On Friday, Oct. 1, our elementary school students had the opportunity to visit Fort Sill for Frontier Day – an educational experience where students learn about the daily life of soldiers at an earlier time. Almor West Elementary fourth-grade teacher Nicole Jones discussed the educational benefit and excitement that surrounds Frontier Day.
“The students are getting to experience what life was like in the 1800s,” Jones said. “They’re getting to do things like watch the canons fire and learn how they did laundry – how the soldiers lived.”
Students visited the historic barracks and other buildings as they continued to see how soldiers shaped their lives without the advent of modern technology – a notion that Alexandra Cunningham, a fourth-grade teacher from Crosby Park believes is crucial to understanding how far the world has grown.
“I hope they take away the importance of our roots,” Cunningham said. “Where we came from, how much we’ve changed, and the lessons that we’re still applying from this time frame show how lucky we are to have technology and things we have today.”
It’s been two years since the last excursion to Fort Sill for Frontier Days – a delay that is likely due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on group activities, and teachers are glad to be back.
“I think it’s crucial,” Jones said. “They haven’t been able to have this experience in the last two years so they were super pumped to get out here and I’m glad that they’re getting to have these real-life experiences.”
Frontier Day will be hosted next year as well, providing more students with the opportunity to revisit the olden days, learn about our history, and realize just how far we have advanced since the 1800s.