Free Civil War Institute scheduled for history teachers
Grade school teachers, high school teachers, and community college and entry-level professors of Civil War history throughout the country have an opportunity to learn practical classroom ideas and resources for teaching the topic during the fourth annual Civil War Teachers Institute, a free training event sponsored by Virginia Tech’s Virginia Center for Civil War Studies and the Civil War Preservation Trust in cooperation this year with Centre College and the Kentucky Heritage Council. The institute will be held Aug. 5-7 at the Mariott Griffin Gate in Lexington, Ky.
According to Jennifer Rosenberry, education coordinator for the Civil War Preservation Trust, 187 teachers have already registered for the training, and with participation capped at 200 participants, the institute can take only 13 more teachers. “We’ll have a waiting list,” she predicted.
“We hope to make the Civil War, that great watershed of our American heritage, more dramatic and more inspiring for teachers and students alike," said James I. Robertson Jr., Virginia Tech’s Alumni Distinguished Professor of History and the executive director of Virginia Tech’s Virginia Center for Civil War Studies. “Our generation is the bridge — the only bridge — between Civil War soldiers and generations yet to come. We have a moral and patriotic obligation to ensure that education keeps all ages informed of the American past; for if our children lose their culture, we will have lost our history.”
Keynote speaker for the event will be James Klotter, Kentucky state historian. Civil War historians and authors William C. Davis, director of programs for Virginia Tech’s Virginia Center for Civil War Studies and a professor of history at the university; Richard McMurry, a freelance historian from Roanoke, Va.; and Robertson will lecture on historical topics and how to teach the Civil War. Other historians will demonstrate various aspects of life as a soldier.
Participants will take a field trip to the Perryville battlefield and will be entertained by Olde Towne Brass, whose members also will discuss period music and display period instruments. Additionally, participants will have the opportunity to select a focused workshop session and several optional workshops.
Meals will be included as part of the free registration, but participants must pay their own travel and lodging fees. Teachers interested in registering should contact Rosenberry at (888) 606-1400 x 204.
