What do we remember? What do we memorialize and teach? I think this was the theme of my last day in Washington. I always find it curious that so many people, events, inventions get forgotten, and yet some individuals and happenings are in constant view.

My day started with attending some of the many sessions at the NCSS conference. One that was quite exciting was called: "Expedition and Colonial 'America' 1776 in California - Juan Bautista de Anza". Who? Yes that was my first thought as well. American colonialization is dominated by the " East Coast pilgrims and Plymouth Rock" history and because this America myth is so strong, it over-shadows the explorers and adventures on the other side of the continent. Juan Bautista de Anza is one such forgotten man.

Using 200 - 300 year old trails, de Anza lead a group of 240 men, women and children to Alta California in order to establish the first colony for Spain in a place called el Rio San Francisco. Spain was attempting to secure more land in North America and keep the expansion of the Russians and English to a minimum. De Anza was successful in his mission and lead his group over 1600 miles with only one death during the 8 month journey. The 1776 Anza Expedition in large part, determined the history of California and many prominent families from those first 240 are represented in the street names, counties and landmarks throughout California. The history of the Spanish is one topic that I want to incorporate into my Canadian History class in order to show the aggressive competition of the colonial powers and their influence on the landscape and First Nations of North America - my attempt to "remember"!

The rest of my day was spent going to sessions and hunting through the exhibitors booths to find useful things for my classroom. An arduous task for sure! In the midst of this, I met a young man from Virgina who actually knew where Winnipeg was. The Jets have made Winnipeg noteworthy again and he could not stop talking about the fans and the excitement of the team. Who knew that hockey would change our history and geography.

My final adventure in Washington was a evening tour of famous monuments. I recommend seeing these architectural marvels at night because the contrast between the lit white buildings with a black backdrop is spectacular. The Lincoln Memorial acts as a beacon and one can see the 22 ft high president from far off; in contrast, the Korean war memorial with its 19 life-size statues at night brings chills to the back of your neck. My favourite memorial was the brand new Martin Luther King Jr. which was just completed in October. The stones of 'despair' and 'hope', combined with quotes and a massive statue of King himself was awe-inspiring. The city of Washington does a great job of remembering significant people and events of the past, immortalizing them in stone and displaying them for all to see. But it makes me wonder what treasures, large or small, lie hidden in the ground or in a dusty corner of one of the 19 buildings of the Smithsonian that one will never see.

As I understood from one of the tour guides, Fort McHenry is sometimes mistaken for the Canadian Fort Henry. How curious! Now that I've been to both,  I can now compare them and there are some similarities and differences. I feel a class assignment coming on.

So after an hour or so train ride, I navigated my way to the city of Baltimore in order to visit another fort on my exploration of History.  Similarity no. 1;  My main interest in this site is that Fort McHenry is a major player in the War of 1812, just like Fort Henry. Similarity no. 2:  They are also the same in that like  all forts they have a garrison, officer's quarters, lots of cannons, powder magazine... I've been to so many forts now, I almost know where I'm going. It's quite comforting actually. Similarity no. 3: Both forts were vital to the protection of an important waterway, Fort Henry  the connection between Kingston and the West, for Fort McHenry a huge harbour of ships, dockyards and much coveted supplies.  On to the differences.

Difference no. 1: Obviously these two forts are on two different sides of the border! That's easy. Difference no. 2: Notoriety.  I believe that more American's are  more familiar with Fort McHenry due to the fact that it is tied to the national anthem. Francis Scott Key witnessed the battle from a truce ship on September 13th - 14th, and penned the "Star Spangled Banner" in the patriotic thrill of victory when the British were unable to defeat this fort. Unfortunately, I don't think many Canadians even know where Fort Henry is. Difference no. 3: Decisiveness.  The battle in 1814 between British and American forces at Fort McHenry was a turning point in the war, but Fort Henry had no such distinguishing battle.

Similarities and differences aside, both forts still provide Canadians and Americans alike an opportunity to study this war and its impact on our histories.  As well, I did notice a pattern coming to this fort...the number 13 is truly unlucky. Battle of the Plains of Abraham - Sept. 13th, Isaacs Brocks death - Oct. 13th, Battle at Fort McHenry - Sept. 13th - 14th. Seriously! That is too strange. I wonder if I can find some other crazy happenings on that date.

