Billed as a re-enactment of the Battle of the Alamo, the low-budget event at Jobe Middle School on Friday substituted muskets with dodge balls, mortal combatants with seventh-grade girls and boys and the Alamo fortress with stacks of boxes and paper sheets strung between trash cans.
And the battle that raged March 6, 1836, after a 13-day siege by the Mexican Army, took less than three minutes to recreate on the school’s gymnasium floor, where a hail of blue and yellow foam balls left most of the 40 students playing dead.“You’d be surprised how fast those Alamo kids get killed,” said Jon Cady, Texas history teacher and organizer of the hands-on Texas Revolution project.But as much fun as the battle appeared to be, the somberness of the lesson wasn’t lost on many of the students.“I feel that from this simulation, we learned how hard it was, and how outnumbered they were,” said 12-year-old Casey Cyganowski. “Even though it told us that in the books, with this we can actually see it.”Cady said all 360 seventh-graders were scheduled to participate in the reenactment.“This is the first time to make it this big,” said Cady, who tested it last year with just his 130 students. “It was a success. The kids really learned a lot and had fun.”Jobe isn’t the only school replaying Texas history. Worley Middle School, a veteran of Alamo reenactments, is planning this year’s version for early March.Jobe’s wasn’t all about fighting. Cady and Coach Sharyn Thompson wedged in a pre-battle quiz that rewarded correct answers with dodge balls:“What was the Texas constitution modeled after?” The U.S. Constitution. “What was the purpose of the Texas Navy?” To protect the Texas coast.The teams came up with answers, but they were anxious to get off the bleachers and into the fray.“I think this gets them to feel what it was kind of like,” Cady said. “Kids nowadays learn more by doing than sitting at a desk and listening.”Though there were no military props in the gym, Cady did seek to recreate part of the atmosphere of the fateful day. He went to the YouTube video-sharing website and dialed up a version of the song, El Degüello -- derived from a Spanish term for throat-cutting -- which Santa Anna’s military bands played as the 1,500-man army launched the assault on the roughly 200 Alamo defenders.Many of those defenders awoke to the music, according to historical accounts. In the gym, the Texan team pretended to be asleep until El Degüello ended.“The kids are getting to realize that the Texas rebels had to wake up to surprise, and they didn’t have much supplies,” Cady said. “They didn’t have resources to hold down the fort, whereas the Mexican Army was well-trained, had their supplies and had more ammunition.”Gage Mitchell, 12, after the first of two mock battles, summed up the experience: “I’m glad we won.”“We did not win the Alamo!” Casey corrected him.“Yeah, I know,” Gage said. “But we won the war.”Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
