As part of iLEAD Schools’ project-based learning curriculum, SCVi Charter School’s 8^th-grade  learners will provide the public with a living history display from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm at the historic Rancho Camulos in Piru.  Each student will portray a person from the Civil War era, remaining “in character” throughout the event. 

Visitors will be treated to a day long adventure back in time at the SCVi Charter School’s third annual Civil War Living History event on Thursday, May 28^th. 

“This is the epitome of voice and choice in education,” said facilitator Dustin Lengning. “Our students are focusing on what they feel they can learn the most about.

In order to gain a deeper understanding of this tumultuous time in our nation’s history, SCVi’s 8th grade class has been taking their learning beyond simply reading about history. Instead, each student has chosen a person who may have lived in that time, whether a historical figure or a persona they created based on what they’ve learned and researched about life in mid-19th century in America.

The learners will spend the entire day in character as part of the event. They will present their knowledge to their teachers to be assessed, but also, and perhaps equally importantly, they will present their learning to the 1,000-plus visitors expected to attend the living history event.  

As guests walk the grounds, they will find displays of Civil War-era inventions, a war hospital, military encampments, abolitionists, battles, a cotillion, a sutlery and more, all with 8th grade learners participating as living-history docents, sharing their knowledge from a first-person perspective.

The project was the brainchild of well-known iLEAD facilitators and project-based learning gurus Erin Aquaviva, Keith Faulkner, and Dustin Lengning.    However, each year the learners make this project their own, discovering for themselves new things about our nation’s history that excite them enough to want to share with their peers and the community at large.

“What we want people visiting to understand is that this living history day is just the culminating event,” Faulkner said. “The hard work went into the two months leading up to the presentation we will share with the community. These kids have been incorporating their 21st-century learning skills in preparation. They have been inventing, marketing, scheduling, budgeting, planning, showing off their entrepreneurial skills, designing and much more.”

One 8th grade learner who is developing her personal character shared what she has discovered so far:

“I have been learning about women who lived at the time, and their way of life was so much harder than it is for women today. Even for those who were born into privilege, there were certain rules of society that had to be followed. If you faltered in any way, you were looked down upon; your entire reputation was ruined forever. It makes me feel very lucky that I live in the time I do.”

She added with a chuckle, “Not to mention those dresses and all those layers were heavy.”

Rancho Camulos is located at 5164 East Telegraph Road (Highway 126), Piru, California, and a $5 donation is requested to attend.  The event starts at 9:00 a.m. and runs until 3:00 p.m.