Developing A Life History Interview

Overview:

One of the goals of both the National Park Service and the Neighborhood Story Project is to bring together older and younger people to share their experiences. When you take the time to sit down and learn from someone who is of a different age with different experiences, the teaching and the learning experiences go both ways. For this lesson, students will read Ray Lambert’s chapter where he discusses growing up before and after segregation with a young musician named Xavier Michel. After reading the chapter, students will have the opportunity to conduct an interview of their own and reflect on what they learned from an intergenerational dialogue.

Ray Lambert (left) and Xavier Michel (right) talking about music, race, and culture in New Orleans in 2012.

LESSON PLAN

SUGGESTED CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES

STEP 1:  Have students read Ray Lambert’s chapter in Talk That Music Talk and ask them to write down questions that an interviewer would have had to have asked for Ray to tell the stories he shared. Have them imagine what it was like for the two childhood friends to pass each other on the street. What would you like to ask each of them?

STEP 2:  Doing your own oral history

After students have written down questions, they are ready to begin thinking about someone who they would like to interview. Students should choose someone who grew up during segregation. The person could have been involved in Civil Rights activism, played music, or just experienced day-to-day life under the unequal system. They can be of any “racial” background. The point of the interview will be to ask about their experiences growing up during segregation and what their experiences with music were like. Did it help them cross any racial boundaries in their lives? Use of the oral history hand out to walk students through how to set up their interview. Listenting to these instructions is a bit like someone explaining how to do a dance or play a song. Instructions make much more sense when you start to actually do it. If time permits, it’s a great idea to hae students practice with each other before going out on their own.

STEP 4:  Classroom Follow-Up to Interview

Depending on how much time you have, students can can write a reflection about what the interview was like, or you can do a story-circle where they talk about what worked and what didn’t.Students enjoy sharing what they learned.

STEP 4:  When theyy are finished, students can complete Steps 2 and 3. Five minutes should be sufficient. When they are finished, ask students to highlight their comments.

STEP 6:  Writing Up

The amount of time the class will devote to writing up the interview depends on the goals of the teacher and the coursework. Projects range from:

• Short reflection pieces where they can write about what it was like to do the interview, what they learned about, and what it made them think about in their own lives.

•Students can write a life history of the person in their own words but using a transcript of the interview to pull quotes and details from the interview.

• Students can work on a full transcript of the interview and then edit it to give the full arc of the interview.

• We recommend having students share their write-up with the person they interviewed to make sure they got everything right before turning it in.

STEP 7:  Building Community

A wonderful way to build community in the classroom is to host an event where students invite the people they interviewed to come and receive a copy of their interview project. Students can talk about what they learned and give the interviewees an opportunity to speak about their experiences as well. It also gives everyone a chance to meet and get to know each other on a deeper level.

HANDOUT

HOW TO DO AN ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEW

For this project, you will build on what you have learned in Talk That Music Talk to do an interview with someone who lived under the segregation laws known as Jim Crow. To do this project, you will learn how to do an in-depth interview to learn what was it like for someone to live with these rules in place. You can choose to interview someone of any background because everyone was impacted by the laws. In the interview, you can learn about how did people of different “races” did or did not connect with one another during this time, and what were the impacts of people living apart. You can ask them what role music played in their lives at this time and whether it was way they connected across boundaries.

Learning to be a good interviewer means learning a lot about ourselves and how we communicate with others. We need to pay attention to what our assumptions are going into a research project so that they won’t get in the way of 1) How we work with people on their stories and 2) What we ultimately learn and are able to share with others.

STEP 1:  Read Ray Lambert’s chapter in Talk That Music Talk and write down questions that an interviewer would have had to have asked for Ray to tell the stories he shared. Imagine what it was like for the two childhood friends to pass each other on the street, but to be living separate lives. What would you like to ask each of them.

STEP 2:  Doing your own oral history

After you have written down questions, you are ready to begin thinking about someone you would like to interview. Choose someone to interview who grew up during segregation. The person could have been involved in Civil Rights activism, someone who played music, or just experienced day-to-day life under the unequal system. They can be of any “racial” background. The point of the interview will be to ask about their experiences growing up during segregation and what their experiences with music were like. Did it help them cross any racial boundaries in their lives?

