Week 12: Preparing for the Final Stretch

In relation to the internship, this week began on Tuesday when I met with the always helpful Dr. Lyons. She began planning a trajectory for where the internship should be going in the next few weeks, which is an excellent guide after coming out of an inactive spring break on my part. One aspect is planning the Oral History with a lawyer who went to Hillcrest in the transition period of Hillcrest (and probably when the first building was in use). This will be an illuminating experience if I able to conduct the interview, as so far I only have written documents like newspaper articles and reference books speaking of Hillcrest I (my colloquial name for the first building constructed in the 1920's and burned down in the the 1960's). Also, the Tuesday meeting saw me establish a meeting with Mr. Cravero, who is assisting in me in finally uploading my abundance of files related to Hillcrest onto RICHES. I plan to see him next Monday, April 3^rd, to become experienced in the process. This is exciting as it my first major contribution to RICHES, and hopefully I will be up to upload with ease in the future. 

Today (the 31st of March) going through “the History of Public Education in Orange County, Florida”, I learned one possible catalyst of the of Hillcrest was Orlando Elementary doing double sessions in the 1910’s. Also, a recurring character in the tale of early Hillcrest is A.B. Johnson, the superintendent who approved the building of Hillcrest. In the “the History of Public Education in Orange County, Florida”, A.B. Johnson takes over for J.F. McKinnon in Tallahassee in the 1910’s, and it is who W.S. Cawthon sends a letter explaining in his report the breaking of ground on a “site at Concord and Hillcrest”. The book reveals that the 1920’s was a short boom period in Orange County, ending in 1927. That period was also the increase in spending by spending money on new sites for potential schools to alleviate overcrowding. Some of those include Concord Park and Marks Street Elementary (both defunct) as shown in Table 3.2 but the chart fails to show Hillcrest’s construction or its budget. The last table of chapter does, in fact, give me a definitive year by saying it was added to the Orange County system in 1923. Table 3.6 does give me several teachers at Hillcrest, with 11 teachers being the constant number in the 1930’s. Lastly, the work does speak of the fire reiterated what the Sentinel said about it almost verbatim.

The book itself is a treasure trove of knowledge, but its lack of an index led me to have to read the whole. Another resource provided by Dr. Lyons, “the History of Public Education in Orange County, Florida” was fascinating in seeing the evolution and development of Orange County and how it relates to Hillcrest.  

Week 9

This week began with multiple viewings of myself and trying to track some of my idiosyncratic behaviors while on camera. My viewings this week confirmed I had been going too fast through the questions and plan going forward to write my script earlier and possibly attempt a mock interview to become more acclimated in the delivery of the question prompts.

This week also saw me put the finishing touches on my files containing the 100+ images, organizing them so they correspond to the real life albums such the "PTA History 1986-1989". Also, it includes two photos of what I call Hillcrest I, also known as the first building which existed between 1924 until the fire of December 1963. Dr. Lyons put me in contact with Mr. Cravero, who will help me take the next step by showing me the process of digitizing the many photos collected at Hillcrest. The process will be done through RICHES, a system I have only perused through via its map function but have not interacted or uploaded any documents on the website.

Additionally, Dr. Lyons tasked me over the weekend to draft a Facebook post for specific Hillcrest page. The message itself will give a few updates on the Hillcrest history project and send the message that we are collecting objects (not permanently of course). The idea that items will be public also seems to be an idea I should convey in the post, so the audience for Hillcrest history knows of the items' accessibility. Later, I made photocopies of the permissions of Mrs. Spicer and Mrs. Rose to display the collected items on RICHES. Also, Dr Lyons mentioned the idea of mentioning how Oral Histories will be conducted little by little and including this in the prospective post. She said that if not all willing interviewees can have their stories recorded this semester with my possible successor continuing the project in fall.

The last internship related activity that took place this week was a final go through the month of January on the Sentinel to mine for Hillcrest relate stories. Sadly, this endeavor was fruitless in finding any more stories but  I was able to photocopy (and turn into a PDF) the Biennial Report 1922-1924 mentioned many months ago. This work was key in pinpointing the construction of Hillcrest I and some of the original layout, something no other previous document has been able to provide for me.

Week 8: 1st Oral History

Another week of firsts, Dr. Lyons was able to organize my first oral interview for the Hillcrest History Project. I was slated to interview Mrs. Rose, a teacher at Hillcrest Elementary spanning the 80's, 90's (with a hiatus) and the 2000's, on March 2nd, 2017.

This required me to utilize the notes and instruction received in Dr. Gannon's Oral History Workshop. Following the Baylor Oral History for Beginner given at the workshop, I began writing a prospective script on Tuesday and Wednesday during this week, implementing tips such as using "open-ended questions" and the interviewer etiquette to guarantee a structurally sound oral history (I did make some blunders, which will be addressed later). Some questions were specifically due to knowledge I had gained during the internship. I referenced Fern Creek Elementary, where many kids were taught when the school was being rebuilt in the 1960's and where the kids will be taught once again in 2017 while Hillcrest is being rebuilt. As I learn more about the school in the last 100 years, I hope I will be able to gear my questions with that knowledge in mind

With Dr. Lyons, Thursday saw another excursion to Hillcrest for the interview, which was hosted in the media center of the reading room of the school. At approximately 2:30, I met Mrs. Rose and conducted the oral history. Through the interview, I learned she was a UCF grad and she had taught a wide range of grades from Kindergarten to Third Grade (which is a great variation ages and how one decides how to conduct a classroom to accommodate for the given audience). Mrs. Rose also gave me an abridged history of when the school was a bilingual school (i.e. pre-magnet designation) and how that shaped her teaching. These and many more of the anecdotes were wonderful and I gave her a big thanks because I know a teacher's time is limited.

Looking at the oral history self-critically, I made some mistakes talking a bit too much while reassuring the interviewee, who should be the center of attention due to it being their story. Also, it ran short due to me not giving Mrs. Rose time to elaborate on her ideas, which make it come across  as rushed when that was not the environment I wanted to cultivate. Hopefully as I become more experienced with the camerawork and gain the poise needed to be the interviewer, I will conduct the oral histories with fewer bumps in the road. It being my first oral history , I will simply move forward and try to avoid my previous missteps.