A Kutztown Middle School History Day team’s film about the Eastern State Penitentiary was viewed as part of the Kutztown University Department of Social Work’s 14th annual community forum on March 24.
The forum’s topic was “Family in Environment: Part I-Incarceration,” raised awareness of issues surrounding incarceration and its impact on families in the social environment. It is part one of a three-year series.
Kutztown Middle School eighth graders Sydney Burch and Emma Keller and their History Day advisors, Carolyn Wasser, a KU student, and Aaron Ashman, gifted and enrichment coordinator at KAMS, attended the forum. Burch, Keller and seventh grader Tristan Beck placed third at regionals for their documentary on Eastern State Penitentiary. Beck was unable to attend the forum.
“The connection for my students is they are researching Eastern State Penitentiary as a topic for their History Day project. Dr. Sharon Lytle (KU social work professor) arranged for their 10-minute film to be viewed as part of her program and to recognize the efforts of the students,” said Ashman. “The event was quite impressive with inspirational and enlightening speeches from professionals approaching the challenges of incarceration from various perspectives.”
For their portion of the forum, Ashman said Dr. Lytle introduced the Kutztown Middle Schoolers and advisors to the audience while the 10-minute documentary the students created on Eastern State Penitentiary played.
“The students described their project to a packed house audience of KU students, professors, and professionals in fields linked to incarceration,” said Ashman. “It cannot be overstated how rewarding this is for the students. After months of research and preparation, to stand in front of experts and describe how their historical thesis mirrored many current topics discussed at the forum validates their efforts and highlights the present-day rationale for understanding history.”