Get Schooled: Behind the Scenes at CW's Electronic Field Trips

By Amber Lester Friday, March 19, 2010

It isn’t easy to admit this in some circles, but I feel safe with readers who choose to live in the Historic Triangle: I was a history geek as a child.

And I don’t mean that I kind of thought archaeology was cool. I mean I owned a wax seal when I was nine. I was the kid who couldn’t sit through Disney’s “Pocahontas” because I was so enraged by the inaccuracies.

But not every kid is engaged by history. For many kids (let’s hope not most), history is just that – history. It can be hard to help them consider figures from history as living, breathing people rather than names on a multiple choice quiz or faces on money. Field trips are a great way to help history come alive, but as more school divisions trim their budgets, long travel is one of the first things to go.

Enter Colonial Williamsburg’s Electronic Field Trips. I had heard of the field trips in passing, but didn’t really understand the program until I was invited to go behind the scenes last week. What I found was an inspiring and modern look at history, geared toward middle school children across the nation.

CW started its Electronic Field Trips program 15 years ago. The multimedia program allows classrooms to tune in to live national broadcasts at 10 a.m. or 1 p.m. one Thursday each month to view one of seven short movies focused on different historical topics. New movies are added to the rotation of films each year. Classes can watch the Electronic Field Trips from October through April on participating PBS stations and cable channels. The program costs $500 for an entire school and $120 for individual episodes; it also includes a Web site that features history-themed games and quizzes.

The entire broadcast is interactive for students at participating schools. While the program airs, students are invited to e-mail questions to the characters portrayed in the films; a team of experts answers the questions from a computer room in the Bruton Heights Education Center. After a scene in the movie concludes, the cameras cut to a live broadcast from a TV studio in the education center. There, cast members join experts, such as William and Mary professors and CW historians, to answer questions from students on the phone or via Skype, a video conferencing Web site.

Topics for the movies include the Bill of Rights, how slaves escaped to freedom, the lives of women during the Revolutionary War and more. I sat in on a viewing of “The Rights of Youth,” which focuses on the court system’s treatment of children. It could have been dry and boring, but it was fascinating. The episode showed what it was like for a child to be sold into indentured servitude or to be found as a stowaway on a ship. The episode didn’t shy away from some of the more grisly aspects of justice in Colonial America, showing children taken away from a mother who couldn’t provide and a child fined for playing too loudly in the street. Each case was based on real events and people from early Virginia. It was like Law & Order: Colonial Times.

Students from across the country called in to ask one character, Ann King (played by Amanda Schumann), about her experience traveling from England to America as an indentured servant. They also asked questions about punishments, which were answered by a CW historian. William and Mary law professor Jim Dwyer shared how Colonial juvenile courts compared to juvenile courts today.

The students who called in with their questions seemed really into it, especially when Schumann answered their questions in her adopted British accent. But while the program is great for the schools who subscribe, it’s also an amazing opportunity for area students interested in television and movie production.

CW hosts open auditions every year for its productions. On Thursday, I met two of the stars of “The Rights of Youth”: Schumann, a Bruton High School student, and Austin Judge, a student at Magruder Elementary. Students also serve as hosts for the program, answering viewer questions while reading from a teleprompter.

Schumann, whose father Richard portrays Patrick Henry for CW, hopes to become a professional actress. She’s been acting since she was little, and has appeared in several productions for CW. “I love being on camera,” she said.

To learn more about the Electronic Field Trips, which are open to the public for viewing at the Bruton Heights Education Center’s auditorium, visit CW online.

Giving Regards to Broadway
High school musical season is in full swing, offering a chance for students to show off their singing, dancing and set decorating talents.
This weekend, Lafayette High School presents “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” a musical based on the 1988 film by the same title. Two con men try to fool each other in an attempt to steal the fortunes of an American soap heiress vacationing in the French Riviera. The musical, which starred John Lithgow, won the Tony Award for Best Musical in 2005. Lafayette’s version will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and at 2 p.m. Saturday in the Lafayette High School auditorium. Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for students. Call 565-4245 to reserve a seat.

Warhill High School will perform “Godspell,” a modernized take on the gospel according to Matthew. Musical fans will recognize composer Stephen Schwartz’s hits, such as “Day by Day” and “It’s All for the Best.” The show will be performed at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and at 2 p.m. Saturday in the Warhill High auditorium. Tickets are $10 for adults at the door, $5 for students and $5 for the Saturday matinee. For more information, call 565-4615.

Next weekend, Jamestown High will present “The Pajama Game” and Walsingham Academy will offer “Thoroughly Modern Millie.” Look out for more information in next week’s Get Schooled.