Tony Maccarella Challenges Pre-AP Students to Think Like Historians

While guest speaking at Central Middle School in Parsippany, NJ, Mastering the Essay - AP European History Edition author, Tony Maccarella, engages members of the History Club on the topic of thesis development.

The students were eager to participate in discussions that required them to critically evaluate history, which is what Maccarella (aka Mr. Mac) came to do. Mr. Mac asked the students to provide evidence in support of or against Christopher Columbus's legacy as a hero (or villain) to illustrate how categories of evidence can be used to support an argument.

The students became highly engrossed in the debate, with the vast majority eagerly offering evidence in support of the "villain" category (apparently, a lot has changed since we were in school). This afforded Mr. Mac a perfect opportunity to demonstrate the importance of considering all data when building an argument or thesis statement.

By the end of the discussion, students were able to understand how and why to categorize evidence when developing an argument. Their energy was incredible—the sort of energy needed to score high on AP exams some day down the road. After the lecture, we asked Tony how felt about the event. He replied, "This is what I live for. I never get tired of talking about history with sharp students."