Constitution Center (Day 4- 6/5/08)

What can you say about Carol Berkin? I don’t think there is enough to say about her. She is the best lecturer to listen to- who knew such a little lady could have so much spunk! I did have the opportunity to attend her class last summer, but she still enthralled me today with her words. When she pointed out who she thought were the brilliant founders- Alexander Hamilton, James Madison (maybe!), Ben Franklin, James Wilson, Gouverneur Morris, and Robert Morris- it just reiterated what I tell my students that these men were just ordinary (except, of course, they were wealthy), but they would not be considered “super” by any means. I think that helps the students identify with them more because they do see them as real human beings. I absolutely love her book A Brilliant Solution. Last year when my students studied the Constitutional Convention they each become one of the delegates there; they then took on the personality of that particular delegate when we reenacted the convention. I was able to read exerts from her book to the students, and they loved it! It was amazing to see their reaction to who their delegate was- “Gouverneur Morris” even walked around with a peg-leg, and many of them took on the personality of their delegate and how they were depicted in the book. It truly was a great learning experience for my students that I know they won’t forget!

Now if only I had gone to the Constitutional Center last summer before we studied the Convention! What a beautiful building. I really enjoyed the movie they showed us, but I think my favorite part was seeing the statues of the delegates. I loved walking around and looking at each and every one of them. Even though I have seen numerous pictures of these men, there was something spectacular about seeing the life size version of them. It really felt like you were walking amongst the great minds that began our country. I kept waiting to hear one of them speak- oh, how great that would be, to have been a fly on the wall in Independence Hall in the summer of 1787.

Here is link to two of Eli Lesser’s favorite websites (I already use ourdocuments and it is great!) I don’t want to lose the sticky note I wrote them on, plus they were excellent- I loved the political commercials, I know my middle school students would find them hilarious which means they would pay attention to them!

www.newseum.org

www.livingroomcandidate.com

Princeton (Day 3- 6/4/08)

The third day of this trip had us venturing into the Garden State to make another stop at an Ivy League institution (I’m beginning to wonder if there is a conspiracy by the professors with all the Ivy Leagueness- maybe hoping the knowledge/prestige of the schools will soak into us?!) Even though the day started out a little wet, I think that added to the mystique of the places we visited- at least the first stop. Something about seeing a battlefield in the midst of mist and rain makes it seem so much more real. I like that we got to see where the Battle of Princeton took place. Sometimes, because teachers can be so pressed for time, I think we only focus on some of the major events, especially with the Revolutionary War. There is so much to cover that sometimes only the main battles are emphasized- Bunker Hill, Saratoga, Yorktown- and we have a tendency to forget about some of the others. What I liked about today was it showed that all the battles were important and should be recognized. The bravery that Washington showed here to me is extraordinary. “Parade with me my brave fellows, we will have them soon.” This was said by Washington as he rode straight into British fire, leading the attack as he charged toward British lines. To me, that shows what type of man Washington really was. How can anyone dispute the importance of him during the war. Also, the fact that after this battle Cornwallis abandoned many of his posts in New Jersey and had his army retreat showed how important it was, especially for the morale of the Continental troops. Because of that, I think it is very important to share with the students many of these battles. Even if not a lot of time is spent on them, I still think it is very important to discuss them with the students and talk about what they would have done if they were in Washington’s shoes, and the main general was wounded and the colonel who took over for him was killed. It is hard to imagine the split-second decisions that would have had to take place.

Enough about the battle! I really enjoyed walking around the campus of Princeton. Our tour guide shared so much history about the campus that I never knew about. I was also surprised that there are only 4,000 students- that is a much smaller number than I expected. I really did think the whole campus was beautiful, but the one place that just took my breath away was the church. What an absolutely beautiful building. I don’t think the pictures could possibly do it justice.

I am so excited for tomorrow. I have wanted to go to the Constitution Center since I first heard it was being built, and I absolutely love Carol Berkin- I could listen to her talk all day long and never be bored!!