Personal Info. (SJG)

Since the summer of 2004, my wife Linda and I have been fortunate to be selected to attend nine Landmarks of American History workshops; they are now called Landmarks of American History and Culture workshops, and this change may be more than change for change's sake; it may be an indication of a wider perspective than "just" history, and may encourage teachers other than history teachers to apply.

The purpose of this blog is to communicate to any of you who are teachers but may not be aware of the incredible opportunities available to you! Every one of the workshops we attended was underwritten by the National Endowment for the Humanities, and provided attendees with a stipend of $500 plus a payment to assist with travel expenses (although the amount of reimbursement varied widely from workshop to workshop). The workshop we attended this summer provided a stipend of $750.

We are aware that Gilder-Lehrman workshops are also highly regarded.

The fact that we were able to attend so many of these workshops is a matter of some good fortune ("serendipity" seems like too pretentious a word for me to use). My wife is a teacher in a middle school and noticed the pamphlet on NEH workshops in January of 2004. She immediately suggested that we apply for several of these workshops, but I did not think I would ever be accepted, as I serve mainly as a substitute teacher; it seemed logical that every workshop director would select full-time teachers, as they would be most likely to impact the largest number of students. Anyway, we did apply in 2004 and every year since, and have attended the following summer workshops:
2004 -

• “The Hermitage, Andrew Jackson, and America 1801-1861" Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN
• Plymouth, MA - “Encounters and Change: Expanding Perspectives on Natives and Colonists in 17th Century Plymouth"
  

2005 -

• "Becoming American: Trade, Culture, and Reform in Salem, Massachusetts, 1801-1861"
• Lockport, IL - "America's Last Great Canal: How the I&M Canal United 19th Century America
  

2006 -

• Lowell, MA - "Inventing America: Lowell and the Industrial Revolution"

2007 -

• Kalamazoo, MI - "The American Farm in U.S. History

• Dearborn, MI (Greenfield Village) - "America's Industrial Revolution"

2008 -

• "A View from Mount Vernon: Shaping the Constitution 1783-1789"

2009 -

• War of Invasion—War of Liberation: Occupied Nashville and the Civil War and Emancipation in the Upper South