After the fort I returned to the Inner Harbour of Baltimore and toured the USS Constitution. What an amazing ship. It was built in 1854 and was a flag ship who's role was to intercept ships involved in the illegal slave trade and had a role in the American Civil War. It is perfectly preserved and you can scour all 4 decks. My favourite part of the ship was the captain's quarters. It has its own bath tub, toilet, private kitchen and a much better bed than all the hammocks that the poor sailors had to sleep in. Boys as young as 11 or 12 were allow to become part of the crew and were called "Powder Monkeys" because they were responsible to run quickly from the ships hold to the cannons to bring bags of gun powder amongst other jobs. Could you imagine a 12 year old boy that you know living on a ship for 3 years living with rough and tumble sailors and climbing to the top of the mast every morning to stay in shape? Wow. History does help us how capable the human spirit really is.    

Seeing the past from many different viewpoints is a large part of Historiography. Primary verses secondary sources, insiders verses outsiders, or Canadian verses American - these different perspectives give more depth and complexity to the past. So in light of seeing with a different set of History glasses, I am in Washington D.C. attending the NCSS (National Council of Social Studies) Conference. For 3 and a half days, I get to be a foreigner, and wander and wonder about the American angle.

My first order of business yesterday when I arrived was a walk to the White House. That was surreal. Washington images are so much a part of media and culture in Canada that it was hard to believe that I wasn't watching another movie about an American President. (There are so many!) To see the Washington monument, one only has to turn around; it towers in the near distance and in the cloudy winter sky, looked quite foreboding. All around, very cool.

Today I went to the Smithsonian Museum of American Art for a session on using art in the teaching of History. The session was very worthwhile. Using the VTS or Visual Thinking Strategies, we learned about the Stages of Aesthetic Development and what questions to ask to get kids thinking about art. There is a wealth of information about it on http://www.vtshome.org/pages/aesthetic-development The best part of the session is that we got to tour the museum and discuss how to use the techniques with the amazing collection at the gallery.

After the session was over, I spent 3 hours wandering the halls looking at art and sculpture. I almost fainted when I turned a corner and saw the original portrait of Pocahontas from 1716. She was in England at the time, had an audience with the Royals and was a kind of celebrity. Unfortunately, she died a year later of a European disease. Close to this portrait was one of Queen Elizabeth I from 1558, another woman who influenced the exploration of North America, this time in order to circumvent the wealth that was flowing into Spain from the Americas. Two incredible women starring back at me.

So after a whole day in only one of the seventeen buildings of the Smithsonian, I'm nowhere near to seeing all I want to see. I guess I'll have to come back because tomorrow I'm off to Fort McHenry, where the famous "Star Spangled Banner" was inspired.

I've been to Edmonton, Calgary and am now on my way back to Winnipeg through Lethbridge. Although most historical sites are now closed for the season, I was able to find a few that survive through the fall and even the winter!

Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump is a site that I have heard about for a long time, but never have had a chance to visit. Like most people, I was mistaken about the meaning of this site's name. The history goes that a young boy wanted to be close to the action, so close in fact that he stood at the bottom of the cliff to feel the waterfall effect of bison jumping to their death. No doubt he felt the amazing power of that event, however,  he became trapped and killed by the beasts that had peaked his curiosity. When his body was finally found, his head has been crushed, and hence the name of the site; an honouring and warning to the future generations.

I couldn't have picked a better day to visit. The sky was a brilliant blue and the mixture of the clouds and the creamy golden yellow of the prairie was breath-taking. The prairies in my mind are just as beautiful as any other landscape, but the beauty is in the details.

The interpretive centre of this site is quite unique; built into the side of the escarpment gives one the feeling that they are part of the stratigraphy of history. I really enjoyed the perspective of the story-telling and the attention to the artifacts and primary documents that reveal the details of this important place in First Nations history.

As I continued on to Lethbridge, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Fort Whoop-Up was open! Another Fort! I love the comparisons I can make after seeing about 15 of them from Alberta to Nfld. The main purpose of this fort was to stop the illegal trading of alcohol by the Americans and create a stronger Canadian presence.

