The Stories of the Dead Intrigue MSMS Juniors in Tales
Tales from the Crypt begins research.
August 21, 2017
In the MSMS class dubbed “Tales from the Crypt,” students partake in independent research opportunities ultimately leading to telling the story of the residents of the local cemetery.
On Friday, August 18, the young scholars took a class trip to the Friendship Cemetery in Columbus, Mississippi, to find the plots of those designated people the students will be researching in the next few weeks. Each of them will be performing skits, acting as their deceased subject and telling about stories and events that were influential in their subject’s days on earth. Earlier in the week, Chuck Yarborough, Tales from the Crypt instructor, led his pupils to the local library in Columbus, where the students were instructed on how to properly use the available archives to interpret the life of their departed soul. They will research this person’s genealogy and discover the lives of those buried alongside them.
Richie Anderson, MSMS junior, has enthusiastically delved deeply into his assignment. He is researching the tragic life of an unmarried man who was a member of the philanthropic group, “the Woodmen,” which is now a church-related organization. “Tom was unmarried, but had a child who unfortunately passed away at one month old. The mother is unidentified.”
Richie looks forward to his work in the library, which he explains is majorly independent. The seniors readily advise juniors to go every weekend to their research area and to stay on top of deadlines by meeting the requirement of one hour of archive activity per week.
Yarborough’s students explained the most valuable piece of information they have learned so far. Junior Mackenzie Umanzor expressed how one should never believe everything they hear. “Mr. Yarborough told us a lengthy story and, at the end, asked if we believed him,which we did. He then revealed that it was all a fib and that we should be careful about how we get our information.”
Richie Anderson also commented on how much he enjoyed the open use of humor in the classroom, making the environment amiable and comfortable. Others are more fascinated by their own research, though. As stated by junior Indu Nandula, the most valuable thing to learn in the class is that “There is so much more to people than meets the eye.”
Seeing graves in a cemetery as one passes by is very impersonal, but when we dive further into the lives of those we tread on as we explore cemeteries, we realize we are surrounded by lifetimes of stories to tell. For many different reasons, these young scholars are thrilled about their time at MSMS in the Tales from the Crypt class.
