Underground Railroad’s ‘Path To Freedom’ Frees Students’ Minds

By Larissa Lytwyn

Fourth graders in Sandy Hook School teacher Kathy Gramolini’s class recently crossed a century of history and circumstance to better understand a time when freedom and equality did not coincide.

Adopting the roles of slaves, conductors and bounty hunters, students simulated the famed Underground Railroad.

During the 1840s, as the nation became increasingly divided over issues including slavery, a detailed network of individuals helped transport slaves to “free states” such as Canada.

  The network espoused a number of railroad-related metaphors; people who aided the slaves were known as “conductors,” the slaves themselves “passengers.”

  Others, often known as “bounty hunters,” sought to catch the fleeing slaves, returning them to their owners for a hefty sum.

Captured slaves were severely punished through intense beatings or other consequences.

In addition to being fined, “conductors” implicated in slaves’ attempted escape were often harassed, some to the point of bodily harm. 

Students in the slave role strove to “escape” the school by following an intricate path to the “free state” outside the building.

Other students, as conductors, helped their peers determine the best routes to travel.

Teachers, said Ms Gramolini, got into the act, posing as interloping guards or bounty hunters.

“They would ask students [as conductors] what they were doing,” she said, “and the students would have to ‘lie’ to protect their [passengers].”

“Learning about the Underground Railroad made me learn more about how terrible the slaves were treated,” said student Jessica Lynch.

 “We learned a lot about how the slaves were whipped and beaten,” added student Steven Ibanez. “It was horrible.”

“The aim of this activity was really to foster a sense of empathy in the students,” explained Ms Gramolini, who coordinated the project with the assistance of school librarian Beth Bjorklund.

Another student, Samantha Bumgarner, said she was impressed by the courage of both the Railroad’s “passengers” and “conductors.”

“Everyone involved was very brave,” she said. “They weren’t going to stop going for freedom, no matter what.”

The culmination of the project, Ms Gramolini said, involved students writing a reflective essay on what they had learned from the Underground Railroad.

“Hopefully, the kids came away with a better understanding of our history, of the freedom we have,” she said, “and how that freedom wasn’t always something everyone had.”