It is a well maintained museum and the self-guided tour through the different rooms was fascinating, except I got stuck. Clearly I would have died as a prairie pioneer because I failed to figure out the historical technology of locking and unlocking the doors. The rope and pulley system threw me off and at one point I thought I might be a goner. Luckily another friendly tourist showed me the "ropes" so to speak and I survived. 

The past really is "another country". I'm not sure my dream of time travelling would work out so well for me!  

I've had a great week in Calgary going to four different schools to see what history teachers are doing in their classrooms. What a treat. It felt like Christmas because each teacher gave me a gift. Whether it was new ways of teaching, great ideas or lesson plans, I was overwhelmed by their generosity.

The first school I visited was Calgary Science School. It is a charter school with some very unique attributes. For one, their superintendent's office is actually IN THE SCHOOL. Wow - how connected is that. I can't begin to discuss what a novel and wonderful way of having administration in touch with what is actually happening in the school. The other amazing thing about this school is that teachers have  four hours a week of joint teacher time, that is, working with a teacher who has the same classes to prep and prepare together. One of the teachers I met there, Neil Stephenson, has the position of collaborating with all of these teacher teams to help guide, direct and facilitate the school's mandate of inquiry-based learning and incorporating technology. Another teacher, Amy Park, a GG Award winner, loves the collaboration and the emphasis the school has toward empowering students and focusing on deep learning/understanding.

Day two was a switch to a private school, Rundle College. Here I met up with a friend I made from a summer institute in Ottawa a year ago.  Her grade 8 and 9 classes are exclusive users of the "ipad" which makes her class almost paperless. Another WOW. It makes historical research an integral part of every period. Since the week long work shop we attended was about Historical Thinking Concepts I was curious how she was incorporating them into her lessons. I could see the progress for myself! She mentioned that slowly, but surely, a more grounded understanding of the concepts are making their way into everything she does. Her lesson on, "Was the Silk Road the Internet Highway of the Ancient World?" was a perfect example of Historical Perspective, Evidence, and Continuity and Change.

Another school I visited was Hidden Valley where I met Chad Howie and Sarah Beech; they are both finalists for the GG Awards this year! Their work on the 7 Years War and the Battle of 1760 was unbelievable. From teaching the students marching to military tactics and then re-enacting the famous battle of the Plains of Abraham, I was impressed. Again collaboration is the key to their success, both using their different strengths and experiences. Chad is also a huge fan of Indiana Jones and combines this with his knowledge of archaeology to make his social studies classes full of adventure and mystery.
 
Finally, I made it to Vincent Massey Junior High to meet with Craig Harding. And again the theme was the same. Craig works with the two other social studies teachers to plan and develop integrated lessons to make their students thoughtful learners.The section on voyageurs takes up half the library of stations to teach the students about living in the past. At one station the student  study Francis Hopkins' paintings and compare them to journals of voyageurs to understand perspectives in history. 

I must say that my "To Do List" is ever growing and I will have a lot of organizing to do when I get home. Not to mention writing thank you notes to all the teachers who have given me so much to think about.  

On my quest for more knowledge about History teaching I attended the "Connecting Globally" 2011 Conference in Edmonton, sponsored by the Social Studies boards of Alberta. Being with so many wonderful teachers and presenters was an amazing idea gathering opportunity. My "To Do" list is huge!
 
My first session was conducted by Elizabeth Fargey titled, "Seeing is Believing". Her focus was incorporating visuals/primary documents into history teaching. It was a perfect fit with the Historical Thinking Concepts since "Evidence" is one of the 6 categories, as well as an important tool to use since students these days are very visually orientated. I was also introduced to the www.learnalberta.ca web site which is filled with great ideas and resources that are applicable with any Social Studies topics. 

The sharing of ideas and lesson plans was also a highlight of the weekend for me. "Two heads are better than one" certainly applies. With so many Social Studies teachers in one place it was incredible how I was inspired to incorporate new practices in my classroom or see topics/issues in a new way. From getting students to think like historians to encouraging inquiry-based learning and creative "play", I have come away from the weekend with a bevy of topics I want to study.
 
