Forks High School teacher, Tammy French, uses innovative teaching methods to help her students learn about the

American Revolution

Tammy French is the 11th grade U.S. history and advanced placement U.S. history teacher at the Forks High School in Forks, Wash. She was born in Staten Island, New York and grew up in Tampa, Florida. French attended Boston University majoring in political science, and received her Master of Science degree in teaching from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA.

As a history teacher, French makes her classes fun. She keeps her students interested in historic topics, using project-based learning that doesn’t focus on dates, but on ideas. French teaches her students the purposes of American institutions and reasons for engaging in wars or diplomacy. While introducing concepts, such as interventionism versus isolationism, she has the students participate in debates wherein they can share their opinions and have their opinions heard.

Her in-class seminars about past wars are presented as engaging stories that help her students understand what happened before, during, and after the United States entered into wars and how the outcome of those wars has influenced modern-day events.

“Before the Revolutionary War, most of the colonists were not so concerned about having a king, but more worried about having enough food to eat,” French said. “For nearly 150 years, the English monarchy was siphoning money from the Colonies and wasn’t paying attention to the advancements being made in America to construct independence from England,” she said.

“Enlightened leaders and businessmen, such as Thomas Jefferson, had long been suffering from imposed tariffs and taxes. They had had enough,” she said.

French compared England to a mother who abandons her children (America) to live wild for 15 years and suddenly returns, demanding the children make their beds every day,” she said. “The children would revolt against such a demand, because the absent parent has no right to tell them what to do. This analogy describes the sentiment of our country toward England before the Revolution,” she said.

At the time of the Stamp Act in 1765, King George III got heavy-handed with colonists, demanding more taxes on all printed documents, such as licenses, certificates and even playing cards. Now, the people also had enough, French said.

“Colonists started organizing against British injustices, forming groups of American separatists called the “Sons of Liberty.” As the movement grew, the Sons of Liberty often gathered around ‘Liberty Trees’ (often large American elm trees) to plan and discuss rebellion activities against the British. The Revolutionary War uprisings began in 1775 with the first battles of Lexington and Concord. The War would last more than eight years and result in the independence of America from British rule,” she said.

According to French, the American Patriots won some of the battles and lost others. George Washington was appointed Commander and Chief of the Continental Army on June 15, 1775. The Army was represented by soldiers from all = 13 battles in New York under the command of Washington and was retreating through New Jersey to Pennsylvania when Washington devised a plan to attack the British outpost in Trenton, New Jersey, French said. “He desperately needed a success, as many of his soldiers were disheartened and morale was low,” she said. (French relates the story she told her students of what happened during the Battle of Trenton in the sidebar article entitled ‘An American Revolution Story about the Battle of Trenton, New Jersey.’

French’s stories describe for her students the injustices, sacrifices and suffering endured by early patriots and soldiers. Her stories provide a vision of the battles to help the students imagine what it was like to be there.

While studying about the Revolutionary War, French’s classes watched historical movies, such as the musical ‘Hamilton’. This year, they made their own colonial tricorn hats that they wore in a school parade shouting ‘What do we want? LIBERTY, when do we want it? Now! They constructed maps from Play Dough to understand where the Appalachian Mountains, Delaware, and Mississippi Rivers are positioned in relation to Revolutionary War battles. They even buried a zucchini effigy of King George outside her classroom window.

“We don’t do boring,” she said, “all assignments help make the students see how history has shaped our world today.”

“Every student gets something different out of the lessons, and there is something for everyone,” French said.

“I focus the learning on their skills and find that the students can’t conceive of a world where there were no human rights or that not all people are created equal,” she said. French said that the students learn that the world is very complicated and crazy things have happened in the past.”

“I encourage every student to register to vote and to exercise their vote at every election. We conduct a mock election and I go through the voting catalog with them,” French said. “I stress that they can make a difference, be a part of change and that they are not powerless. I try to give them that power,” she said. “If the students do not agree with decisions made by their elected officials, I tell them to “Hey, Google, call the president of the United States” and leave a message,” she said.

French teaches her students what it means to be American. “I ask them what the traditions are that we want to hold on to and the ones we want to fight against. How do we want other countries to think of us? Are we polite, or are we forgetting about American hospitality and standards of etiquette? It is my job as a teacher to get students to be reflective and learn ways that the United States can be a stronger more democratic nation down the road,” she said.

The Michael Trebert Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is conducting the Forks American Elm Heritage Project in 2021-22. The project is planned as part of the upcoming 250th Anniversary – in 2026 – of our nation’s founding. The project will culminate Arbor Day, April 29, 2022 with the commemorative planting of American elm saplings in the city of Forks, and placement of an interpretive sign that describes the importance of reestablishing American elms in our nation. Donations to support the Elm project may be made by sending a check – memo ELM — to the Michael Trebert Chapter / DAR, and mailed to P.O. Box 1917, Port Angeles, Wash. 98362.

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An American Revolution Story

about the Battle of Trenton, New Jersey as Told by Tammy French to her 11th Grade American History Class

“It was Christmas night, 1776 when Commander and Chief George Washington was camped along the western bank of the Delaware River with his 2,400 Continental Army troops keeping warm by strategically-lit fires. The fires indicated that they were not on the move toward the town of Trenton, New Jersey which was occupied by British and Hessian (German) auxiliaries.

A spy, planted by Washington in the town, had been spreading the rumor that Washington’s army was not going to attack because of low troop morale and desertions. Washington devised a plan to attack that night.

In the middle of the night, the Continental Army crossed the Delaware River at a ferry crossing nine miles north of Trenton in the middle of a snow storm. It was bitterly cold and the river was full of frozen ice. The vision of Washington crossing the river is depicted in many works of art depicting the frigid, torturous conditions.

The following morning, much to the surprise of the 1,500 Hessians manning the outpost for the British, Washington moved his troops toward Trenton, knowing well that enemies had been celebrating the holiday and were unaware of the approaching army. Washington headed southward toward Trenton, splitting his army in half along two routes to the northern and southern ends of the town.

The nine-mile march was grueling for the soldiers, trudging through ice and drifting snow as they pulled along cannons and artillery. Some of the American soldiers had no boots and had to wrap their feet in rags. A blood-stained trail marked their path as they attacked Hessian outposts along the way.

After a brief battle, most of the Hessian forces surrendered and were captured, with only two American deaths from exposure. The victory greatly improved the morale of the Continental Army and encouraged American patriots to serve and ultimately win the Revolutionary War.”

FHS history students protesting British tyranny – Alexis Campbell, Emerson McKee, Klaton Helvey, Zoie Davis, Matt Jacobson, Ryan Rancourt, Nik Kelley, Ashlynn Carstensen, Arianna Gonzalez, Tyler Whidden, Kevin Camacho, Anthoney Beglinger. Submitted Photos