After leagues of Western Civ students showed interest in Ancient Greek culture, Mr. Greenwood decided to bring Ancient Greece to North Scott last weekend. In the day long event, students and community members gathered at Scott County Park and learned how to prep meals common to the time period, worked together to form phalanx units for a reenactment of the battle of Plataea, and some members of the student-built home class demonstrated ancient building methods and erected an Ionic pillar.
For the main event of the day, the reenactment of the battle of Plataea, students and other community members were divided into small units then instructed by members of the Milchiean Hoplites, a reenactment group based in Chicago and Milwaukee, on how to hold the spears, make basic formations, how to lower and raise the spears, and important reenactment safety information. After learning the necessary skills, the units gathered, each being led by one of the reenactors, and went to battle against each other with foam tipped spears.
"I’m super glad I came to this. [. . .] I hope we do something like this for the Punic Wars of Rome." — Kaden Trauffer
When asked how he felt the event went, Mr. Greenwood beamed a smile and said, “It was amazing. [Students are] going to remember the things they learned about Greece for the rest of their lives. This was a huge success.”
Students participating in the event also chimed in with positive reviews. Kaden Trauffer, covered in dirt from the reenactment earlier that day, told me “I’m super glad I came to this. We ate these pancake-like things called tiganites in the morning which were actually pretty good. I had a blast in the Plataea reenactment. I hope we do something like this for the Punic Wars of Rome.” Lennon Headley, a member of the pillar building team, also chimed in: “Today was super cool. I’m really glad that I was in student-built home so I could help set up the pillar today. It was tough, but we did it.”
Both organizers and students were greatly pleased with the event last weekend, but it might not be the last time that the ancient world comes to North Scott. At the end of our talk, Mr. Greenwood told me, “Kids had a blast today and showed a real interest in history. I heard some asking for a similar event for the Romans, so we might be doing something like this again next year.”
*Disclaimer: This article is part of The Lance's April Fools' edition, and therefore, none of the events depicted are factual nor are the quotes from individuals actual quotes. If you would like to read about a real event similar to the one described in this article, you can read about a college professor getting students to form a phalanx.
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