Another highlight was the keynote speaker, Dr. Samantha Nutt. A woman who has worked to help children in war torn countries through the organization War Child. Her challenge to teachers was that "through education we will overcome inequality and build a more just and peaceful world". Her talk was encouraging, inspiring and practical; she epitomizes the true purpose of Social Studies, learning about the world and taking action.  

Being at this conference was well worth the trip. Now I'm off to Calgary to visit a number of teachers in their classrooms and see it all in action.  

My road travels have taken me to Saskatoon or "Saskaboom" as some people here say. This busy town is a beautiful setting to learn about art. I visited GG Award winner, Monique Martin at Georges Vanier Fine Arts School to understand how she incorporates history into her art classes.

First thing you must know about Monique is that she is a whirlwind literally and figuratively. She is on fire at 8:30 in the morning, doing amazingly creative activities with her students at every turn. And aside from teaching she also is an accomplished artist and is continually circling the globe: she has worked as a "Artist in Residence" in Paris for a year, taught art in Budapest, and is off to the Netherlands to paint a new variety of tulip that she is honoured to name! Who could keep up. Needless to say, I was thrilled to observe and participate in her class.

The timing of my trip was perfect in the Canadian History department since our object of study for the grade 3 class was Tom Thomson and his 1917 painting Jack Pine.  For Monique, art history gives her activities depth and meaning and it is her goal to provide the students, no matter what grade, the background to understand art. For her, art is a powerful and wonderful way to interpret the world whether students are analyzing artists or making their own creations.

Now for the best part of the day ... I got to paint! This may not seem like a big deal, but for someone who missed out on art as a kid in my school, I relished the opportunity to put on a smock and get my hands dirty. We, I mean the grade 3s and I, learned how to create a version of impasto in Tom Thomson style. I was slightly obsessed and when I was finished I actually got a number of compliments!  So between creating a masterpiece and watching a brilliant teacher in action I had a great day at school.

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

September was recuperation and laundry month, and now I'm back on the road. This past Friday, I had an opportunity to visit a fellow college, Larry Smith and his class at Portage Collegiate Institute.

The first thing that Larry showed me was the school's archive. Wow! How lucky they are to have all that history at the student's fingertips. Their archive is extensive due to the fact that PCI is an amalgamation of two high schools, PCI and Arthur Meighen.  It also houses memorabilia of the (former) Victoria School and Prince Charles School. So the boxes of files, trophies and paraphernalia is literally over-flowing. They also have a unique collection of photos taken by Yosh Tashiro, a photographer that worked for the Daily Graphic for 25 years. The school offers two archiving courses in which the students work with museum software, learn how to catalogue material and use the archival material to work on projects.

Working in the archives also seems like a lot of fun detective work. One of the students had found a picture of her dad when he was in grade 8, another student a picture of her great grandfather! This familarity with history has also encouraged students to learn and write about Portage la Prairie's past. A student and teacher, Lisa Pao and Barry Bills, used the archival material to publish a book, Ante Nos Scientia: Portage Collegiate Instutue 1882 - 2005. And Josh Wright's love of his town and its history lead him to write an article that was published this September in More of Our Canada magazine.  

Having an archive and historical collection has huge advantages. James Kostuchuk, another History teacher at PCI, also uses the archives for his classes and says that it has, "allowed for outreach to the community". Students interview community members to fill in historic details and also help the community by finding pictures or materials that have gone

The other part of my day was spent observing a lesson created by Larry and James called "Artifact Analysis: Pre and Post Contact". By using two of the Historical Thinking Concepts, "Evidence" and "Continuity & Change" students analyzed 12 different artifacts in an attempt to understand their use and what changes, if any occurred by their introduction to First Nations Peoples. The students were very engaged in this hands-on exercise, especially since they could see, touch and even smell artifacts from PCI's collection.

I had a great time at PCI and was very impressed by the school and the students. This prairie town's past is clearly a part of the school's conscousness. It can be seen in the art work, the attention to preservation and in the interest of the students to incorporate history in their daily lives.

Now that I am home, everyone asks the same two questions: “How was the trip?” and “Are you glad to be home?” The short answers are: “Great” and “Ya I guess?”

