Teachers get civics course

By Alicia Rimel

Published: August 13, 2008

Karen Washington, a 10th-grade history teacher at Watertown High School in Watertown, Mass., is looking for a fresh take on her usual classroom routine.
“You’re doing something unique,” Washington said Wednesday. “You’re not doing the same thing all the time. You’re finding new sources, you’re getting new ideas. You’re getting ideas from other people, as well.”
Twenty-one instructors from across the country will be at The Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library through Friday to take part in the prestigious five-day Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History – one of more than 30 programs like it taking place across the United States.
A nonprofit group based in New York City, the Gilder Lehrman Institute was founded in 1994 “to promote the study and love of American History,” according to its Web site.
“For [teachers], it’s kind of a renewal opportunity and at the same time, a chance to get some information together that they can bring back and use in the classroom,” said Dr. Joel Hodson, director of education at the library. “The teachers work really hard and, in a way, it’s kind of a way to appreciate teachers to bring them to an institute like this, but there’s also a very scholarly aspect to it as well.”
This week’s instruction will focus on the Wilson presidency and its effect on America’s relationship with the rest of the world. It will also seek to broaden American classroom education, to include the experience of other nations.
Keynote speakers include Marc Selverstone, of the University of Virginia, Theodore C. Delaney, of Washington and Lee University, and Patricia O’Toole, Pulitzer Prize winning author, of Columbia University.
“One of the things that public school teachers have to do … is that they have to keep their certification current and one of the things that they do is that they look for courses like this to do that,” said Delaney, Chairman of the History Department and Assistant Professor of History at Washington and Lee University.
“The other thing, this is the ideal way for teachers to zoom in on a topic that they might be particularly interested in or a topic where they are seeking more knowledge.”
Instructors must apply to the institute, as well as complete required reading before attending.
“I think all of us believe that we want to be better teachers, which is probably a first inclination to apply for any of [the institutes],” said Brian Johnson, an 11th- and 12th-grade teacher at Pendleton High School in Pendleton, Ore. “That’s our job – to educate young people. You’re a better educator if you’re better prepared as a teacher.”