The Facing History Blog: How Breck’s Iconic History Teacher Tim Rosenfield is Keeping the Classroom Conversations Alive

Tim Rosenfield has spent his entire life in the classroom. From his graduate studies during the 1970s to a legendary 40-year run at Breck School from 1981 to 2021, he has always sought to teach and learn. When he finally stepped away from the daily high school grind, he realized he could not just stop. Much like John Lennon during his "house husband" years, Rosenfield kept on writing.

Now, he is developing what he calls "to-order history lessons," reopening his classroom to former students and history enthusiasts of every stripe.

His most recent book, A Deep Funk in Funkytown: America in the 1970s, is definitely not a traditional, dry textbook. Rosenfield wanted to resume writing what he calls ‘conversation starters’ that would ignite discussion and provide a platform to flesh out larger ideas. The book offers a broad cultural overview of the decade, covering everything from Native American rights, women’s liberation, and gay rights to the movies, music, and literature of the era.

The Greek historian Herodotus once wrote that "culture is king," quoting favorably the poet Pindar. It is an idea Rosenfield agrees with. He notes that once something enters the cultural bloodstream, it is difficult to remove. To examine a society’s culture is to understand the underlying forces producing the names, dates, and events most people equate with studying history. He insists that authentic historical learning cannot be measured by mere memorization of those facts. His history instruction seeks to capture the student’s mind, not his memory, and a personal realization of the causes underlying the events under investigation.  

Four Decades Beyond the Classroom

Rosenfield started at Breck when he was 25 years old. He originally aimed to teach at a university, but a newspaper listing led him to Breck’s Golden Valley campus. His first year was a massive learning curve, balancing five separate class preparations and carbon-copy weekly schedules. He worked incredibly hard to adapt to high school students, quickly hitting his stride and evolving his style.

Over the years, summer seminars at places like Brown, Columbia, and Stanford gave him the inspiration to create brand new courses. Once he’d earned the school's trust, Breck gave him the freedom to build unique curricula that the students loved.

Obsessed with the Supreme Court and issues of justice arising out of his youthful years in the 1960s, Rosenfield launched a popular class on the US Constitution and the Supreme Court that included taking students to Washington, D.C. to hear oral arguments and meet with justices on the Court. 

He also took his Advanced History Research far beyond the classroom. He led trips to Dallas to explore the John F. Kennedy assassination, bringing influential history-makers into the experience, including Judge John R. Tunheim, the head of the Assassination Records Review Board. His students also had the unique opportunity to meet and talk with Judyth Vary Baker, one of Lee Harvey Oswald's former co-workers at the Reily Coffee Company.

He even organized a student trip to Soviet Russia in the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster, coordinating with the State Department and other federal agencies to safely visit Tallinn in Estonia, St. Petersburg, and Moscow. 

Music, Memories, and Lasting Community

The history he sought to teach was not limited to what was contained in books; it was in the school's culture itself. Rosenfield and fellow teacher Frank Eustis realized their shared love for music and playing guitar might prove instructional. They formed a teacher band for the school variety show, recruiting math teacher Paul Carpenter to play Elvis Costello's "What’s So Funny 'About Peace, Love, and Understanding."

The teacher band became a beloved, multi-year tradition in which students and faculty frequently joined the group on stage to jam, moments that are still preserved on YouTube to this day.

That relational community has proven remarkably durable. Just a couple of months ago, a former student checked in while on a solo trek in the Australian outback requesting a copy of Rosenfield’s Roman history book she’d used as a ninth-grader at Breck. Another student reached out from law school in Santa Clara for his Constitution book.

What’s Next: The Facing History Blog

Now, Rosenfield is opening up his classroom to the general public. His blog is the main driver for this expanding audience. Because the historical record of human experience is so diverse, his topics range widely. He says he feels a bit like a historical short-order cook, serving up quick-hitting articles and watching to see how they suit the taste of his readers. He gives his wife, Kathy, all the credit for properly designing his scribblings for online viewing.   

He is also taking these new history lessons on the road, kicking things off in Duluth with a book signing and a radio show appearance. This summer, he is planning seminars and signing events around the Twin Cities, with subsequent travel stops in New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles to connect with alumni.

The events menu on his blog will auto-populate as those dates are scheduled. Tim Rosenfield intends to keep on writing, blogging, and continuing the historical conversations he enjoyed with students during his time at Breck.  

You can purchase your personal copy of his book A Deep Funk in Funkytown and explore his ongoing weekly historical writings at his blog: https://www.facinghistoryblog.com/