If I'm excited about the material, they are. What I love about this is that lots of students come in eager to get excited about a topic. Casper doesn't want students to just recall data he feeds them. He encourages them to dig up information on their own, reinterpret it, and present their findings to a wider audience. His students have created museum exhibits, education lesson plans and web sites on topics such as Civil War medicine and clothing, for example.
History is hands-on.
It's not just learning about history, but learning how to do history. Casper teaches a variety of U.S. history courses, focusing on the 19th Century and American cultural history. Casper credits his mother and his other teachers throughout his life, with inspiring him. I've always had teachers who made learning exciting, who pushed me and challenged me. Casper's passion for history began as a little boy when he visited historical sites such as Williamsburg and Charlottesville in his home state of Virginia.