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Excerpts
from Participant Applications
- 2001- 2002
- This opportunity to be a
part of the Teaching American
History Grant comes at a perfect
time in my teaching career.
After being at {....} for
two years, I now know that
I have so much to learn. I
am ready to concentrate on
curriculum development, because
my classroom management is
getting under control…I
would really like to be a
part of this grant, because
I believe that the constitution
is threaded throughout history,
and I would enjoy collaborating
on this idea with other teachers…
- 8th grade teacher
- As a first year History
teacher I still have a good
deal to learn about the art
of teaching history. Although
I am currently enrolled in
a Masters/Credentialing program
none of my training thus far
has explicitly addressed History.
By attending this series of
workshops I hope to learn
strategies to help make history
more engaging and meaningful
for my students. - 8th
grade teacher
- I am a first year teacher.
My enthusiasm is through the
roof. With proper guidance,
direction, and focus I am
confident that my input and
energy will be well placed
in this project. Just in the
short amount of time that
I've been in the district,
I have engaged my students
in history projects that have
drawn them out in ways I could
only hope… Themes of
liberty, equality, and justice
in American History are the
crux of democracy. I have
found that when students are
properly engaged the visionary
within is ignited. I want
to be instrumental in bringing
that forward. I trust that
this project is an excellent
format to do that. These are
just a few of the reason why
I want to be a part of the
project -8th grade teacher
- I am a first year teacher
in the Oakland Unified School
District. The program offers
me the opportunity to interact
with and learn from my colleagues
all over the district and
across grade levels who have
had more experience teaching
American History. I see this
program as an opportunity
to connect with these colleagues
and gain invaluable information
that only experience can bring.
Secondly, the questions that
the program poses are ones
that I have been asking not
only in my teaching but also
in my own learning. What I
have struggled with has been
how to bring this same inquiry
into my classroom and into
my students' learning experience.
I majored in History for my
Bachelor's degree, but it
is a far different thing to
teach it. This program is
a professional development
that meets the needs that
I currently have as a teacher.
-8th grade teacher
- I look forward to having
an opportunity of working
collaboratively with other
teachers and scholars. I would
like to share instructional
strategies that others and
I have found successful. -
8th grade teacher
- I would love to be a part
of this American History project.
As a fifth grade social studies
teacher, I am constantly struggling
with ways to make history
relevant and interesting to
my students. Acquiring a deeper
understanding of American
history for myself would certainly
help me in my quest. Working
with other grade level teachers
is appealing to me, as I have
virtually no contact with
middle or high schoolteachers.
-5th grade teacher
- With the emphasis being
on the teaching of Reading
and Language Arts at the elementary
level, there's very little
time left for the teaching
of Social Studies. With time
being our greatest enemy,
it is necessary that I have
it to align the two programs,
so that our History and Social
Studies standards can be met.
We should not have to sacrifice
one area for another. History
and Social Studies is reading
and language arts.-5th
grade teacher
- As child it was torture
for me to memorize events
matching dates and names in
history lessons. As a new
teacher I always reflect on
and compare my own learning
experience with my teaching.
I do not want my students
to have similar learning experiences...
One way to improve my teaching
is to observe other teachers’
lessons...to collaborate with
other participants in sharing
their strategies in teaching
history lessons.- 5th grade
teacher
- As a fifth grade social
studies teacher, I am constantly
struggling with ways to make
history relevant and interesting
to my students. Acquiring
a deeper understanding of
American History for myself
would certainly help my quest.
Working with other grade level
teachers is appealing to me,
as I have virtually no contact
with middle or high school
teachers.- 5th grade teacher
- Beyond intellectual preparation
and interest, I think there
are other compelling reasons
for me to be involved in this
project. First, I would genuinely
enjoy working with other Oakland
teacher in a collaborative
effort to understand democratic
theory and practice in America.
- 8th grade teacher
- I had the opportunity, thanks
to the District and the Bectel
foundation the Colonial Williamsburg
program in Williamsburg, Virginia.
To see the place where the
ideas that founded this country
were created was to say the
least humbling. After an intense
week training I left Virginia
and arrived in Oakland with
a deeper love for history
that I ever had. However,
I also returned with more
questions about history and
education that I never even
dreamed to consider. This
is the reason why I would
like to participate in this
program. What new things can
I find on the never-ending
discovery of American history
and make it accessible to
my students? How can it become
(history), alive and meaningful?
These are goals that I see
these program addressing.
I have worked at the Bancroft
Library and I'm somewhat familiar
with their collections and
this also fascinates me. With
the resources of the library,
I see instruction of history
in Oakland entering a new
era. . -5th grade teacher
- We both went to the Williamsburg
Institute this summer and
currently are developing lessons
integrating the history and
science of the Colonial Period.
Beyond assigning research
projects and completing science
experiments in class, we want
to develop our students’
historical thinking and inquiry
strategies. -5th grade
teachers
- I would like to take part
in the program so I can become
a better teacher of history.
I want my students to understand
the relationship between historical
understanding and effective
citizenship and how this understanding
may promote positive social
change.-8th grade teacher
- I think that by participating
in this project, I could deepen
my own knowledge base in American
history, as well as my students…I
can also offer the group a
perspective of being both
a U.S. History and American
Literature instructor, at
a small school.- 11th grade
teacher
- I am ready to delve deep
into the meaning of democracy
and to take my students along
with me. I know how to present
dates, and critical thinking,
but the issue of democracy
can be a focus that would
tie the whole year together.-
8th grade teacher
- I am very interested in
the connection between historical
movements for Justice and
equality and current social
justice movements. If I leave
your program with strategies
for communicating the importance
of this connection to my
students including its relevance
to their lives and communities
I would consider it a very
worthwhile endeavor. -
8th grade teacher
-
Themes of
liberty, equality, and justice
in American history are
the crux of democracy. I
have found that when students
are properly engaged the
visionary is ignited. I
want to be instrumental
in bringing that forward.-8th
grade teacher
- DeToqueville’s ghost
has been haunting me for some
years now.
- 11th grade teacher
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