Catching Up

My travels from the previous two weeks made for an exhausting push up to Thanksgiving! After missing so many classes, it was catch-up time. Trying to manage makeup work for students who were absent (some 3 weeks ago but I couldn't connect with because of my own absences) is difficult. So the Thanksgiving break was well timed to help me get rested up!

In addition to playing catch-up, we moved forward in our curriculum. In U.S. History students are working on their Dollar Bill project in which they must select a person to put on a Dollar Bill and defend it to the class in a presentation. We also have been discussing slavery by reading from "The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass". I first read this autobiography when I was in College and was blown away by it. A Substitute teacher in my school left me a copy a few years back that I re-read and I was struck by how relatable and readable it would be for High School students once they got hooked on the story. So through a combination of in-class and on-their-own reading, we read the 100 page book together (Bonus that the book is in the public domain and available as a free PDF they can download to their iPads).

In Ethics, we had our final guest speaker. James Lawley is a former, and now current, attorney for clients on Death Row. Mr. Lawley is now living in Pennsylvania, but he skyped into my classroom to discuss his work with clients on Death Row. The students were very interested in the anecdotes Mr. Lawley conveyed to them and had some really interesting questions.

(James Lawley via Skype)

In History v. Hollywood we finished viewing the film "Schindler's List". This true story of hope during the Holocaust never fails to move students. We have some awesome discussions around genocide and memory while watching the film. We also got into the human psyche and bystanders vs. upstanders. Fun stuff!

Sensation and perception dominated our psychology work. We had a lot of fun tasting candy and isolating where those tastes show up on the tongue. We also were able to make use of many optical illusions and Gestalt psychology. We went in to the break on a gratitude assignment. Some recent research into positive psychology and the work of Martin Seligman shows a correlation between expressing gratitude and increased happiness. So students had to compose a letter thanking someone who they have never properly thanked. It had to be specific, and though I didn't read them, they had to show me they had written something and submit it to me in a stamped, addressed, and sealed envelope. I then mailed them. We didn't record specific data about their happiness before doing this, so its not as scientific as the study. However, we will discuss afterwards whether or not they felt more happy after doing the assignment. Here is a great video we watched to set up the assignment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHv6vTKD6lg

(Classic example of Gestalt Psychology)

I have started work on Understanding Sacrifice. I will honor 4 soldiers (or Fallen Heroes as we are asked to call them) next summer while in Italy and France. I will record video of ceremonies there and bring home some things for those 4 families, all of which live locally to me, here in Maine. However, I will focus the project and lesson plans on one of the four soldiers. The folks at the ABMC want our work to be high quality and detailed and so would only allow to me to choose one for the project. They were very supportive in my wish to recognize and honor all 4 with ceremonies, so I feel this is a good compromise. I will be compiling the stories of all 4 families, but I am starting with the Fallen Hero I will be focusing on for the project. His name was Harvey J. Madore and he lived on Mt. Vernon Avenue in Augusta. His son contacted me after seeing the article about me in the local newspaper. His Dad is buried in Epinal American Cemetery near the German border in France. Here is some information I have gathered about Mr. Madore so far.

PFC US Army  Harvey J. Madore

·      #31460256

·      255^th Infantry Regiment, 63^rd Infantry Division

·      Epinal American Cemetery Plot B Row 32 Grave 29

·      Purple Heart

·      Enlisted: March 30, 1944 Ft. Devens, Massachusetts

·      From: Augusta, ME

·      Born: April 1 1917,  On Cyr Plantation Aroostook County, ME

·      Died: March 5 1945

·      Parents: Joseph E. and Annie Madore

·      Spouse: Marie R.

·      Children: Robert

·      Last residence: 79 Mt. Vernon Ave. Augusta, ME (1945)

I am meeting with his son in a few days to learn more!

 

And so we head into December and the 3 1/2 week push to Christmas break. No snow on the ground and the forecast is calling for warmer than usual temperatures. It would be nice to have a snow day before Christmas, but the extended forecast at this point doesn't point in that direction. Last year we had 6 inches of snow before Thanksgiving, and this year it was 57 degrees the day after Thanksgiving! December in Maine usually means snow or sleet, so I'm sure we will get some sort of storm at some point. Trying to cram what we need in before the almost 2 week break makes for a stressful 3 1/2 weeks. Here we go!

Professional Development

The last two weeks have been very busy for me and I am now quite exhausted. But from a professional point of view, they were really awesome! It was tough only being in school 5 out of 10 days, but the days I was out and both Saturdays were spent engaged in high quality Professional Development and a bit of travel related to the PD.

In my classes, students are all working on projects and this is partly by design. Knowing I would be out of school a few days, I wanted students to have projects they could be working on in class. It's still not easy to be out. Some students have also missed class and need to see me to make things up. It also means this last full week before Thanksgiving will be a busy one in class.

Since being accepted into the Understanding Sacrifice program I have been unable to hide my excitement! The kickoff for our project took place over the course of 3 days in Washington, DC. So I flew out after school on a Wednesday and was fortunate my sister-in-law could pick me up at the airport and let me stay at her house for the night. Then I went to Arlington, VA via the Metro the next day to start our program. It was a beautiful and warm day in the nation's capitol that made for a wonderful tour of the national mall before some time getting to know the other teachers in the program. These teachers are Middle School and High School teachers, mostly Social Studies, who hail from places like Texas, Washington, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Michigan, and more.

