Ms. Belly has been a history teacher for over 17 years here at IMS! She has had a passion for history for years now. Since she has been teaching history for such a long time, let’s see what places she has been to.
Panther Press: If you were to go to any event or a historical place in history, where would you go?
Ms. Belly: If I were to go to a place in history, I probably would want to go to Ancient Egypt. I was always interested in the pyramids and how they built them, so I think it would be really interesting to see the technique because it’s amazing to see what people built with very little technology. So I definitely would want to see how they did that. Plus the pharaohs are really cool and the mummies and just like their way of life and that they would be interesting to observe.
Panther Press: Have you ever been to a famous historical place or event?
Ms. Belly: I’ve been to Fort McHenry in Baltimore, which we all know the Star Spangled Banner. I’ve been to a concentration camp in Germany from the holocaust. I’ve been to Anne Frank’s house in Amsterdam. We got to see where she would climb up, you would like, go behind the bookcase and then go up the stairs into the attic where they were hiding from the Nazis which was really cool. I’ve been to the Colosseum in Italy, I’ve been to Pompei in Italy. I’ve been to Chichen Itza which is a temple in Mexico. Wow, I’ve been to more places than I thought I did. Yes, that’s all I can think of right now.
Panther Press: What is your most favorite place/historical event you have ever been to?
Ms. Belly: Probably the Colosseum because it’s one thing to teach about these things but it’s another thing to actually be in the place and get to see the actual things like weapons they would use in the Colosseum and the gladiator fights and just kind of being in that place. It’s just an amazing feeling of being in a place that I actually talked about and taught about and I don’t know it’s probably a history geek thing but, it was really cool being there.
Panther Press: That’s interesting! Why was this your favorite?
Ms. Belly: I think because at that time when I went to Italy, I was teaching 8th grade and in 8th is all the civilizations and so we talked about Rome and Egypt and we talked about all the ancient civilizations. I think it kind of helped me teach that topic and was more meaningful to me because I was there to experience it.
Panther Press: Wow! Have you ever taught about this place/event in your classes?
Ms. Belly: Oh yeah, I think I kind of just answered that. Not in the 6th grade because it’s a different topic, but when I taught 8th grade, it was definitely one of the topics we covered, it was a whole chapter.
Panther Press: Were your classes interested in that place?
Ms. Belly: Yeah they were, I feel like it was interesting for them because it was like an arena where people would battle to the death and people would be executed, or men would battle against lions and tigers and it was kinda gruesome but I think the kids were interested in that. I think they were interested in this because of some of the games they play like Assassin’s Creed if anyone plays that anymore. One of the games in Assassin’s Creed does have something to do with Ancient Rome.
Panther Press: Do you think you would go back to this place again?
Ms. Belly: Of course! Going to Italy was a once in a lifetime chance opportunity, but you know there’s so much to see in one day, and we were only there for a few days. So if we went back I would take more pictures, and I would take a look at more of the artifacts they have there.
Panther Press: Would you recommend us to visit this place as well?
Ms. Belly: Absolutely, I would want to encourage anyone to travel but you know it is expensive. I think that going to any place, even if it’s a museum here, it’s exciting to see things firsthand, which I’m sure we will see when we go on our trip.
Panther Press: Okay, great! At what age did you visit a historical place for the first time?
Ms. Belly: Ooh, I think it was when I went to a Concentration Camp in Germany and I think I was about 15, so I was like a sophomore in high school, so even back then I was interested in history.
Panther Press: Do you enjoy teaching about history? Why or why not?
Ms. Belly: I think it’s a topic that could be really, really boring, or you could make it really, really exciting. Not all the topics are interesting necessarily, but I mean I try to make them fun and entertaining, and try to make it come to life a little bit, and I love it.
Panther Press: Is there anything else you would like to add?
Ms. Belly: So we definitely like the trip we are going on now to like Liberty Hall. I think that’s also a really cool trip to see historical items. I think that going to these historical places and seeing actual things from that time period brings it more to life and makes it more meaningful.
