WE DIDN'T START

THE FIRE

Music and Lyrics by Billy Joel

(Debut 1997)

THE SONG

THE EVENT

THE PURPOSE

1949

Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnnie Ray

South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio

1950

Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, television

North Korea/South Korea, Marilyn Monroe

1951

Rosenbergs, H-bomb, Sugar Ray, Panmunjom

Brando, "The King and I" and "The Catcher in the Rye"

1952

Eisenhower, vaccine, England's got a new queen

Marciano, Liberace, Santayana goodbye

CHORUS

We didn't start the fire

It was always burning

Since the world's been turning

We didn't start the fire

No we didn't light it

But we tried to fight it

1953

Joseph Stalin, Malenkov, Nasser and Prokofiev

Rockefeller, Campanella, Communist Bloc

1954

Roy Cohn, Juan Peron, Toscanini, Dacron

Dien Bien Phu falls, "Rock Around the Clock"

1955

Einstein, James Dean, Brooklyn's got a winning team

Davy Crockett, Peter Pan, Elvis Presley, Disneyland

1956

Bardot, Budapest, Alabama, Khrushchev

Princess Grace, "Peyton Place", trouble in the Suez

CHORUS

1957

Little Rock, Pasternak, Mickey Mantle, Kerouac

Sputnik, Chou En-Lai, "Bridge on the River Kwai"

1958

Lebanon, Charles de Gaulle, California baseball

Starkweather homicide, children of thalidomide

1959

Buddy Holly, "Ben Hur", space monkey, Mafia

Hula hoops, Castro, Edsel is a no-go

1960

U-2, Syngman Rhee, Payola and Kennedy

Chubby Checker, "Psycho", Belgians in the Congo

CHORUS

1961

Hemingway, Eichmann, "Stranger in a Strange Land"

Dylan, Berlin, Bay of Pigs invasion

1962

"Lawrence of Arabia", British Beatlemania

Ole Miss, John Glenn, Liston beats Patterson

1963

Pope Paul, Malcolm X, British politician sex

JFK, blown away, what else do I have to say

CHORUS

1964-1989

Birth control, Ho Chi Minh, Richard Nixon back again

Moonshot, Woodstock, Watergate, punk rock

Begin, Reagan, Palestine, terror on the airline

Ayatollah's in Iran, Russians in Afghanistan

"Wheel of Fortune", Sally Ride, heavy metal, suicide

Foreign debts, homeless vets, AIDS, crack, Bernie Goetz

Hypodermics on the shores, China's under martial law

Rock and roller cola wars,

I can't take it anymore

CHORUS

We didn't start the fire

But when we are gone

Will it still burn on, and on, and on, and on...

THE EVENT

Through the years as WDSTF grew, it became a large part of the academic year. While the original assignment for the Language Arts portion was to look up only FOUR people/events from each year, the criteria changed the next year. Math, Social Studies and Science also changed. The original plan called for students to work in groups. It was mandatory for the project.

The following year called for students to work ALONE on the project....the entire thing was to be completed individually. The class of 1998-1999 had already heard of the project and were waiting for it. They did not expect the changes though.

The class of 1999-2000 received a project that would now include a Geography portion. Likewise, they would compete in an impressionistic "Dance Competition" for the song. That added a certain element of enjoyment for the project. The students enjoyed creating dance movements to the fast-paced song.

ART was added in the 2000-2001 year. The artistic collages that were created by the classes that year were left on display for many months. they were outstanding. There was now so much work to do, that the students were again allowed to work in groups as the original project had allowed in 1997. The dance competition reached new heights as a very creative and energetic group of students who loved to dance, blew away the teachers with their dance routines that year. Section 7-11 not only won the dance competition from among the three sections, but they were also so well-liked by the judges that a special offer was made. Dr. Dooley suggested that they perform the winning dance at the 2001 Follies that year. They were a huge hit at the Follies and performed wonderfully. 

What other changes await future classes? Well,  there are now at least 15 different prototypes for WDSTF waiting for new classes in the future.

Billy Joel........keep singing.

THE PURPOSE

In the summer of 1997, Mrs. Barnfield and Mr. Heitmann had discussed pulling together some sort of cross-curricular project for Math and Language Arts. While discussing this on the telephone, WPLJ was on the radio in the Heitmann household. Mr. Heitmann remarked liking the song and Mrs. Barnfield agreed. Then a discussion about the people and events in the song began. THEN IT WAS ASKED- "How many of those things do you think the kids have ever heard of?" BAM! We Didn't Start The Fire was born as a project very innocently. Within minutes the original idea bloomed and grew to include Social Studies and Science under the academic umbrella. The original assignment was typed up that evening.

