Oklahoma Loves George Washington!
This summer, the new George Washington Teaching Ambassador for the state of Oklahoma, Jan McClaren, came to Mount Vernon to attend two of our Teacher Institutes, and returned home full of ideas and George Washington-love. This two-year Teaching Ambassador program, funded by the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, makes it possible for Jan to travel the state of Oklahoma teaching students about George Washington’s leadership and showing teachers the FREE resources available through the Mount Vernon Education Department. Jan already has requests coming in from teachers all over the state who want her to come to their own classrooms. A teacher favorite is her lesson plan where students choose a presidential candidate from a selection of anonymous resumes of leaders (including Washington, FDR, and even Hitler!) and then campaign for their candidate. No surprise that George Washington has won many of the classroom elections!
The governor of Oklahoma has been drawn into the excitement as well, and last week our Director of Programs, Nancy Hayward, was asked to present a copy of Rembrandt Peale’s Porthole Portrait of George Washington to the state of Oklahoma. Also present were our Oklahoma partners in this initiative- from the left, Kelly Curtwright, Director of Social Studies Education, Oklahoma Dept. of Education, Dan Provo, Director of the Oklahoma History Center, Nancy Hayward, Mount Vernon Director of Programs, Jan McClaren, Teaching Ambassador, Governor Brad Henry, Jean Hendrickson, Executive Director of Oklahoma A+ Schools, and Roslynn Wade, Program Director of Oklahoma A+ Schools.
To learn more about the Teaching Ambassador program, see Jan’s schedule of events across the state, and read about Jan’s adventures in Oklahoma schools, be sure to check out George Washington Wired Oklahoma!
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