When The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles premiered on March 4, 1992, South Carolina school teacher Thomas Riddle immediately recognized the educational value of a television series that combined real-world events with the swashbuckling adventures of the fictional archaeologist. As the years went by, so did Riddle’s ambitions, from single lectures that used The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles to explore factual history to a year-long course, an interactive museum-type exhibit to a website that encouraged other teachers to discuss their own experiences using Indiana Jones as an education tool.
When Riddle was having difficulty explaining the concepts of yin and yang to his students in 1995, he turned to another George Lucas creation and transformed the Star Wars character Yoda into a Taoist sage. Like with The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, Riddle quickly became more ambitious afterwards and created an entire course entitled “Star Wars and the Hero’s Journey” as a result.
Wes Dodgens was later hired at the same high school as Thomas Riddle and the two immediately bonded over a shared love of not only education but Star Wars as well. “During my first years of teaching, I would throw in references here and there, but I never showed the films,” Dodgens told the Greenville Journal in 2017. “Thomas was the first to help me realize the full potential of using Star Wars in the classroom.”
Riddle later decided to create a website – Adventures in Learning with Indiana Jones – to highlight the educational value ofThe Young Indiana Jones Chronicles and turned to Dodgens for assistance. Despite its success, it wasn’t until Disney purchased Lucasfilm in 2012 that the pair decided to launch a companion website, Star Wars in the Classroom.
Initially the site only contained lesson plans already developed by Riddle and Dodgens. The following year, however, the pair drew inspiration from a famous Yoda quote – “Always pass on what you have learned” – and turned Star Wars in the Classroom into an online community for teachers who already had or were interested in using the George Lucas saga in their classroom. In keeping with the spirit of Star Wars, these educators were nicknamed “The Rogues.”
By 2017, there were over seven hundred teachers in thirty countries registered as Rogues onStar Wars in the Classroom. “At first, we were getting a lot of teachers that you’d expect from subject areas that you’d expect: ELA, and science, and social studies,” Thomas Riddle explained to The74. “And then we began to see a lot more math teachers who were joining in and using Star Wars in some really creative ways.”
While crafting the mythology of Star Wars, George Lucas studied numerous myths and legends –from those of ancient historical times to contemporary science fiction and comic books – before mixing them together into something fresh yet familiar. In its article on Star Wars in the Classroom, The74 highlighted three examples of how teachers were using Star Wars as an education tool, two of which had direct ties to those myths and legends.
English teacher Craig Dickinson at Pasco High School in Washington, for example, concentrated on mythologist Joseph Campbell’s “Hero’s Journey,” first explaining to his students how the concept was used in both The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter before asking them to analyze the original 1977 Star Wars film from a similar perspective.
Ryan Croft at the University of Wyoming basically used the same approach but focused instead on medieval and Renaissance literature, discussing how elements of Beowulf, Dante’s Inferno, and the legends of King Arthur can likewise be found in Star Wars. Since most works of fiction are also representative of their times, meanwhile, Rebecca Thomas at the West Career and Technical Academy in Las Vegas had students in her comparative politics and government class identify ways real world events influenced the fictional narratives of the original trilogy.
These three examples likewise connected with how Thomas Riddle and Wes Dodgens have used Star Wars in their own classrooms. “Although Star Wars lends itself to so many curriculums, I am most interested in how Star Wars was influenced by the World Wars,” Dodgens told StarWars.com in 2015. “Of course, both World Wars are my favorite historical eras to teach, so it is only fitting that I place my focus there. During World War II the development of new military weapons and tactics, the failure of democracy and the threat of dictatorship, the dangers of appeasement, and the battle of good versus evil consumed the planet. We see these same themes mirrored throughout history and these concepts make numerous connections to Star Wars.”
Thomas Riddle, on the other hand, was drawn to Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces and the relatability of Star Wars to contemporary youths. “We touch upon many themes, especially those around the mythology of the saga: love, friendship, redemption, heroism, selfless service, etc.,” he said of his courses. “As for the series being more relatable, I think that, so far, it is providing fertile ground to explore issues that adolescents often face, such as trying to determine who they are as an individual and how they fit in with a larger group that may not necessarily be like themselves. They are also developing a sense of their responsibility in taking a stand for what they believe to be true and right.”
When Thomas Riddle and Wes Dodgens first launched Star Wars in the Classroom, they had a three-point mission for the website. “First, our goal is to connect teachers who already use Star Wars in the classroom,” Wes Dodgens explained to StarWars.com. “Secondly, I hope The Rogues introduces educators around the world to the idea of teaching with Star Wars. It’s truly an inspiring and humbling realization to know that something you’ve created is being utilized by teachers and students all over the world! Above all, we want to share the concept of teaching with Star Wars and help educators and students have more meaningful classroom experiences.”
Although the Star Wars in the Classroom website may no longer be available, it’s mission of establishing the George Lucas saga as an educational tool continues to resonate just the same – regardless of how long ago or far, far away the adventures took place.
Anthony Letizia