| The first year history students enjoyed a trip to the National Heritage Park in Wexford. A tour guide helped groups trace the customs and habitations of different eras - from the neolithic ages to the arrival of Christianity to Ireland. There was also a surprise in store for the students when they sampled pork cooked using a Fullacht Fiadh, an ancient method of cooking using water warmed by hot stones. |
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Watching history documentaries can be an excellent way to reinforce your learning, pursue an interest and develop your critical-thinking skills. They can also be a great source of inspiration for your research topic! Keep an eye on TV listings for a documentary that interests you, or check some of the dedicated history channels. You can also view history related documentaries at the following sites: http://documentary.net/films/history/ http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/category/history/ even Netflix has some good documentaries. Albert Speer was the architect behind many of the Nazi's most impressive buildings, stages and events such as the Nuremberg Rallies. Click here to find out more about a believed to be lost 1978 interview with him. The Most Courageous Raid of WWII? Operation Frankton was a daredevil raid on Ships harboured in German controlled Bordeaux. One of the more bizarre World War II missions it is often commented upon because of its novelty (though it was no novel undertaking) and its almost suicidal plan.
Recruits were sought who would be "volunteers for hazardous service". It has Irish connections. Its brainchild was born in Dublin, one Major Herbert George 'Blondie' Hasler: He came up with the idea that light canoes could be used to penetrate deep into enemy harbours under the cover of darkness, and that great damage could done by using limpet mines to blow up ships. Find out more: http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/cockleshell_heroes_of_1942.htm http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/books-arts/honoured-at-last-the-irish-cockleshell-heroes-26611994.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/world-war-two/8090441/Cockleshell-Heroes-the-truth-at-last.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12914628 http://books.google.ie/books?id=HmAB9I2aZ54C&pg=PT115&dq=operation+frankton&hl=en&sa=X&ei=9q4xU_bVIciO7AbQtYCoDA&ved=0CFEQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=operation%20frankton&f=false [Read Conclusion] http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/books-arts/honoured-at-last-the-irish-cockleshell-heroes-26611994.html In December 2013, the former South African policician, anti-apartheid revolutionary and philantropist passed away. The Guardian complied a very interesting interactive timeline if you want to know more about his life and its chronology. An aspect of his life or beliefs would certainly make for a topical research topic. Check out this interactive time line here>> Arthur Griffith is perhaps best known as a signatory of the treaty . He had a significant influence on the series of events that lead to the signing of the treaty: Not just during the negotiations, but also on the national feeling and political landscape that would insist on a redefinition of Britain’s influence in Ireland. A redefinition sought by the British PM when he wrote to de Valera for a conference: "with a view to ascertaining how the association of Ireland with the community of nations known as the British empire may best be reconciled with Irish national aspirations". Griffith was born into a working class Dublin family and as a young man he supported Parnell and developed radical nationalist views: He was present at the first meeting of the Gaelic League, opposed Irish conscription for WW1, helped to land guns at Howth in 1914 and even volunteered for the 1916 rising but was told to ‘pen the gun’ –in other words; that his writing for a nationalist cause and identity would be as great a contribution towards independence as fighting. He followed in his father’s footsteps by becoming a printer and would go on to spend time in South Africa (1887-1898) as a newspaper editor where he developed pro-Boer views that were critical of British policy in southern Africa. He returned to Ireland to launch a nationalist newspaper called the United Irishman in 1904 which had to close due to liable but was replaced by another paper, Sinn Féin, in 1908. Although the newspaper was never remarkably popular the term Sinn Féin remained in the public eye thanks to Griffith’s nationalist journalism. The term Sinn Féin and ‘Shinners’ was applied as a blanket-term for radical nationalists and the wave of anti-English feeling after the rising led to huge support for his organisation. After 1916 a movement that had once been described as ‘Griffith and his fleas’ gained in popularity and evolved into a political party to replace the Home Rule party as the dominant party in Ireland. Griffith was arrested after the 1916 rising and released but stood aside to let Eamon de Valera assume the head of Sinn Féin. It seemed as if home rule was no longer enough for the public. Instead they supported Sinn Féin and its desire for independence. Griffith proposed an idea of Dual-Monarchy as a solution to Irish Nationalist aspirations, while appeasing the Unionists: Whereby an independent Ireland would accept the King of England as being also King of Ireland. This is not far off the idea of external association that de Valera would ask the treaty delegates to bargain for. He also believed that Irish MPS should withdraw from Westminster and establish a parliament in Dublin. This manifested itself in the form of SF candidates refusing to take their seats and establishing the first Dáil. Under the Dáil, Arthur Griffith set up the Sinn Féin courts in an attempt to displace British influence while another Dáil TD, Michael Collins, would conduct attacks on British forces and institutions as Minister for Intelligence. The War of Independence would of course lead to a ceasefire and treaty negotiations. It can be seen that Griffith clearly had a role to play in bringing about the conditions for these negotiations. Griffith was chosen as chairman of the delegation for the conference in London. When the delegates returned to the Dáil during the negotiation Griffith argued that the British were not going to cede full independence and that pursuing it, or external association, was futile. Upon his