This discussion  has been fun to read and participate in because it shows that the ramifications of history
are much wider than the average "man or woman on the street" believes.

As I said previously, I think that if a family history assignment is
made to 4th or other grade kids, they should have the opportunity to
do another local history project, if doing family history is a
traumatic or emotional issue for them. However, I am not convinced
that eliminating an opportunity to study their family history is a
good thing to do for the children of divorce, blended families,
single parent families, adoptive families, etc. In fact, it is just
the opposite; children from these kinds of families perhaps need to
study their family background even more than those children from
"normal" (whatever that is) families.

Re: privacy and genealogy, there may be a right to that, but I do
know that there are tens (hundreds) of thousands of genealogists in the U.S. publishing their family histories, joining
genealogical societies, issuing queries in all sorts of genealogical
magazines, hiring unknown professionals to do their genealogy for
them and so forth. This would indicate to me that the average person
far from keeping their family history secret, instead wants to let
the world know where he or she came from in great detail. I guess I
would let the individual child and her or his parents make the
decision about whether to participate in a family history project. I
certainly don't have the right to deny a child or his parents that
opportunity and in fact as a librarian working with local historians
and genealogists for many years, I believe it to be my obligation to
assist such people as much as possible. A teacher has no less an
obligation as long as she or he have taken the time to get to know
their kids well enough to understand whether a family history
project will be emotionally upsetting or not.

                                Jim Corsaro




James Corsaro
Associate Librarian
Manuscripts and Special Collections
New York State Library
Empire State Plaza
Albany, New York  12230
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
(518) 474-5963


On Thu, 26 Jun 1997, Melinda Yates wrote:

>      As someone who has done her own genealogy and worked with
> individuals doing genealogical research at the New York State
> Library, I share Carol Kammen's reservations about genealogy as
> a project for students. Ms. Kammen is not "alone."
>
>      I think any genealogical project should be optional. In
> this way, those children who do not want to participate or
> are uncomfortable can elect to do an alternative project.
> (Jim Corsaro also made this point.)
>
>       I also think a mandated genealogical project is an
> invasion of a child's right to privacy -- and, by extension,
> that of his or her family.
>
>       Genealogical research is best begun voluntarily whatever
> the history or composition of one's family.
>
>
>
>
>                                     Melinda Yates
>                                     New York State Library
>                                     Reference Services
>