Archive for the ‘Teacher Opportunities’ Category

The Mount Vernon Education Dept. knows how important teaching with primary documents is to teachers- after all, what better source is there than the original. For this reason, we provide a link on our website to the digital edition of the Papers of George Washington, as well as a number of lesson plans that use primary documents. We have also decided to focus our next distance learning program on these important teaching tools, which will air across the nation on Jan. 8, 2009 from 4:00-4:45 pm. The program, Primarily George, will feature educators from Mount Vernon, the National Archives, the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, and the Papers of George Washington. These educators will highlight online primary source documents, in their respective collections, that can be used to teach students about various aspects of George Washington and the founding and also give brief overviews of the online collections that can be used to access the sources. As always, if you miss the program when it airs, educators can request a free DVD of the program from the Fairfax Network.

The Phoebe Apperson Hearst Learning Center is a place for teachers to research 18th century American History, review curriculum kits, use the scholarly edition of the Papers of George Washington, and get custom packets of teaching resources to take back to their own classrooms. Teachers love to drop by the Learning Center while here on a field trip, but for those of you not taking Mount Vernon field trips this year we have now posted a complete bibliography of the resources in the Learning Center so that you can review our materials before you make the trip to the Learning Center.

Teachers may visit the Teacher Learning Center free of charge by announcing themselves at the desk of the Education Center. Please call 703-799-8602 with any questions.

Have you visited the Learning Center? Leave a comment and let us know what you think!

One of our most popular programs for teachers is the annual Educator’s Evening at Mount Vernon, where teachers are invited to a Cocktail Reception and Candlelight Tour of George Washington’s home. This year, we are extending the invitation to our George Washington Wired readers!

The tour and reception will be followed by remarks from William M. Fowler, Jr., Distinguished Professor of History at Northeastern University and the Massachusetts Society of the Cincinnati George Washington Distinguished Professor. In addition to refreshments and tours, attending teachers will enjoy a 10% discount at The Shops at Mount Vernon, just in time for holiday shopping! Educator’s Evening is on Tuesday, December 2, 2008, 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and reservations are required. RSVP by emailing Education@MountVernon.org or calling 703-799-8604.

For the past ten years, the Bill of Rights Institute has partnered with the Mount Vernon Education Dept. on a range of wonderful programs from Teachers’ Institutes to Teaching American History grants. Recently, the Bill of Rights Institute awarded their George Washington Prize for Teaching America’s Founding and a $2,500 cash award to Christopher Belch of Canton High School in Canton, Michigan. All participants of the Bill of Rights Teachers’ Institute “Shaping the Constitution: A View from Mount Vernon” are eligible to participate in the essay contest. Of his experience, Christopher said, “The privilege of being selected to attend the Bill of Rights workshop has been a dream come true! Upon first arriving at Mount Vernon, I was yet again awe struck and it is hard to find the words to describe the opportunity to get an intensive and personalized tour of the estates and the life of Washington.” Congratulations Christopher!