Huron Expositor, 2009-06-24, Page 3241/2614100$00WhartN tat 44 ..4406001k
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News
History comes Van Egmond House for
Grade 7 students who serve as `guinea pigs'
•
Susan If uud-rtmark
Since Grade 7 history curriculum
focuses for a full term on Canada in
1837/38, it only made 'sense to in-
clude Col. Anthony Van Egmond's
role in local history, says Seaforth
Public School teacher Karen Spill-
ane.
That's why she jumped at the
chance to be the "guinea pigs"
when the Van Egmond Foundation
invited her class last week to help
organizers develop a field trip for
Grade 7s. -
"It's like living in Stratford and
not . taking the kids to a play," she
said, adding she was surprised to
. realize that some students hadn't
made the connection that Van Eg-
mond was the founder of Egmond-
ville.
Col. Anthony Van Egmond, who
played a key role in opening up the
Huron Tract, died in jail after par-
ticipating in the Rebellion of 1837.
Because Van Egmond was not
paid for the roads he agreed to build
for the Canada Company, he was
drawn into the circle of other anti-
Family Compact reformers, led by
the mayor of f Toronto, William Lyon
Mackenzie. Van Egmond agreed to
be the military commander of the
rebels but he never got the chance
to do so.
He arrived only a. few hours be-
fore the 400 or so rebels gathered
at Montgomery's Tavern north of
Toronto were attacked by more
than 1,000 government troops.
Van Egmond - had argued for an
immediate retreat but Mackenzie
refused. After the defeat of the reb-
els, Mackenzie and Van Egmond
fled, but while Mackenzie got away,
Angela Morris practises her penmanship with a feather quill.
Teacher Karen Spillane discusses the pros and cons of living in 1837 with a: group
Of Grade 7 students.
•
Susan HUndertmark photos
Van Egmond was
found hiding,, in
a .farmhouse and
arrested.
Spillane said
that while a tour
of the house will
help . , students
understand
how a relatively
wealthy fam-
ily lived dur-
ing the time
period they are
studying, other
planned events
during the field
trip - like an oral
vote similar. to
the way voting •
was done at the
time - will help
students under-
stand issues that
led to the Rebel-
lion
ebellion of 1837.
Retired SPS
teacher Bill Far-
nell, who helped
to organize the
Grade 7 event,
said that while
original plans in -
chided a hustings
n-cludedahustings
vote - where each
voter stood on a
platform and an-
nounced to the
crowd what his
vote was - there
wasn't enough
time with 44 stu-
dents.
The class ended
up with _a show
of hands on the
issue of whether
or not the Rebel-
lion of 1837 was
necessary or not.
However, one.
student volun-
teered to stand
on the picnic ta-
ble and re-enact a hustings vote by
announcing her name, why she was
eligible to vote and her vote.
Farnell then booed her to show
how voters at the time were intimi-
dated by those who didn't agree with
them and pretended to bribe her to
show how voters were rewarded for
voting in some candidates' favour.
Pioneer voter Shaylen Bontaine gets heckled as she casts
her vote on the hustings . by retired teacher Bill Famell as he
demonstrated how voting was done In 1837.
"It wasn't uncommon to be taken
out back and beaten up if you didn't
vote the way people wanted you to.
So, you probably wouldn't vote un-
less you had all your friends there
with you," said Farnell. _ •
He said the day was an experi-
mental run that will help: the. Van
Egmond. Foundation improve acid
change its presentation for Grade
7s.
"The foundation has a gem there,
an untapped historical gem that's
perfect for Grade 7," he said, add-
ing the students would be asked for
their opinions on what worked and
what didn't.
1 •