I did it. I went and taught 6th grade social studies dressed in the height of fashion 1000 years ago. I started off by explaining what I wore, and why – that standards of modesty were very different, and so my hair was covered, and my wrists and ankles. I told them that one of the things that showed that I was a lady of some wealth was that my gown was green, because a good strong green is hard to get with natural dyes. One child thought to ask me how a lady would get things done, and I told them of climbing a ladder to retrieve a kitten off the roof in full garb.
And it worked. It got them thinking about just how different things really were that long ago, so that we talked about transportation, and trade, and peace-keeping, and what changes modern understanding had made. Someone asked me how old I was; the answer was that I was a venerable elder by the standards of that time. (Then I told the boy I was old enough to be his grandmother, which is only a slight stretch. Two generations having their first born at 18 would do it and then some.) I watched a lot of eyes get big at that one.
They did pretty well, though, figuring out that the anachronisms were my glasses and watch, and there were a few in the bunch who were re-enactors and so asked me what other stuff I had at home. That was fun. So all in all the day went well. Tomorrow I’ll be in for the same teacher, as she still hasn’t recovered her voice. We’ll see about Friday. And if there’s a section that made me question why on earth I signed on for this, there was also the group that had the curiousity to question whether the period was the “dark ages” for any place other than Europe. The Saracen Empire certainly had science and medicine and literature, and so did China. These kids recognized that the Roman Empire hadn’t covered the whole world, and that its fall and the subsequent invasions by Germanic tribes and later Vikings didn’t affect the other continents. They made the whole thing worth while…and I’m looking forward to having them again tomorrow.