I have been home for about 3 weeks now and I’m slowly starting to filter all of the information that my brain and computer are holding from 2 months of Canadian History and Geography. I plan on spending time going through all the thousands of pictures and notes I took, in order to put my experiences into my class power points and lecture notes … but there are some thoughts that have swirled to the top.

After seeing hundreds of statues, plaques, memorials, forts, homes and cemeteries that all honour the past, people and their achievements one has to come to some conclusions. One, the human race, whether Aborignal, French, English, Scottish, Irish, Jewish, Ukrainian, (I can’t list them all!)are all a courageous and fascinating bunch. The vision that inspired them to explore, thrive and die, all for something that was an unknown is truly remarkable. There are so many untold stories. So many times I walked over ground that others have walked and missed their stories buried deep beneath my feet. It is astounding to me that the past is so much larger than History and I feel quite sad about the “forgotten”.

Another thing I know is that not everyone is like me; I am a history geek I guess. When I visit a historic site, my body begins to vibrate. I experience a thrilling energy of expectation and adventure of delving into a mysterious place. I really never tire of it which is why I’m happy to be home, but I miss the buzz of history. But I think that History can be contagious. In retelling some of the stories of my trip, I have been able to get people excited about our past and it is this thrill I hope I can bring back to the classroom.

My other more sober conclusion is that the human race is driven by incredible fear and greed that has been and continues to be so destructive. I can’t tell you how many times I read about First Nations or pioneers who where killed, exiled, kidnapped, enslaved, had their hard fought homes buried to the ground just before the Canadian winter. Why? 200 years of French vs. English hatred, centuries of discrimination that all ended in crushed hope and demoralization. I have witnessed such waste.  And then to add injury to insult we forget it ever happened or worse don’t care that it did. How are we ever going to do it right if we don’t celebrate our victories and more importantly chastise our foolishness?

The only thing that can stop the repetition is an understanding of how we are all amazing and capable of great things,  and in order to create positive change we must seek the truth of our History.

Our last days of the trip in Ottawa were spent visiting the “Big Three”- The Museum of Natural History, The Parliment Buildings and the Museum of Civilization. There is certainly enough to see and do in those three site that would take a person a week!

The Museum of Natural History has recently finished its extensive renovation and now has 4 amazing floors to visit. My favorite part was the Dinosaur Exhibit and it certainly seemed to be the busiest. I’m not sure why, but these ancient giants always seem to fascinate the young and old alike. One thing I did not know was that Canada has the “best fossil record of horned dinosaurs in the world”! There are a number of interactive screens you can use if you want to learn more (of course I had to read them all!), a 3D movie about dinosaurs in the new theatre in the basement and a crazy exhibit about “Extreme” animals past and present. This museum is definitely a “Must See” if you are in Ottawa.

My next stop was the Parliament Buildings. I’m always awed by them and get this weepy patriotic feeling when I look at the Peace Tower. Last year when I was here I caught a glimpse of Steven Harper in his motorcade, however, there was a bit of a somber mood around the place due to the recent death of Jack Layton. I found out about is death when I was still in Quebec while trying to make out the headlines of a French newspaper. So sad. Leadership is such an integral part of a country and it seems so confusing that good men die while madmen live on; another one of histories great mysteries and frustrations. So we still had a tour and a great walk around to look at the statues and the view of the Ottawa River.

The final journey was the Museum of Civilization, which is actually in Gatineau across the river from Parliament. This is another 4 -5 hour tour if you want to see the whole thing. Last year I got to view the first 2 floors so this time it was the other 2. I really liked the ”Face to Face” exhibit of The Canadian Personalities Hall. It features 25 Canadians under the headings of “We Built”, “We Governed”, “We Fought”, “We Founded” and “We Inspired”.  Each section focuses on 5 men and women who influenced Canada. David Thompson is one man that I truly admire. At 14 he came to Canada when most of the country had no geographical outline. He set out to map and survey millions of square kilometers, going where no other European had gone before. I also go to see the fabled “Champlain’s Astrolabe”. It was found I 1867 by a farmer clearing his land and it has been dated at 1603. It would make sense that it was Champlain’s since he was in the region in 1613 and probably the only one who would has such an instrument. What a mystery! It makes me wonder what he, or who ever did lose it say once they realized that it was lost for the next 200+ years.