GIMME FIVE
It takes time to sort through 23,000 years of history.
Especially when the research has unveiled so many unheard stories.
During the early days of the pandemic Katie Stone envisioned New Mexico history lessons for groups of children.
Then it turned remote as mass gatherings were canceled.
As the founder and executive director of the podcast, “The Children’s Hour,” Stone was forced to think outside the box to get information to the masses.
“The Children’s Hour,” is an internationally-syndicated, awardwinning Kids Public Radio show. It has launched a new podcast series, “A Brief History of the American Southwest for Kids.”
The six-episode series of 20-minute podcasts comes with a Learn Along Guide that meets and cites national education standards.
Stone says the podcast series is geared toward children in 3rd through 12th grades, and offers students the opportunity to learn the latest research in the timeline of the settlement of the Southwestern United States.
“New Mexico and the Southwest’s history predates the pilgrims coming to America,” Stone says. “That important history isn’t being taught nationally. That bothered me so much, I decided to create resources so everyone, anywhere, can learn it.”
Stone is making the podcasts available to teachers everywhere.
The series was produced from six virtual field trips in New Mexico, where more than 350 young people attended the live virtual field trips with more than 250 of those children from Indigenous schools. The team worked with the Native American Community Academy (NACA) School and the NACA Inspired Schools Network to offer free field trips, and to give students the opportunity to learn from Indigenous experts.
Prior to launching the series, each podcast went through a history review team that included New Mexico State Historian Rob Martinez, multiple history professors, pueblo educators, local tribal historians and other historians to certify their accuracy.
“We are really proud of this series and invite everyone to learn about and fall in love with the American Southwest and its unique history,” Stone says. “I think this sets the record straight.”
For this week’s column, Stone took time to talk about the podcast series and how she curated the information into 20-minute intervals of learning. We even get a sixth treat this column.