Heritage Album

Teachers: Have you ever assigned a family tree project?

I normally hang out in the genealogy section, where we get dozens of questions from panicking students who’ve been required to trace their family tree for a school project. They’re often asked to find out where their ancestors came from, or to describe their ancestor’s immigration experience. That’s a wonderful project for someone who can talk to parents or grandparents about their immigration experience. But what about students whose ancestors have been here for 100+ years? It can take years of extensive (and expensive) research to find that type of information. Even going back a couple generations can take months; and that’s assuming you have the money and the know-how to do it. So I’m wondering… are the teachers who assign these projects not aware of what’s involved in genealogical research? Or are the students misunderstanding the assignment? Are they given other options, if finding their family origins isn’t feasible? I love to see kids become interested in family history, but I feel bad for these students. They’re under the impression that they can click on a website and find their family tree, but it just doesn't work that way.

Public Comments

1. it's just the teachers giving random assignments that they think are interesting and easy when they don't really know much about genealogy. No offense to high school teachers, but they're not the brightest bunch. Don't get me wrong, there are some brilliant high school teachers that I respected very much. If they're to get respect its for dealing with kids all day, not their smarts.