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Waukesha teacher blends students’ ‘Chords of Memory’ into book
Posted: 10/2/2009 10:45:04 AM
Pat Gardner, who’s been teaching American history for 15 years, compiled 30 stories from her students covering 27 countries into “Chords of Memory: Immigration Stories of Waukesha Families, Friends and Neighbors.” It’s the culmination of a grant Gardner received to cull her students’ work into a piece of literature the community can use to share her passion.
“I love hearing the voice of the past and bringing them back,” she said.
Gardner, a teacher at Waukesha South High School, was taking stock of her students’ assigned work to write about immigration when she applied for a grant from the Waukesha Education Foundation. The grant went toward a voice recorder and part of the book’s printing costs, allowing 150 copies to be printed and sold at $15 each ($10 less than the cost to produce).
All copies soon were sold out, allowing people outside the school and her classes to read what Gardner calls her students’ “delicious stories.” Another printing could be established if enough orders are made to cover printing costs.
One of Gardner’s typical American history assignments is to have students write about their family members’ experience coming to the U.S.
“They’re finding out about what they love best: themselves, and that’s where learning has to begin,” Gardner said.
The grant allowed the students to flush out their stories further, adding more research and photos. The work of 53 students covers areas of the globe from Afghanistan to Wales and also features photo essays of Waukesha’s immigration history, Old World Wisconsin and Ellis Island. Another 14 stories came from students that had graduated South High School.
One of the stories tells the tale of how immigrants from Mexico in the Waukesha of the 1930s were barred from renting any space large enough to hold family gatherings. They had to hold events in a livestock pavilion, instead.
Gardner credited the foundation with providing a cash boost allowing her to compile the stories and give her students a showcase for their work and their family history.
“With all the cuts we’ve gone through the past few years we’ve gone from skin to bones, so this foundation allows us to do something special we really want to do,” Gardner added.
And there’s something else Gardner wants to do. She’s hatching plans for another grant application to cover printing costs for another book of her students’ work: histories of Waukesha World War II veterans.