Once you know who you’d like to interview, do a five minute “free-write” on this person and why they are important. When you are finisihed, you can share your reflection with your classmates.

• As you prepare for your interview, keep an open mind. Someone is opening his/her life to you. It is a gift that can be very transformative for both of you. Here are three reasons why:

1) Interviews provide a space to talk about experiences, relationships, and feelings that you may not talk about in everyday life.

2) Listening to other people’s stories helps you think and remember more about your own life.

3) Reflecting on other people’s experiences helps you decide what’s important to you as you grow up.

STEP 3:  Organizing an interview schedule

Now write down other questions you would like to ask the person you are interviewing. You should have at least 20 questions.

• After you have a list of questions, you need to organize them in ways that will make an interview flow smoothly. For first time interviews, it is best to keep the questions in chronological order so you don’t get confused about when events happened. Topics should not jump all over the place, either.

• Begin with questions that will make the person being interviewed feel comfortable with the interview—they may be a little nervous and you might be too!

• Stay away from questions that will be answered in just a few words—especially “yes” and “no” questions. Instead, use words that begin with question words like “How,” “What,” “Where” and “When” to help people tell a longer story.

• Questions should begin with easy answers and can build up to harder questions. Do not end the interview on a difficult question, which will make the interviewee feel like they’ve been “left hanging.” Instead, give them an opportunity to reflect on their experiences and what they want the interviewee to know about them.

STEP 4:  How to conduct an interivew

When you first begin doing interviews, you may feel shy and nervous. Even if you are doing the interview in your own house, an interview will turn a familiar place into a formal setting! If you decide to record your interview, you will need to do two things before the interview begins:

• Permission form. The interviewee will need to sign a permission form before the interview begins. If the teacher or school intends to use the interview for anything besides the classroom project, this needs to be explained, too. This form should include full name, contact information, signature, and date.

• Before the interview begins, ask students to do a “tag line” at the beginning of the tape. A standard one: “This is NAME and today is Day MONTH, YEAR, and I’m sitting WHERE with WHO about to do an interview for NAME OF CLASS PROJECT. NAME, do I have your permission to begin the interview?”

Here are some tips on being a good interviewer:

• During an interview, you need to find a quiet place without distractions. All phones and TVs are off. If you are recording, do not have backround music on.

• Throughout the interview, you must work at making good eye contact. Do not act bored! Even if you are interested, you need to work at showing the person you interview that you care. Write out your questions ahead of time and bring extra paper to take good notes on the answers. If you can write down what someone said verbatim, it’s even better, but don’t worry if you have to summarize.

• Don’t judge or correct people. Don’t tell anyone they’re wrong or show disapproval.

• Show them that you’re interested with your body language. How do you show respect and attentiveness? This is the way you want to behave in an interview.

• Active Listening. .Ask follow-up questions!!! If they talk about something that you can tell is important to them, don’t just jump to the next question!

• Take notes on things you want to follow-up on—other questions.

• Don’t dominate the interview by talking about yourself.

• Offer comfort if your interviewee becomes upset.

• At the end of the interview, say thank-you and explain again how you are going to use the interview. Ask if you can follow-up with them if they have any more questions.

Note: Listening to these suggestions is a bit like someone explaining how to do a dance or play a song. Instructions make much more sense when you start to actual do it, so go back to these tips later and you will become an even better interviewer moving forward!

WRITTEN RELEASE FORM

Name of Interviewer (print)                                                                             

Full Name of Person Interviewed (print)                                                                              

Address:                                                                                                           

Phone: (      )                                                         

Place of Interview                                                                                                                    

Date of Interview:                                           

I understand the photographs are part of research being conducted by                                                         . I give permission for my image to be used for publications associated with the                                                                    , including but not limited to books, newsletters, exhibits, and radio documentaries. I understand that the photographs may be kept as part of an archive, which may be used in future publications and projects approved by                                                                           .

                May include my name

                May NOT include my name

                                                                                  
Signature of Interviewee

Date

Signature of Parent or Guardian (if Interviewee is under 18)

Date