This week I am attending my fifth Teaching American History Program seminar at the University of Alabama. To brag for just a moment, I have attended more of these than anyone else which goes to prove just how much I love learning.
Today we traveled to the American Village in Montevallo for a special "teacher only" program about bringing history to life. This was my first trip back to the Village in about four years.
Since they opened about ten years ago, I have always taken a class or two on a field trip there. I haven't been able to in about three or four years. I was amazed at how much they have grown. They have amazing (and educational) programs, but they have so much more on to come.
Tom Walker, the Director, welcomed the group this morning and during his welcome he made two statements that I thought were profound. The first quote he attributed to the author/historian David McCollough and the second to his grandmother.
"The hardest part of teaching history is that it is hard to forget that we know how it turns out."
"History is to a country what memory is to an individual."
I have probably heard these quotes, or some alternative form, before but today they held a different meaning. Teaching history is hard, but it is made even harder because as a teacher I know everything (or as much as possible) about the subject I am teaching. My students do not. In that aspect, it is hard to break things down and decide what parts should and should not be taught. It is also hard in that history is always being questioned and in some instances, rewritten. While that is good it presents a challenge for a teacher to try and convey both sides of a story and why some on the outside continue to question it. Isn't that part of what we try to teach our students? To not only understand different opinions, but to continually question and critically think.
The second quote struck me more profoundly. We have become a nation that has become very selective in our memory and in too many instances just plain lackadaisical in paying attention to this nation's history. So much is being lost in the process. If our house was on fire the first thing we would grab would be our picture albums because they are the history of memories for the family. History classes should be the picture albums for our nation's history. As teachers we need to pull out those albums more often and peruse them with a renewed sense of purpose rather than teaching to the test or just meeting the objectives.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Saturday, June 12, 2010
The Beginning....
I'm not new to blogging. I have been blogging with my students for five years. However, spurred by my colleagues who have been blogging professionally with other educators, I have decided to join the cause.
Therefore, before I begin blogging on education and related matters, allow me to introduce myself.
I grew up in a small Alabama town and spent every spare minute I had reading. Needless to say, I was the kid who didn't mind getting grounded for minor (or major) infractions because I could then stay in my room and read. My love of reading stems from the moment I was born. I think my grandmother showed up at the hospital with a basket of books. From that point on she read to me, until I learned how myself at age three. I am proof of how important it is for children to be read to. Reading opens up so many worlds! My grandmother also loved history and many times we would take local history trips. I loved these trips because they made history and her stories come alive.
My love of history was cemented the summer I turned 12. The public library was my sanctuary and my 7th grade English teacher was a volunteer. We spent a great deal of time together that summer as she introduced me to many classics, but it was her introducing me to Eugenia Price that brought history alive even more. Since that time I have read (and own) every Eugenia Price novel. Oh, how she brought her stories to life.
Fast forward a few years and it's the middle of the 1980s. The '80s was the decade of business. All of us who entered college did so with the idea that with a business major we would be millionaires by the time we were 30. So wrong! Guess we just had our eyes turned by shows like Dallas, Dynasty and movies like The Secret of my Succe$s. I did and didn't. I did earn a business degree and worked for 15 years in various positions at a local community college.
By 1997, I was finding ceilings in my job and just wasn't happy getting up and going to work every morning. I've always lived with the philosophy that if you are not happy with your job, then you will not do a good job for your employer and you should find another job or occupation. That's just I decided to do, with the full support of my family.
I took my love of history, explored my options, and enrolled in the College of Education at the University of Alabama. I graduated with a bachelor's degree in 2000 and a master's degree in 2005. I am currently pursuing an Ed.D. in Curriculum and Instruction at UA, hoping to finish all coursework by 2011 and the dissertation by 2012.
After graduating in 2000, Alabama was in proration and you could not buy a teaching job, but I was fortunate to have God designing my path. I called a friend who was headmaster at a private school enquiring about any private school jobs within driving distance. Divine intervention! Her history teacher of 30 year had just resigned. I taught there for two years and enjoyed it immensely. It was a great learning experience, teaching six preps and being sponsor to many. Two years later, Divine intervention again. I was looking for a public school job and was within 24 hours of accepting a position I just wasn't very sure of when my current position came calling. I interviewed and was called with the job offer on the same day. I just finished my 8th year.
There have been many ups and downs. Many days when I've beaten my head on the wall, so to speak, and many days when I can't do anything but marvel at the lightbulbs going off in the minds of my students, but I have loved every minute that I have been teaching and I look forward to another ten years.
From this point, I hope to blog both the positive and negatives of education and teaching from my perspective and look forward to the intellectual exchange.
Therefore, before I begin blogging on education and related matters, allow me to introduce myself.
I grew up in a small Alabama town and spent every spare minute I had reading. Needless to say, I was the kid who didn't mind getting grounded for minor (or major) infractions because I could then stay in my room and read. My love of reading stems from the moment I was born. I think my grandmother showed up at the hospital with a basket of books. From that point on she read to me, until I learned how myself at age three. I am proof of how important it is for children to be read to. Reading opens up so many worlds! My grandmother also loved history and many times we would take local history trips. I loved these trips because they made history and her stories come alive.
My love of history was cemented the summer I turned 12. The public library was my sanctuary and my 7th grade English teacher was a volunteer. We spent a great deal of time together that summer as she introduced me to many classics, but it was her introducing me to Eugenia Price that brought history alive even more. Since that time I have read (and own) every Eugenia Price novel. Oh, how she brought her stories to life.
Fast forward a few years and it's the middle of the 1980s. The '80s was the decade of business. All of us who entered college did so with the idea that with a business major we would be millionaires by the time we were 30. So wrong! Guess we just had our eyes turned by shows like Dallas, Dynasty and movies like The Secret of my Succe$s. I did and didn't. I did earn a business degree and worked for 15 years in various positions at a local community college.
By 1997, I was finding ceilings in my job and just wasn't happy getting up and going to work every morning. I've always lived with the philosophy that if you are not happy with your job, then you will not do a good job for your employer and you should find another job or occupation. That's just I decided to do, with the full support of my family.
I took my love of history, explored my options, and enrolled in the College of Education at the University of Alabama. I graduated with a bachelor's degree in 2000 and a master's degree in 2005. I am currently pursuing an Ed.D. in Curriculum and Instruction at UA, hoping to finish all coursework by 2011 and the dissertation by 2012.
After graduating in 2000, Alabama was in proration and you could not buy a teaching job, but I was fortunate to have God designing my path. I called a friend who was headmaster at a private school enquiring about any private school jobs within driving distance. Divine intervention! Her history teacher of 30 year had just resigned. I taught there for two years and enjoyed it immensely. It was a great learning experience, teaching six preps and being sponsor to many. Two years later, Divine intervention again. I was looking for a public school job and was within 24 hours of accepting a position I just wasn't very sure of when my current position came calling. I interviewed and was called with the job offer on the same day. I just finished my 8th year.
There have been many ups and downs. Many days when I've beaten my head on the wall, so to speak, and many days when I can't do anything but marvel at the lightbulbs going off in the minds of my students, but I have loved every minute that I have been teaching and I look forward to another ten years.
From this point, I hope to blog both the positive and negatives of education and teaching from my perspective and look forward to the intellectual exchange.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
