History has always been one of those topics that has fascinated me. While I have taught history in various capacities, from elementary to High School Global Studies to support for economics; it was not until this summer when I participated in the Colonial Williamsburg and Columbia University Teachers College Reading and Writing Project's joint Institute in American History and Content Literacy that things came together for me.
While I consider myself to be reflective by nature, the institute gave me reason to be even more thoughtful and considerate of the journeys one takes. We were often given time to write and collect notes and ideas in our notebooks, which I continue to review and reflect upon. As months have passed since our adventure at Colonial Williamsburg, I have continued to return to that notebook and thought about my own learning and engagement within that experience. What was so rich about the experience? Was it a different venue? Being in that particular, historic place. Was it the learners beside me? Some of the best colleagues and thinkers I've had the pleasure to know. Was it the opportunity itself and the abundance of hospitality and support we were shown? Could it have been the staff that was spending every moment sharing their knowledge with us? Was it my thinking and learning being pushed to a different level? Maybe it was the hands on activities and experiences we participated in. Or was it about a different level of connection we made with history itself?
Our work for the week was around a particular, person assigned to us from the era. We were given information about the person and some insight into their life. Their connections, relationships and lives were unfolded to us across the week as we were asked to think about their perspectives, thoughts and feelings and to write about them. Thinking about where they fit into the puzzle gave us an anchor to which we could connect our new learning. It was amazing how this not only connected us to our character but to each other, as most of us were intertwined in one way or another.
I was recently reviewing my notebook from the week at Williamsburg and thinking about my dear George Pitt. I think about his struggles and dreams which never came to pass, how being a doctor wasn't enough. I think about his want to be more than he was and how the timing was never right for him to move upward, in class or rank. Mostly, I think about how he gave it all up, sold everything he had to go back to England to live his final days and how defeated he must have felt.
"History isn't about the dates and places and wars. It's about the people who fill the spaces between them." Jodi Picoult ~ The Storyteller
And there it is...though every part of our week in Williamsburg was amazing and I will forever be changed by it; it was the connection with a person that made it rich for me. Thinking beyond the dates and events and learning about the effect of the times on a real person was powerful. There are thousands of people I still want to l learn from in our American history, stories I want to hear and connections I want to make...with the people.
While I consider myself to be reflective by nature, the institute gave me reason to be even more thoughtful and considerate of the journeys one takes. We were often given time to write and collect notes and ideas in our notebooks, which I continue to review and reflect upon. As months have passed since our adventure at Colonial Williamsburg, I have continued to return to that notebook and thought about my own learning and engagement within that experience. What was so rich about the experience? Was it a different venue? Being in that particular, historic place. Was it the learners beside me? Some of the best colleagues and thinkers I've had the pleasure to know. Was it the opportunity itself and the abundance of hospitality and support we were shown? Could it have been the staff that was spending every moment sharing their knowledge with us? Was it my thinking and learning being pushed to a different level? Maybe it was the hands on activities and experiences we participated in. Or was it about a different level of connection we made with history itself?
Our work for the week was around a particular, person assigned to us from the era. We were given information about the person and some insight into their life. Their connections, relationships and lives were unfolded to us across the week as we were asked to think about their perspectives, thoughts and feelings and to write about them. Thinking about where they fit into the puzzle gave us an anchor to which we could connect our new learning. It was amazing how this not only connected us to our character but to each other, as most of us were intertwined in one way or another.
I was recently reviewing my notebook from the week at Williamsburg and thinking about my dear George Pitt. I think about his struggles and dreams which never came to pass, how being a doctor wasn't enough. I think about his want to be more than he was and how the timing was never right for him to move upward, in class or rank. Mostly, I think about how he gave it all up, sold everything he had to go back to England to live his final days and how defeated he must have felt.
"History isn't about the dates and places and wars. It's about the people who fill the spaces between them." Jodi Picoult ~ The Storyteller
And there it is...though every part of our week in Williamsburg was amazing and I will forever be changed by it; it was the connection with a person that made it rich for me. Thinking beyond the dates and events and learning about the effect of the times on a real person was powerful. There are thousands of people I still want to l learn from in our American history, stories I want to hear and connections I want to make...with the people.