Teaching Traditional American History Program: Historians and Teachers

March 24, 2011

Teachers from New York City’s Region 7 at a workshop
Teachers from New York City’s Region 7 delving into workshop activities on the Civil War, on March 31, 2004 in Staten Island.

nASHP/CML’s Historians and Teachers faculty development program kicked off on March 5 with an enthusiastic group of 34 teachers from Region 7 of the New York City public schools. Professor Herbert Sloan of Barnard College lectured on “Was the Constitution a Democratic Document?” and the middle and high school teachers took part in lively analysis and discussion of documents from the ratification debates of 1787 and 1788.

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The first in a series of five “retreats” designed to give teachers the opportunity to explore topics in U.S. history in the company of noted historians, this day-long session on the Constitution was followed by Long Island University professor Jeanie Attie, who spoke about ” The Civil War: From Secession to Gettysburg.” Future sessions of the program will include Professor Elizabeth Ewen on the Progressive Era (April 16), ASHP/CML Executive Director Joshua Brown on the Gilded Age (May 3), and Professor Komozi Woodard on the Civil Rights Movement (May 27). In late June, teachers will take part in a week-long summer institute where, guided by ASHP/CML staff, they will work in small groups to explore these topics in greater depth and develop lessons for use with their students.

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Historians and Teachers is supported by the Teaching Traditional American History grant from the U.S. Department of Education.