Part of our time in DC was spent in Arlington at the American Battle Monuments Commission Headquarters in Arlington, VA. The ABMC was started by General Pershing after World War One. Pershing wanted to ensure that America's sacrifice would not be forgotten by Europeans and also had to deal with the massive number of American soldiers killed. Cemeteries were established as well as monuments. After World War Two, the number of cemeteries increased dramatically. Parents could choose to have their child brought home or buried in the cemetery in the country where they died. Burial in these cemeteries guarantees perpetual care at a sight also connected to some sort of historical significance. As time has moved on and fewer families remain to visit, the ABMC has looked to reinvigorate interest from the public in remembering the sacrifice of the soldiers by emphasizing education. Thus, the program was born. National History Day and the Ray Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media are all co-sponsors.

(General John Pershing)

After learning about the history, we had some lessons on photography, blogging, and digital media all to help us with the final product. Our goal is to create a website that honors Fallen Heroes and connects those heroes to high quality lessons plans for teachers. This is year two of the project. Last year teachers started by focusing on soldiers buried in Normandy and the Netherlands. Their work was just recently published on Veteran's Day, and can be seen here: http://www.abmceducation.org/.

We had an interactive lecture and book discussion with professor Christopher Hamner from George Mason University in the afternoon. It was wonderful to talk about the real skills of historical inquiry and how to bring those to our students and the public. Very exciting stuff and all very well done!

On Saturday we went into DC and had a tour of the World War Two Memorial from one of the folks involved with its construction and design. We also had time to take some photos at the monument designed to evoke feeling and reflection. After some time at the monument, we went to the Smithsonian Museum of American History and spent most of our time in "The Price of Freedom" exhibit. We had the opportunity to analyze in depth the parts of the exhbit that deal with World War Two and to think abotu how we memorilaize and rmemeber the war and those who were involved.

I returned home on Sunday full of energy and excitement to select my Fallen Hero and begin my work on the project. I was so excited to share with my students and talk about how they will be helping me to tell the stories of Mainers buried in these cemeteries. Not surprisingly, they shared in my enthusiasm!

After only two days of school, I headed off for another adventure. As Vice-President of the Maine Council for the Social Studies, I and the President were asked to represent Maine in the House of Delegates at the National Conference. This requires some work from us, but also provides a great opportunity for both of us to attend sessions related to our teaching. We also had the chance to connect with vendors to get new ideas for resources to purchase and even some free resources. I attended last year's Conference in Boston with great enthusiasm, so when the Council offered to cover our travel expenses, I jumped on the chance. This year the Conference was held in New Orleans, a place I had never been. With the Veteran's Day Holiday falling on a Wednesday, it meant I could travel without missing any school. So I flew out early Wednesday morning and was able to check in to my Hotel by noon local time. This gave me the whole rest of the day on Wednesday to explore the French Quarter before the Conference actually started on Thursday. I took every advantage of this! The weather was sunny, 80 degrees and humid!

I explored much of the French Quarter and enjoyed the jazz music on the streets and the outdoor cafes. It was a gorgeous day and so I'm thankful I had the afternoon to check it out!

Once Thursday started, it was time to get to business. Thursday I attended a workshop at the National World War Two Museum. This amazing facility houses planes, tanks, weapons, and exhibits related to rememdbering the war. Our workshop was put on by the teachers who took part in Understanding Sacrifice phase 1. It was really interesting for me to get some ideas how I might bring the work I will be doing to my students. We had some time to explore the Museum including wathcing the powerful interactive film "Beyond all Boundaries". This experience of a film tells the story of World War Two with technology to create a true experience. Not only are you convinced you are there at times but the seats vibrate and it actually snows on you!

Friday the vendors arrived and I had some time to work the exhibit hall at the Convention Center. Its an interesting dynamic. Dozens of vendors try their hardest to sell you something, while hundreds of attendees try their hardest to get something for free. Usually there is a little of both. Each participant gets a conference book and a little tote bag with a New Orleans theme to it. Inside are a bunch of goodies with relative value. I always look forward to the freebies!

In addition to working the booths on behalf of my colleagues and myself on both days, I decided to attend sessions on teaching AP Psychology, AP U.S. History, helping to create PD for teachers in Social Studies, the Civil Rights movement, and using a really cool online tool at hstry.co. We also had to represent Maine in the House of Delegates, so I participated during the two hour session Friday night and our President participated in the final session Saturday morning. This is an interesting experience where we get to hear from our lobbyist who works in Washington. We debate resolutions during this time. These resolutions inform the goals of our State and National Councils. Needless to say, when I left for the airport Saturday night I was exhausted! In the end, it was truly an amazing period of learning for me that I can take back to my classroom in meaningful ways and use immediately. I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity. Soon I will be blogging about the specific things I learned and how I am implementing them in my classes.

(Some of the Maine Council Board members who attended the Conference)

It was great, as I said, but it was a lot of travel in a short period of time. I would like to avoid traveling like that in the future if I can. In fact, I am looking forward to a few weeks of quiet routine to get rested up! Now to implement what I have learned!