Bringing it Back to the Classroom

Nick MacDonald, Upper School History Teacher

Over the summer, I was fortunate enough to complete my graduate work and earn a Master’s degree in history. Some years ago, when thinking about a graduate program to apply to, I quickly came to the conclusion that I needed flexibility: I wanted to still work full time as a teacher and to be able to study and learn while doing so. In the end, I chose to do graduate work at Villanova University, right outside of Philadelphia, for a number of reasons. First, the program is part time and I could complete the requirements over five years. Second, it was one of the few programs I found that conferred a degree in history. Third, all of the courses meet in the afternoon or at night, so it made it possible for me to work and still have time to travel and attend classes. So, the nature of the program itself made it worthwhile. That said, there were some difficulties involved with completing the degree. Traveling to and from Villanova once per week after work became tedious--it is a 300 mile round trip and, as readers are aware, traffic is terrible around here! But it was more than worth it.

It took me the entire five years to complete the program. This, however, was by choice. I elected to split up my course work over those years so that I could take classes that 1.) catered to my personal interests in history, which is the era of the First World War, and 2.) allowed me to apply the material and readings to the teaching I do here at Potomac. On the second point, it is impossible to list all of the material that I have applied in my teaching, but here are two highlights: taking a course on “The History of Capitalism” has been valuable during the Industrial Revolution unit for Modern World History; and the totality of my work surrounding the First World War has been, in large part, applied to a new, senior-level humanities course that I co-teach with Franz Ritt, “The Wasteland and After,” which is focused on the historical and literary impact of the that war on societies around the globe. On a general level, I am able to apply the analytical concepts and methodologies I learned in my classes so that my students can better sift through primary sources. Last, doing graduate work in history more thoroughly revealed an important concept intimately related to the production of the past by historians: that history is not static and many historians disagree, argue, and interpret events differently. Historians take different approaches and perspectives on the same event time and time again, which helps us gain a more thorough understanding. Thus, to study history is to not just study the past; it is to study the interpretation of the past.

I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to earn a degree and to have the financial and professional support from the Potomac community and administration. Potomac has been flexible with my schedule to facilitate travel to Villanova, and my colleagues have been so supportive. I would recommend the program to any educator in the field of history.