Summer Programs Offer Great Ideas for Teachers

Abstract

ON THE last day of their intensive summer workshop, small group of schoolteachers gathered for final walk around George Washington's historic Virginia estate at Mt. Vernon. teachers had spent past five days in workshop on Shaping Constitution: A View from Mt. Vernon, 1783-1789, where they worked with several noted historians and learned about important events surrounding American Revolution and creation of United States. Now, during an extended break between lectures and discussions, they set out to bid President Washington final goodbye. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] On their way out of air-conditioned conference center, nearly all of teachers extracted cold water bottles from an ice bucket provided by workshop staff in well-meaning attempt to combat 100[degrees] heat. Virginia's summer sun was pitiless, but as group drew closer to George Washington's burial site, remarks like It sure is hot out here! gave way to wonder at modesty and simplicity of resting place first President chose for himself. Look! one of teachers said. These are markings that Professor Leibeger told us about, carved by Civil War soldiers in bricks around Washington's tomb. Another participant spotted faintly discernible letters J. L. Chamberlain. Visiting lecturer Stuart Leibeger had told teachers to watch for that brick in particular, which probably bore mark of Gen. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, one of great Civil War heroes and major figure in battle of Gettysburg. Later, as group walked along gravel paths leading back to conference center, one teacher said, Interacting with such small details firsthand, like graffiti scribbled 150 years ago by hand of significant historical figure, brings this story to life in way that textbooks never can. As they walked past Washington's elegantly simple home, she continued, The knowledge I've gained here will certainly enhance my teaching, but I also hope to motivate some of my students to come here and experience it for themselves. Another teacher chimed in to number this workshop, her second, among the best personal and academic experiences of her life. rest nodded in agreement. It has breathed new energy into my desire to teach, she told them. Every summer, with financial support from National Endowment for Humanities (NEH), more than 2,500 schoolteachers from across U.S. participate in advanced study programs in humanities that range from one to six weeks in length. Most of programs are conducted at institutions of higher learning, both within U.S. and abroad, and many are held near sites of particular relevance to topic of study. All NEH summer programs are conducted by accomplished scholars with specialized knowledge of program's focus. Moreover, each teacher selected to participate receives stipend, which ranges from $500 to $4,200, corresponding to length of program. Mt. Vernon workshop, which was organized by Bill of Rights Institute in partnership with George Washington's Mt. Vernon Estate and Gardens, was just one of many onsite humanities-related workshops funded by NEH. Teachers who have participated in these programs repeatedly note value of exploring history, literature, and culture where it was actually made. Participants from workshop Stony Road We Trod: Using Alabama's Civil Rights Landmarks to Teach American History reported having been moved by studying civil rights struggle amid people and places that had figured directly in historical narrative. One teacher wrote, To see Edmund Pettus Bridge and walk over it after watching footage about Bloody Sunday, to [meet and] hear stories of [civil rights] foot soldiers--so moving!... My knowledge was so incomplete about this important piece of American history! Another teacher reported that she has since used photographs and stories she brought home from trip to give her students a more experiential idea of what civil rights movement in Alabama and U. …