return to London the negotiations broke into sub-committees to try and get around the problem of Ulster. Griffith privately agreed to a proposal for a boundary commission and provided the ‘essential unity’ of Ireland was maintained. Lloyd George produced this document later to persuade Griffith (always touchy about his honour) to accept the treaty pending a boundary comission. He was the first to sign the treaty and said he would do so even if his colleagues would not. he acted as a plenipotentiary in this situation and signed without consulting de Valera, much to de Valera’s public distain later. Griffith also made a strong case for the treaty in the Dáil debates which would ratify the treaty by a narrow margin. When de Valera stepped down after these debates, Griffith became the leader of the divided Dáil and would oversee a public vote that yielded a dominant pro-treaty result. He faced the huge task of rebuilding a new Irish Free State during the Civil war, a task he never managed to see out as he died suddenly from a cerebral haemorrhage. Sir, Unsurprisingly, an in-class survey on what helped students learn history yielded lots of different results. While some students reported that they really found cooperative work helpful, others found they preferred working on their own. For some, videos really helped get points across, while for others, reading the textbook and working out the chronology of events was their preferred method. If you have ever attended a study-skills tutorial; you will have encountered various advice for helping you to get to grips with and remember information: including using - Mind Maps - Writing out information, repeating it, covering it and then trying to recite it - Using visuals/graphic organisers to group information, or even drawing pictures. - Creating a study timetable/schedule - Listening to podcasts or their own voice recordings - Mnemonics/acronyms e.g. Nazi Germany GRASP*ed territory (Germany, Rhineland, Austria, Sudetenland, Poland). Get creative. There is no set-in-stone, one-size-fits-all package that can be pitched to students. Maybe writing things out on a whiteboard with markers will help or drafting and printing your own MS Word notes: What works for you might not work for others. What is important is that you engage with the material in a way that makes it easier for you to recall what you studied and what you learned in class. Some students responded that they liked listening to music while they studied. While for some it may relax them and help them study for the majority of learners it will prove a distraction. Try working without music and see if your work improves! If you think you are a learner who learns well from hearing (an auditory learner) why not find a podcast to listen to when you are out and about or on a long bus trip? You could even make your own voice recording of notes, or sections from the book and listen to them. Others reported that a challenge to their learning was putting their mobile phone away or turning the TV off so that they could concentrate. Reducing distractions is important and all students should be able to find a quiet place to study and work. If this is an issue talk to a teacher about attending an afterschool study session or getting a membership in a nearby library. Although at times homework might seem like a tedious task, and the prospect of watching TV too might make it less daunting. You are on the one hand, prolonging the time it will take you to complete the task and not doing yourself justice by submitting work that didn’t have your full brain power working on it. Once you find a formulae that suits you your work will improve and your will remember details better! Unsurprisingly, a class-survey on what helped students learn history yielded lots of different results. While some students reported that they really found cooperative work helpful, others found they preferred working on their own. For some, videos really helped get points across, while for others, reading the textbook and working out the chronology of events was their preferred method.
If you have ever attended a study-skills tutorial; you will have encountered various advice for helping you to get to grips with and remember information: including using - Mind Maps - Writing out information, repeating it, covering it and then trying to recite it - Using visuals/graphic organisers to group information, or even drawing pictures. - Creating a study timetable/schedule - Listening to podcasts or their own voice recordings - Mnemonics/acronyms e.g. Nazi Germany GRASP*ed territory (Germany, Rhineland, Austria, Sudetenland, Poland). Get creative. There is no set-in-stone, one-size-fits-all package that can be pitched to students. Maybe writing things out on a whiteboard with markers will help or drafting and printing your own MS Word notes: What works for you might not work for others. What is important is that you engage with the material in a way that makes it easier for you to recall what you studied and what you learned in class. Some students responded that they liked listening to music while they studied. While for some it may relax them and help them study for the majority of learners it will prove a distraction. Try working without music and see if your work improves! If you think you are a learner who learns well from hearing (an auditory learner) why not find a podcast to listen to when you are out and about or on a long bus trip? You could even make your own voice recording of notes, or sections from the book and listen to them. Others reported that a challenge to their learning was putting their mobile phone away or turning the TV off so that they could concentrate. Reducing distractions is important and all students should be able to find a quiet place to study and work. If this is an issue talk to a teacher about attending an afterschool study session or getting a membership in a nearby library. Although at times homework might seem like a tedious task, and the prospect of watching TV too might make it less daunting. You are on the one hand, prolonging the time it will take you to complete the task and not doing yourself justice by submitting work that didn’t have your full brain power working on it. Once you find a formulae that suits you your work will improve and your will remember details better! |
Confey History DeptThis is the blog for the Confey College History site. Archives
October 2014
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