An Irving teacher recently joined outstanding teachers from across the state at “Shaping the American Republic to 1877,” an institute sponsored by Humanities Texas and the Center for Texas Studies at Texas Christian University.
“I attended the institute because I’m always looking for new ideas and new ways to present material to my students,” said Anita Wall, who lives in Irving and teaches Texas history at Quintanilla Middle School in Dallas. Ms. Wall also attended a Humanities Texas teacher institute in 2010.
“Shaping the American Republic to 1877”drew more than forty teachers to the TCU campus in Fort Worth for four days of dynamic lectures and inspiring small-group workshops.
The Fort Worth institute faculty featured Cynthia Kierner of George Mason University, who delivered the keynote address, State Historian Light T. Cummins, and Daniel Feller of the University of Tennessee, who is editor and director of The Papers of Andrew Jackson. Several TCU scholars, including Mary L. Volcansek and Gene Smith, also served on the institute faculty.
Charles Flanagan, director of educational programs at the National Archives and Stacy Fuller, director of education at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, provided teachers with facsimiles of historic documents and works of art that support the teaching of U.S. history and government.
The Fort Worth program was one in a series of six summer institutes held throughout June at major Texas universities. Other participating institutions included The University of Texas at El Paso, The University of Texas at San Antonio, Texas A&M International University, the University of Houston, and The University of Texas at Austin.
“Humanities Texas was pleased to cosponsor ‘Shaping the American Republic to 1877,’” said Executive Director Michael L. Gillette. “Giving talented teachers like Ms. Wall the opportunity to interact with their peers and leading scholars will enable them to engage students with exciting new perspectives on our nation’s history.”
“Shaping the American Republic to 1877” was made possible with support from the State of Texas as well as from the National Endowment for the Humanities We the People initiative.
Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, sponsors programs promoting heritage, culture, and education throughout the state.
For more information about Humanities Texas’s educational programs, visit http://www.humanitiestexas.org.
