Introduction

First, an apology: The name NEH Workshop Info. is a misnomer. This name was selected because our first emphasis was to make this web log a site for information regarding NEH (National Endowment for the Humanities) workshops, and of course that emphasis remains.

However, it is also important that anyone who has an interest in education at any level (teachers and support staff and parents) feel free to view the material in this log, and also contribute ideas for the benefit of anybody else who checks it out.

Also, please excuse the possible confusion of the dates that are indicated for each posting. You may see a date way into the future, because that is the only way I know to keep the postings in a specific order.

Please scroll through this web log to get a feel for what it is all about. Also, check back on occasion because I will be changing it as often as I can.

This just in! - The amount of the stipend for attendance at National Endowment for the Humanities Landmarks of American History and Culture workshops has been increased to $1200 for the summer of 2010. That may or may not be an inducement to get you to apply for one, but it may remove a financial barrier to travelling and being away from home for a week this summer. It has possibly been changed because the sponsoring organizations that put on the workshops with NEH assistance are tired of the hassle of figuring out travel and lodging expenses. This means that a person living 15 minutes away from a workshop will get the same amount of cash as someone who lives 1,500 miles away. That may seem unfair, but it's still a great experience and, when you consider a significant amount of your expenses are really taken care of in the stipend, it might be the educational event of a lifetime.

Why Us

We compared notes and discovered that the three of us have had the opportunity to attend a lot of the NEH workshops. In fact, I have been so fortunate that my wife Linda and I have been selected to attend nine of these thus far, and Dwayne and Mack have attended at least ten between the two of them. We thought that it's got to start somewhere, and it might as well be us.

If you know of someone else who is writing a web log on essentially the same topic, please let us know, and maybe we can collaborate.

Applying to Attend a Landmarks of American History and Culture Workshop

http://neh.gov/projects/landmarks-school.html is the web site which contains information about the workshops to be offered, and the procedures to follow to apply to the workshop(s) of your choice. This is the url of the offerings for this summer, 2010. The NEH selects the workshops to support every year.

New this year: The application deadline is March 2, 2010 (postmark), two weeks earlier than in previous years.

Please don't assume that you (or a friend or colleague) will not qualify because of status as a substitute teacher; I have been a substitute teacher for eight years, and have been selected to attend nine of these workshops since the summer of 2004.

A serious benefit for any teacher attending an NEH workshop (over and above the obvious knowledge and experience gained) is the additional entry that can then be placed on your résumé when you apply for another position.

Why We are Doing This

When we (Dwayne and Mac and I) all arrived at the NEH Workshop at Travellers Rest near Nashville on June 21, we got to talking about the value of this experience and that it would be good to keep up some communication regarding this event. We also heard that someone who had attended the NEH Workshop at Mt. Vernon shortly before this one, said that some attendees at that experience also were talking about the same. So, we are looking for input from anyone (and everyone) who has attended a workshop put on by NEH or any other organization, or would like to.

Opportunity for "Early Career" Teachers of Social Studies

Click on http://www.billofrightsinstitute.org/news/ for information regarding a new program, not part of the National Endowment for the Humanities, but rather presented by the Bill of Rights Institute, which has held great workshops at Mt. Vernon, Virginia, and will presumably do so again in the next few years.

Not only does this provide an opportunity for new teachers of social studies to attend a world-class event, but will also provide additional interest in your applications for new positions. The Founders Fellowship Program was made possible by a generous grant from Drs. Jack and Pina Templeton. If memory serves me correctly, Dr. John Templeton and his family were responsible for providing our workshop group with an incredible reception on the back portico at Mt. Vernon in 2008. If you do attend this event, or if you have attended a Mt. Vernon workshop under the auspices of the Bill of Rights Institute and the National Endowment for the Humanities, you might want to drop a line to the Templeton family and thank them for their generosity.

All application materials must be submitted by 5:00 PM EST on March 24, 2010.

Abraham Lincoln and the Forging of Modern America

I am pleased to pass on this announcement of an opportunity for K-12 teachers, administrators and librarians:

Click on http://www.siue.edu/education/neh for the description and application process for this National Endowment for the Humanities Workshop for School teachers Summer 2010.

The workshops will be held June 21-25 or July12-16, 2010, for one week.

Hard to get into!

Regarding the Bill of Rights - Did you Know -

that "Only 17 amendments have been ratified since the adoption of the Bill of Rights?"

Click on

http://www.billofrightsinstitute.org/teach/freeResources/EducationalResources/?action=showCat&catId=15

to learn more about great teaching resources from the Bill of Rights Institute, the organization that sponsored, along with the National Endowment for the Humanities, the NEH workshops at Mt. Vernon, Virginia.

2004 - The NEH Workshop at The Hermitage - Update

We were really pleased to learn that Jan Leone and Marcia Mullin will be putting on this workshop again this summer (2010). It was such a great experience that we would sign up to attend the workshop again, six years later. It was that great!

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Review of 2004 Workshop:

Although the Hermitage Workshop took its toll on us in terms of terribly hot and humid weather and a lot of follow-up work, it was a great educational experience. We were always provided with plenty of cold water whenever we were outside, and the classes were held in beautiful surroundings at the Hermitage and at Middle Tennessee State University. One aspect of the experience that could be viewed as positive or negative, depending on a person's point of view, was the trip every day to and from the Hermitage; a 50 minute-ride every day to and from the Hermitage was nice in that it allowed us to get to know our fellow participants a little better, but it is something to take into account. If this presents a problem for you, you may want to check with MTSU if they schedule another Hermitage workshop, and find out if that is still the case; I heard through the rumor mill that they made rooms in a local motel (that is, local to The Hermitage) available the last time they held this workshop.

As I already stated, everything else was great. We even got to do some excavating in the area where the slave quarters were located! All of the people who put on the workshop, including Rebecca Conard, Jan Leone and Marcia Mullin, and the master teachers (Chad McGee and Tony Brown) put themselves out all the time to make us feel welcome. Chad even asked all of us at the Sunday evening welcome dinner if any of us wanted to go to a movie that evening, and he also escorted a group of people to Grand Old Opry one evening! Not my thing, but it was representative of how we were treated the whole week. One of the highlights of the week was the opportunity we had to tour behind the scenes in the Hermitage. Not to be missed!

You might also visit http://www.thehermitage.com/; it contains a great deal of information about Andrew Jackson and his times. Even though he was a contrary cuss, you might find some information of use to you as a teacher. You may want to spend some time viewing the entire site for its historical significance.

Using a Web Log for Communications with Your Students and Their Parents

There are many ways to communicate with your students and their parents, and most of them are probably a lot more sophisticated and high-tech than a web log such as the one I use; click on the link www.team81ah.blogspot.com to view it.

However, it is pretty effective, and does put more responsibility on the students to be aware of what is going on. Also, I like avoiding the use of facebook or twitter, since students seem to use both too much.

There are several other concerns regarding such use:

1. Not all students have access to the internet from home, and, even if they do, their parents may have objections to their children accessing the internet.
2. While your students may be able to access your web log from school, in computer labs or media centers, you have to make sure that your school system's technology department allows students to access your web log; many schools choose to limit student access to sites such as www.blogger.com, which hosts my web log.