Blog Category: Educational

When we first announced plans for an educators’ workshop, little did we know that it would fill up with 30 teachers in less than two days, with a sizable waiting list besides!  We have now expanded the “Penn’s Vision” workshop on June 23 to accommodate 10 more educators from the waiting list, and we encourage others to consider attending the evening program, “Cradle of Liberty,” that same evening at the National Constitution Center.  The evening program also offers 1.5 hours of Act 48 credit for teachers.  For information and to register for “Cradle of Liberty,” visit our events page, or register with the National Constitution Center.

Additional educators’ workshops will be organized, and one way to be sure you receive information promptly is to sign up for our list-serv.  Thanks to our partners in this effort, including the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia History Museum at Atwater Kent, the National Archives in Philadelphia, the National Constitution Center, and Independence National Historical Park.

Please help us spread the word about this opportunity:  On Wednesday, November 9, starting at 3:30 p.m., the Historical Society of Pennsylvania will host an Act 48 Professional Development workshop, “Workshop of the World.”  Building upon the newest essay in The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia, this workshop is free and offers 3 hours of Act 48 credits.  Learn more about Philadelphia’s industries and the people who worked in them, and consider new ways to introduce the topics to students. The program will include an opportunity to get up close with rarely exhibited artifacts and documents and to discuss with peers creative and relevant means of including industrialization in your curriculum. Co-sponsored with The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia in partnership with the Philadelphia History Museum at the Atwater Kent, National Constitution Center, National Archives at Philadelphia, and Independence National Historical Park.  Advance registration is required – go to http://www.hsp.org/node/2311 .

This week we noticed another uptick in traffic to our essay on the yellow fever epidemic of 1793, written by Simon Finger.  We’re pleased to discover that the essay was included in an assignment for students at Jack Jouett Middle School in Charlottesville, Virginia.  Welcome to our new readers from Charlottesville!

Applications are due March 2 for this new teacher workshop funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Cultures of Independence: Perspectives on Independence Hall and the Meaning of Freedom will raise awareness of how Independence Hall has been involved in the ongoing process of creating a nation and civic life, not just in the magical moment of July 1776.  During each day of  a week-long workshop, 36 teachers will be immersed in a process of discovering and developing strategies for teaching the ongoing history of the American independence. Dr. Charlene Mires, author of Independence Hall in American Memory and Editor-in-Chief of The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia will be the scholar-in-residence. Other editors, contributors, and civic partners of the Encyclopedia will participate as speakers and hosts.

The workshop will be offered twice:  June 21-26 and July 26-July 31. For additional information about the program and procedures for application, visit the workshop website hosted by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

We’re so pleased that the Encyclopedia project has sparked a series of extraordinary workshops for Philadelphia-area educators.  Please add these to your calendar and register now:

• City of Neighborhoods, April 17, 4-6:30 p.m., a free workshop at the Philadelphia History Museum at the Atwater Kent.  Click here for more information and registration.
• A Summer Teacher Institute!  During July, the Encyclopedia team together with our education consortium of civic partners, will offer “Philadelphia for Teachers,” a week-long institute for graduate credit.  In addition to an immersion in Philadelphia history, teachers will have the opportunity to research and write their own Encyclopedia-style essays, which may be considered for publication.  Click here for more information and registration.  Download a flyer for posting (PDF): Click here.

These opportunities are created by our education consortium, including the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia History Museum at the Atwater Kent, the National Archives in Philadelphia, the National Constitution Center, and Independence National Historical Park.  Thank you very much!