Megan Wilson

Megan Wilson teaches history.

At the beginning of each class, you play a piece of music from the era that students are studying. What inspired you to do that?
I try to get students to really envision what life was like for the people that we talk about. It’s easy to just think it’s a whole bunch of kings or presidents, but I want you to see that they are real people who made tough choices. It helps you feel like history has come alive. People are writing music about what is happening around them, so it’s a way to realize that the past actually had sound, and it’s not just this little vacuum.

What do you want your students to take away from your class?
I want my students to be really good writers and engagers of the world, and I think history is a great way to learn that. History is messy and complicated. People were making choices that have long term repercussions, and they did not always know that.

Why do you think teaching and learning history is important?
I think because we live in the world that we’ve inherited, we need to know why it’s structured the way it is. We want to try to make sure that we know about all the different cultures and parts of the world so we don’t have stereotypes and can move forward and build a better world.