ESU Backup Insider

Four years ago, Doug Lare, Ed.D., knew he wanted to get his hands dirty. He came up with an idea to provide middle school students with a chance to participate in archeological digs. He started by working with a social studies teacher at the Allentown Harrison Middle School to get students signed up for the trip. While scouting for possible locations, Dr. Lare came across the Governor Wolf Historical Society. Spending time recruiting a team of faculty members and professional archeologists, Dr. Lare felt ready to take on the project for the third year. On April 30, months of planning paid off as students and professionals spent over six hours digging in the dirt.

“At the end of the day, the students did not want to leave,” he said. “They really love digging in the dirt and trying to find something.”

As a professor of professional and secondary education at East Stroudsburg University, Dr. Lare saw this as an opportunity to reach students outside of the traditional classroom setting. The students were able to see science in action. Their responsibilities included keeping records and digging with archaeologists.

“The idea of digging in the dirt and uncovering something interesting— it’s fascinating,” he said. “You can’t get that connection from reading the book.”

Dr. Lare considers this experience one of the best things he has done in education. For Van Reidhead, Ph.D., professor of sociology at ESU, who joined Dr. Lare on the trip, working with middle school students is a great experience.

“Students at that age are totally engrossed with exploration and discovery,” he said. “I knew I would enjoy the kids.”

Dr. Reidhead has been interested in archaeology for most of his life. He earned a doctoral degree in anthropology, with an emphasis on archeology. “With archeology, I am fascinated by different cultures and change,” he said. Dr. Reidhead shared his stories with the middle school students on the day of the dig.

“It was so exciting to see how enthusiastic they got over every little thing they were able to learn,” he said.

Six ESU students, four professional archaeologists, 26 middle school students and seven faculty members participated in the recent trip.

“After spending so many hours together, those who participated made new connections — we all became friends,” Dr. Lare said.

The long term goal of the project is to find artifacts, clean them up and display them at the Governor Wolf Historical Society. Dr. Lare plans to take this trip with the students twice a year moving forward.

“The students beg to come back,” he said. “The magic that touches these students when they connect to the history they find is the best thing to see as an educator.”