4. History
There are at least three more STTOS episodes that come to mind when thinking about introducing historical periods in class. In "Patterns of Force" we see an alien planet influenced by a Federation historian who hoped to improve the planet's rate of development by teaching the natives about twentieth century Nazi Germany. Of course, this is a bad idea, and the planet immediately goes to war with its neighbouring planet by adopting the same type of martial and racial superiority the Nazis possessed. Still, it's a valuable introduction because Spock proposes the thesis that in a span of twenty years, this humiliated, economically-depressed and war-battered nation rebuilt itself to poise mere steps away from world domination through discipline and rigid adherence to doctrinal thinking. It's a tremendous opportunity to invite discussion, not only about a World War Two topic in particular, but a chance to explain why History is studied in the first place. It also helps to introduce the concept to students about using information from the past to help us make decisions about the future. Oh, the miracle of Star Trek. Arguably, one of the greatest TOS episodes was "The City on the Edge of Forever", in which we are introduced to one of Kirk's greatest loves Edith Keeler. Set in the years of the Great Depression of the 1930's, Kirk has to rescue Dr. McCoy, lost in time and not in his right mind. McCoy saves Edith Keeler from a fatal car accident and accidentally changes the course of history, resulting in the disappearance of the Federation. Edith Keeler a social worker becomes very influential in American politics, keeping the USA out of World War Two and delaying Earth's social advancement. A bit of a stretch and yes, a tad Ameri-centric, but it really is a visible illustration of cause and effect. It's a good lesson starter on the idea that one person can initiate a series of events that can have significant changes upon the world. You can tie this into movements like the "Me to Us" campaigns that have had a major influence upon students started by one person (Craig Kielberger). One of my favourite historic Star Trek episodes is "Assignment: Earth". It's known that this was a failed pilot episode for a new television show about two human operatives sponsored by aliens who want to secure Earth's future through positive development. It was unfortunate that it was never picked up but still managed to start Teri Garr's acting career. The Enterprise slingshots back through time to study how the Earth survived the arms race of 1968. This alone, is awesome. First of all, to the millennial students that I teach, the concept of growing up in the threat of potential nuclear war is such a foreign one; you have to teach them about the poor relations between the East and West in the twentieth century after World War Two. You have to make them understand the concept of Mutual Assured Destruction and Nuclear Deterrent. It's an amazing opportunity to show them how the world was polarized into two camps and why the Americans had so much influence in the world today. Seriously all this from just one episode of a science fiction television show that only lasted three seasons? Star Trek is a gold mine to educators! You see, it's entertainment, for sure, but it's also entertainment based on real world concepts and issues that have merit in today's world and therefore, classroom. I mean, let's talk good decision making. This forms part of the curriculum (at least where I'm from) of the subject of Health and Physical Education.