Learning About History

During an interview by WHEC-TV news reporter Lynette Adams, for a feature about the 9/11 anniversary, global studies teacher Tim Dobbertin shows Adams and cameraman Michael Moore the history book his class at Westside Academy, a BOCES 2 general and alternative education high school in Gates, is using. The book contains information about 9/11 including the now iconic Associated Press photo of three firefighters raising the American flag at the World Trade Towers. "My students experienced 9/11 and to see information and photos in their history book has made them realize that history is not just memorizing dates and facts. History is about people and how world events change the course of lives," said Dobbertin. "The students can now relate to history in a new way." Global studies is a two year course that encompasses culture, geography, history and current global concepts. The course culminates in a Regents exam at the end of tenth grade.