Class teaches Licking County history to Newark students

NEWARK - Last fall, Catey Sedor and her classmates did something few Newark residents have done: They visited the interior of the Licking County Courthouse's clock tower.

The Newark High School students were on a field trip with a new high school class that covers Licking County history.

"You get to learn a lot about Newark, Licking County and the place you live in," said Sedor, who is an 11th-grader.

The class was developed during the summer by high school history teachers Lauren Heck and Baron Smith, who both grew up in Newark and graduated from Newark High School.

The class starts with the Hopewell Indians and moves chronologically to the present day, using documents from the Licking County Historical Society plus field trips to sites such as The Works and the Newark Earthworks to teach students about the rich history of Licking County and Newark.

“We want to bring back, I think, pride into the community, into our school building,” Heck said.

Smith said most students only hear the history about the Civil War drummer boy John Clem and not much else, but the class brings to light other aspects of Newark's past that students might not know about.

“When you show them a picture of the Arcade and you explain to them things like Owens Corning glass factory, like how Newark’s always been a glass industry, they understand industrialization better that way, rather than ... a textbook telling them what the definition is,” Smith said.

The elective history class isn't taught in a regular classroom; at this time, it's only offered as a semester-long online class.

Heck said one of the benefits of an online class is that it teaches students independent learning and how to be successful on their own.

The students aren't just filling out handouts, Smith said. The class requires students to do research by visiting the historical society or the library. In addition to the field trips students take as a group, they also visit some historical sites on their own and must take selfies to prove they were there.

The class does require a lot of work, Smith said, but the number of students enrolled jumped to 13 for the second half of the year from seven in the fall, indicating students are interested in the material.

Smith said it’s important for students to understand where they come from.

“They actually develop a sense of identity and answer those questions: 'Why does it matter?' 'Why does this impact me?' We’re trying to explain that to them through this."

The class is reaching more than just high school students. Heck and Smith took other high school teachers on a bus tour of Newark earlier in the school year to teach them too, which Heck said creates a better community at the high school.

“When we can educate our peers, co-workers, they can now understand a little more where their students come from and empathize with them," Heck said. "But then at the same time our students, they can take this course and they can just, you take your skills obviously, your understanding of the content, but you’re taking a little bit of pride."

mdevito@gannett.com

740-328-8513

Twitter: @MariaDeVito13