The VERY FIRST WDSTF PROJECT was given to the students in the beginning of November 1997.  Section 7-12 sat innocently in the chairs as the CD player was turned on to Billy Joel. They thought they were simply listening to another Music Journal Entry. THEN....came the good news... It Was A Project. They were SOOOOOOOOOO Happy. They warmly greeted Sections 7-11 and 7-13 in the hallway during passtime and told them what was waiting for them inside Room 134.  =)

WDSTF wasn't really just another project. It is a test of endurance, hard work and accomplishment. The project also cleared the way for other cross-curricular projects that were used within the partnership. The Wedding followed the next year with the Constitution Report and The Trial following behind concurrently.  Even the dance competition gave way for further competitions between the three sections. WDSTF has been feared, expected and ultimately enjoyed since then. It has become the signature project for Sections 7-11, 7-12 and 7-13. The students who have experienced learn at a very young age what they can truly accomplish when they have to.

Our students are told that if they can handle WDSTF at a 7th Grade level, there will never be another project or assignment that they cannot handle at any age. Yes, there is a lot of work involved in the project, but as with anything, hard work pays off. We may have started the fire for a challenging project in 1997, but it is still burning and it will burn on and on and on and on and on for many years to come. 

GOLDEN LINKS TO ASSIST

Billy Joel - We Didn't Start the Fire

Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnnie Ray
South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio 

Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, television
North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe

Rosenbergs, H-Bomb, Sugar Ray, Panmunjom
Brando, "The King and I", and "The Catcher in the Rye"

Eisenhower, vaccine, England's got a new queen 
Marciano, Liberace, Santayana goodbye

CHORUS
We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

Josef Stalin, Malenkov, Nasser and Prokofiev
Rockefeller, Campanella, Communist Bloc

Roy Cohn, Juan Peron, Toscanini, dacron
Dien Bien Phu and "Rock Around the Clock" 

Einstein, James Dean, Brooklyn's got a winning team
Davy Crockett, "Peter Pan", Elvis Presley, Disneyland

Bardot, Budapest, Alabama, Khrushchev
Princess Grace, "Peyton Place", trouble in the Suez 

CHORUS

Little Rock, Pasternak, Mickey Mantle, Kerouac
Sputnik, Chou En-Lai, "Bridge on the River Kwai"

Lebanon, Charles de Gaulle, California baseball
Starkweather, homicide, children of thalidomide

Buddy Holly, "Ben-Hur", space monkey, Mafia
hula hoops, Castro, Edsel is a no go

U2, Syngman Rhee, payola and Kennedy
Chubby Checker, "Psycho", Belgians in the Congo 

CHORUS

Hemingway, Eichmann, "Stranger in a Strange Land" 
Dylan, Berlin, Bay of Pigs Invasion 

"Lawrence of Arabia", British Beatlemania
Ole Miss, John Glenn, Liston beats Patterson

Pope Paul, Malcolm X, British politician sex 
JFK, blown away, what else do I have to say

CHORUS

Birth control, Ho Chi Minh, Richard Nixon, back again
Moonshot, Woodstock, Watergate, punk rock 
Begin, Reagan, Palestine, terror on the airline
Ayatollolah's in Iran, Russians in Afghanistan

  "Wheel of Fortune" , Sally Ride, heavy metal, suicide
  Foreign debts, homeless vets, AIDS, Crack, Bernie Goetz 
Hypodermics on the shores, China's under martial law
Rock and Roller Cola Wars, I can't take it anymore

CHORUS

We didn't start the fire
But when we are gone
Will it still burn on, and on, and on, and on...

VISUAL LINK ONE

VISUAL LINK TWO

1940's	1950's	1960's	1970's	1980's	1990's
A Biography of America: World War II	Recent History- 1950	Recent History- 1960	Recent History- 1970	Recent History- 1980	Recent History- 1990
Kids View of World War II	A Biography of America: The Fifties	A Biography of America: The Sixties	A Biography of America: Contemorary History	A Biography of America: Contemorary History	A Biography of America: Contemorary History
Photographs from the Great Depression to WWII	Fifties Boulevard-	20th Century America: A Pictorial 1960s- Houston Chronicle	70s Flashback	80's Flashback	90's Flashback
World War II Resources	Online Korean War Resources	Woodstock	Timeline of the 70's	20th Century America: A Pictorial 1980s- Houston Chronicle	In the 90s
Shorty 40's	Literature and Culture of the 1950's	Sixties British Pop Culture	20th Century America: A Pictorial 1970s-	80s.Com	Timeline of the 90's
Joe DiMaggio	The Important Things About the Fifties	Vietnam War	Super Seventies Rock Site	1980's General History	20th Century America: A Pictorial 1990s- Houston Chronicle
20th Century America: A Pictorial 1940s-	20th Century America: A Pictorial 1950s-	Man on the Moon- Houston Chronicle	Watergate	Timeline of the 80's	1990's General History