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Hernando Today

Stepping Back In Time At Explorer

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By LINNEA BROWN

Hernando Today

Published: September 25, 2008

SPRING HILL - It was almost like jumping back in time.

A class of wide-eyed second graders Wednesday filed slowly into Jason Yungmann's eighth-grade American History classroom at Explorer K-8 in Spring Hill.

Only it was no typical classroom - instead, it had been transformed into a living, breathing history lesson about the Comanche Native Americans, complete with a darkened room, authentic-looking teepee with a faux fire and surround-sound animal noises.

The students instinctively didn't speak, crouching instead on the floor for an interactive history lesson by Yungmann, who brought the students back to the 1700s, when more than 20,000 members of the Comanche Nation roamed the continent.

"Back then, there was no TV or radio, just the looks and sounds of nature," he said.

Yungmann told them about how the Comanche hunted buffalo and lived in peace until explorers came. The explorers introduced them to horses, which allowed them greater mobility and power on horseback.

He also taught them several sign language gestures used by members of the tribe when hunting - such as the sign for "deer" and "teepee" - and told them how they typically used animal hides to build teepees and keep warm.

Several students were also chosen to paint symbols on the teepee, and all of the students eagerly volunteered to have their faces marked with the symbol of the warrior - a brief brushstroke to the forehead and cheeks.

A lifelong fan of the special effects employed at Walt Disney World and Universal Studios, Yungmann recalled a memorable lesson from his own childhood growing up in Brooksville, when his eighth-grade history teacher set up a planetarium with a big tent.

"That's something that really stood out in my mind," he said. "And with history, I like to give students a chance to step back in time."

Today, the Comanche Nation is comprised of about 10,000 members. They primarily live in Oklahoma, Texas, California and New Mexico.

Yungmann, an actor who participates in local theater projects, said he also dressed in costume as part of the lesson.

While his students studied the Comanche's history, all of the school's elementary-aged students were invited to visit the classroom's interactive learning experience.

"I liked all of it, especially getting my face painted," said Dominic Parsolano, 9, who carefully painted a sun and star on the tent.

Across the school, students who had visited the project could be easily spotted by the streaks on their cheeks, which they wore proudly the remainder of the day.

"Learning the sign language was cool," added Yasmin Kemp, 11, placing both hands on her head as the gesture for "deer."

No one was more impressed than the school's teachers, who were not told what their students were about to experience ahead of time, said fourth-grade teacher Theresa McDermott.

"I thought it was really neat," she said.

Reporter Linnea Brown can be reached at 352-544-5289 or lbrown@hernandotoday.com.

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