US History Students Enjoyed a Special Visit from Dr. Gardiner!

 

On Tuesday, October 14, US History students at Catholic Central were blessed to have spent a day learning from Dr. Richard Gardiner. Dr. Gardiner was a former teacher at Catholic Central, and is currently a professor at Columbus State University located in Columbus, GA.

On this day Dr. Gardiner came to school ready to instruct the US History students as though they were scholars at the College of New Jersey in 1758. Topics included politics, theology, geography, gender issues, science and philosophy. Students were engaged as they asked questions and were examined by the professor all to give the students a chance to enhance their understanding of a crucial time period in American History. Questions regarding the theories of Locke, Franklin, Whitefield, Bacon, and Edwards all became relevant topics to the students throughout their time with Dr. Gardiner as they became the scholars, and Dr. Gardiner - their President of the college.

This style of learning (living history in the classroom) was first brought to Catholic Central by Dr. Gardiner, however Mr. Meddaugh, learning this practice from Dr. Gardiner, uses this learning activity multiple times a year - a practice in which the students find to be a fun, engaging and a great academic practice within the US History curriculum.

Below are some images from this day:

Students in 1st Hour are discussing the question of free will with President Edwards - discussing the President’s own works on free will and the beliefs of Predestination, and which should young scholars follow as their guiding theological principle.

3rd Hour students are being prepped for their examination. In order to be qualified students at the College of New Jersey, these students had to answer philosophical questions that would help guide their thought processes in their future endeavors.

5th Hour students are encouraged through discussion to value Locke’s theories of government, and to question the small rebellion that is being started by a few students at Harvard that call themselves the “Sons of Liberty”.

8th Hour students engaged at the role of smallpox in society - and the new discovery of an inoculation that attempts to prevent the pox from destroying society. Ethical, moral and theological questions were all debated surrounding the topic of the smallpox inoculation.