Teaching composition or expository writing in high school is an enduring challenge, perhaps even more so today, when the rapid-fire exchange of Tweets among students can lie at the hub of daily communication before, during, and after class. Nuanced thought, however, requires a greater gestation period than the nearly instant gratification made possible on Twitter.
We celebrate Black History Month in February, but learning can continue all year long. Check out these NEH Summer Seminars and Institutes for School Teachers dealing with African American history and culture.
As The Vietnam War by Ken Burns and Lynne Novick is now in the rearview mirror it’s important to focus on how we will offer students the best information about the Vietnam era. For it is no longer a question of “if” we talk about Vietnam, but rather “how.” At the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund our mission remains to honor and preserve the legacy of service and educate all generations about the impact of the Vietnam War.
Dr. King, the best known leader of the civil rights movement, grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, the son of prominent pastor Rev. Martin Luther King, Sr. King became a pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, when he was twenty five. He received national attention for his role in the 1955-6 Montgomery Bus Boycott to end segregated city buses. He helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957, and served as its first president.
This week, as family and friends gather to celebrate the holidays with caroling, feasting, hanging stockings and such, it may come as a surprise to learn that we have Washington Irving's fertile imagination to thank for many of these customs, not the least of which is that jolly character who makes a nocturnal visits to fill our homes with gifts and goodies each Christmas.
Early December is an exciting time—looking forward to the holiday festivities and celebrations this month brings. Introduce your students to classic literary selections and seasonal poetry that highlights Christmastime as a special occasion for charity, good will, family togetherness and meaningful reflection.
In the summer of 1787, as the delegates to the Constitutional Convention debated how to establish a system of government that would secure the rights of citizens better than that under the Articles of Confederation, very little time was devoted to discuss the inclusion of a declaration of individual rights against government in the new Constitution.
Is the United States experiencing a resurgence of addiction or has it always been a part of the nation’s darker past? In what ways has addiction affected families and communities across the country? What can we learn from the history of addiction treatment and how might these lessons better inform our present-day policies?
It is hard to imagine any movement more important for understanding the meaning of freedom and equal rights in the U.S. than the civil rights struggle in the post-World War II era. Yet, as Julian Bond succinctly argued, in most textbooks and the media, the popular understanding of that movement is reduced to: “Rosa sat down, Martin stood up, and the white kids came down and saved the day.”
Would you like to spend two weeks exploring NYC and uncovering the nuances and truths of Shakespeare? In this Institute, you will have the opportunity to work with Shakespeare Scholars Julie Crawford and Mario DiGangi, as well as Teaching Artists Krista Apple and Claudia Zelavansky to renew your understanding of some of Shakespeare’s greatest plays.
