The Nostalgia Project: Discovering Community Through Poetry, History, and Human Impact

In preparation for a return to school following the pandemic in 2021, East Aurora School District partnered with Dr. Badia Ahad, Loyola University Provost, to train staff district-wide on the concept of Nostalgia, Reclamation, Regeneration, and Retribution. Following the training, The Nostalgia Project was born. As an element of a four-part interdisciplinary unit ending with a four- part podcast, students shared their oral and written histories in the format of narrative poetry inspired by George Ella Lyon’s poem "Where I’m From" while considering their childhood homes, families, and community. Transitioning to social studies, math, and science, students learned about the history of their city and the diverse immigrant groups that worked to contribute to the identity and uniqueness of where they are from; compiled information about demographics of the area they chose to investigate and created their own data representation with projections; and proposed a way to resolve a social, environmental, or political issue in their city in a way that would benefit the community as a whole. In this session, educators will gain specific knowledge of the project in order to collaborate with their colleagues to provide a rich interdisciplinary experience for students to become experts in their community and to “forge a better future.” Attendees are suggested to bring a device to access links to resources presented during this session.