Get to Know the 2017 History Teachers of the Year: Margaret Duncan, Georgia

In 2017, the Gilder Lehrman Institute recognized 52 State History Teachers of the Year for their tireless and innovative efforts to make history come alive for their students. 

But who are they, really? We asked these talented teachers to answer a few questions about themselves and to reflect on the challenges and joys of teaching. We will feature a state winner every Tuesday and Thursday, so keep checking back to learn more about these outstanding educators!

This week, meet Margaret Duncan: 

Margaret Duncan, Eagles Landing High School
2017 Georgia History Teacher of the Year

Do you have a favorite/funny memory from teaching?
As a teacher, I enjoy incorporating board games into the classroom. It is exciting to observe students playing a game and making connections to the history being studied. Games like Founding Fathers, Underground Railroad, Guillotine, Twilight Struggle, the Resistance, and Article 27 are a gateway for students to put more history into their lives. A recent addition to my board game lessons is the Oregon Trail card game. Hearing students proclaim they died of dysentery always makes me giggle. At the end one student gets to hoist the Trophy of Awesome for winning the game!

State one fun historical fact about the town you live in or grew up in.
I am from Jonesboro, Georgia, known as the “Home of Gone with the Wind.” Jonesboro is the county seat for Clayton County. As a child, Margaret Mitchell spent her summers visiting her grandparents in Jonesboro. Gone with the Wind and Tara are crafted from her memories of the Fitzgerald Plantation. In the movie, there is a scene where Scarlett writes a check to the tax collector of Clayton County.

What is the last great history book you read?
One of my favorite books is David McCullough’s The Wright Brothers. I enjoyed the book so much that I even wrote a blog about it, and we gave away a copy of the book on my shared website for the Histocrats. I have always been fascinated by flight, so this book really spoke to me.

What is your favorite historical site or museum?
I enjoy visiting the historic triangle of Jamestown, Yorktown, and Williamsburg. I spent many a summer wandering through each site and enjoyed attending the Williamsburg Teacher Institute several years ago as a part of a Teaching American History Grant. During one of the summer trips the heat was unbearable. It was then I realized that if had I really been a settler in Jamestown, I would have certainly not survived the Starving Time!

What advice would you give to young people, in high school or college, who may be considering a career in education but are unsure?
Love what you do and be flexible. Teaching at times can be a hard and overlooked profession. However, if you have a deep love for history, you will enjoy sharing it with the students who walk through your classroom door.    

If you could travel back in time and meet any historical figure, who would it be and why?
I would love to meet two Eleanors—Eleanor of Aquitaine and Eleanor Roosevelt. Eleanor of Aquitaine was one of the most influential and powerful women of the Middle Ages. Eleanor Roosevelt was as strong and influential as her husband. These two women navigated a world dominated by men.

Who is your favorite historian?
Like my children, I try not to have a favorite because there are so many wonderful historians. I am a big fan of David McCullough and have read all of his books. The one book I recommend to all I meet is 1776. I also read every work by Erik Larson, my favorite being The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair That Changed America, which I read after a trip to Chicago.

What is your favorite historical film or series?
I am a great fan of NASA and the race to the Moon. My favorite movie is Apollo 13 based on Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13 by James Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger. Although it is not pure history, it shows what we as a society were once capable of when we had a common focus. As an extension, the HBO mini-series From the Earth to the Moon is one of my favorite series. Again, it chronicles our efforts to land on the Moon.

Do you have a favorite historical topic or era?
I always enjoy teaching the Progressive Era. I am a big Teddy Roosevelt fan, and reading excerpts from Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle is always great fun in class. Plus, this is a time period when we as a society worked together to make life better for all segments of society. Many of the rights and privileges we take for granted today come from this time period.

Do your students have a favorite historical topic or era?
In class, students always enjoy learning about the 1960s. It is the time of civil rights, technological leaps, the Vietnam War (great soundtrack), and important Supreme Court decisions. This was a decade of great upheaval and great milestones. It is also a time period that opens the option of engaging guest speakers such as Vietnam War veterans who help connect students to the past.