the tents, the battles. The auditory learner can TALK with the reenactors, hear the announcer's description of the battles. The kinesthetic learner can TOUCH the horses, smell the fire, feel the shake of the guns. Reenacting brings a taste of the history back to life for people to really get a grasp of.
Anyway, that was the big issue to get off my chest in regards to Dr. LaFantaise's article. I am glad that others agree with what I had to say. However, I do not want my blog to be some political stance for or against reenacting, Republicans vs Democrats, or, heaven forbid, a race issue. Mary's Modern Mishaps is about being a living historian/reenactor/entrepreneuer. It's about a 20 something year old woman who loves her boyfriend, family, dog, and history. It is not a sounding board for people who want to fight over anything that can exist harmoniously.
It is however anti-bullies and I still think Dr. LaFantaise is just that. Done, now. Let us not fight and argue over our differences, but accept each other for who and what we are.
Hi there. I would have sent this in an email to you, but I was unable to find one. I'm Keith Brown, editor of Wall Patch, the AOL local news service for Wall Township. I'd like to talk to you about blogging on our site wall.patch.com. Please drop me a line at keith.brown@patch.com. Thanks.
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