Big History with a bang

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Big History, an approach to teaching about the past that looks at human history from a broader perspective than the typical study of certain times and places, has begun at Oceanside High School. The aim is to help students to create a big picture view of humanity’s past by linking all events within a broad context.

Teachers kicked off classes with a human timeline on the football field to help students understand how relatively short the span of human history has been.

“It took a long time for life on earth to emerge and an even longer time for humans to appear,” social studies teacher Todd Nussen explained, summarizing the activity. “If this field were the Empire State Building, the timespan of human history would be like a postage stamp on top.”