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As the final patches of snow melted from Hyde School’s campus, students emerged from a long Maine winter not just to enjoy the outdoors—but to tackle the latter half of the twentieth century in United States History. This week, the Schuller Circle, the stone fire pit nestled between the Dining Hall and the Library, became more than just a gathering spot. Hyde’s historic Sunken Garden became a dynamic space for class debate where students examined America’s entry and exit from WWII, isolationism, the lend-lease program, and the legacies of the New Deal in post-war Europe.

With a bracing, crisp spring breeze, and the sun on their backs, students stepped into the roles of World War-era leaders, thinking critically about the interplay between domestic and foreign policy. These debates weren’t just about recalling facts—they were about understanding conflicting perspectives, grappling with global tensions, and thinking historically.

Meanwhile, inside the history classroom during Family Weekend, students and parents interpreted the political cartoons of Theodor Geisel, drawing connections between the Lorax and the destruction of Europe in the wake of Hitler’s invasions, between Horton Hears A Who and America’s post-War promise to defend Japan and Asia’s “smaller” nations against future threats, and the obvious parallels between Yertle the Turtle, the towering figure obsessed with claiming land and “living space” for the turtles crushed under the weight of his ego and the Nazi dictator.

Students were incisive in their responses, seeing the connections between these later classic children’s tales and Dr. Seuss’s wartime mission of opposing the reticence of United States’ citizens who he caricatured as Isolationist Ostriches. Charlie ‘27, SJ ‘26, and Brady ‘27 in particular demonstrated their fine-tuned powers of historical analysis, showing their parents a thing or two about doing the work of historians. Hyde’s students have grasped the importance and relevance of the mid-twentieth century now a quarter of a century through the twenty-first.

As in most classrooms around the country come Springtime, our AP students plugged away with practice questions and Document Based Question Essay prompts. Meanwhile, United States History students not sitting for this cumulative exam in early May have had the opportunity to take part in a top-secret Cold War Escape Room—a hands-on and collaborative alternative to the traditional multiple-choice test and short-answer format for one of our final units of the Term. 

Tasked with decoding Soviet political cartoons critical of America’s poor Civil Rights Record, analyzing the National Security Council Briefing called NSC-68, and understanding the objections of American students outlined in the Port Huron Statement, students collaborated in teams of renegade agents or conscientious citizens, using logic, historical reasoning, and teamwork to “escape” a federal installation with the highly classified Pentagon Papers.

Of course, it helped that the student teams played for a uniquely coveted reward—immunity on final exam questions of their choosing. Still, even without the promise of a reward, several students enjoyed the challenge of assuming their roles as spies and potential whistle-blowers in this interactive Cold War espionage scenario. This activity just happened to fall on the last rainy days of the Maine “mud season,” keeping student energy high on otherwise gloomy days. Raya ‘26, Masha ‘26, and Giulia ‘26 led their teams admirably in six rounds of source analysis prompts and quiz questions. Sofi ‘26 and Alex ‘26 faced down Petra ‘26 and Ana Rosa ‘26 backed by their well prepared teams of classmates in a fierce race to be the first team of renegade agents to write down the best contextual, sourcing, and close reading answers to the different side quest activities. Learning the history of the twentieth century in this way, students arguably will retain more knowledge about this period than if they stare at a packet of questions, racking their brains to eliminate answers.

I might have to assess students during the year, but I hope they remember more of what they learned from the class months or even years later. Rather than just memorizing events, students are asked to take part in reconstructing and addressing them as if they were living through that time, or imagining these stories of human struggle. They have been asked to step into the shoes of government leaders, citizens, and protestors, and then go back and reflect on what they learned. Its history with urgency—and relevance. This immersive approach blends academic rigor with experiential learning, aligning with Hyde’s mission to develop character, curiosity, and courage.

By moving beyond the textbook and into active exploration, students in Hyde’s classrooms are engaging with history in powerful, memorable ways. It also gets them all out of the classroom and getting excited to enjoy the last warm days before Graduation in May. Spring at Hyde is more than just a change in season—it’s a shift in mindset. And whether it’s around the Schuller Circle or locked in a high stakes Cold War Era Simulation, Hyde students are rising to the challenge, one historical inquiry at a time.