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Edison at Garst
Students look
for role of communications in local history
By Bob Robinson
The assignment was to discover the role communications may have played
in Darke County’s history. Where better to start than Greenville’s
Garst Museum?
Annie Oakley, Lowell Thomas, Crossroads to Destiny and so much more,
were among the options. How did the communications processes of the
time impact the society we know today?
In a course that required eight speeches over a 16 week period, many of
them involving in-depth research, plus three written projects and a
final exam, this assignment was offered as an extra credit opportunity.
Nine students from two Edison Communications 121 classes chose to take
advantage of it. Several of the students – all local residents – had
never been to the museum.
A tour was set up and conducted by two Garst Tour Guides, Allen Hauberg
and Norma Schilling. One of the first things students discovered was
that the hour and a half allotted only scratched the surface of the
information available. Several have chosen to return, and it was
obvious to others that more research would be needed.
What did they learn?
Did they understand how Annie Oakley used “communication” to challenge
young girls to participate more fully in a man’s world? Or the lessons
learned as Lowell Thomas visited and reported from the far corners of
the earth? Did they understand how General “Mad Anthony” Wayne used
“communication,” through the Treaty of GreeneVille, to open the Gateway
to the West?
This assignment was an example of the learning opportunities through an
Edison communications course, the support of Garst Museum and the
desire for knowledge (and of course a better grade) for nine Edison
students.
Garst Museum is a center of historical information and activity in
Darke County with its annual Gathering at Garst and a variety of
informational events, such as the scheduled visit of U.N. Diplomat
Jeffrey Feltman. The museum is nationally recognized as a unique
offering for a community the size of Greenville.
Communications 121, Fundamentals of Communication, is an introductory
course at Edison Community College that is required in a variety of
degree programs. Its primary focus is public speaking, but the syllabus
requires an overview of related forms of communication, including but
not limited to: journalism, small group and one-on-one interaction,
written reports, persuasion, opinion, teamwork and more.
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