The Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum today announced that it will host a one-day spring workshop for 25 Virginia history teachers on Monday, March 22, from 9:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.  The workshop is part of a three-year program of history education seminars for social studies teachers from Bedford County Public Schools and six other Virginia school districts.  The program is made possible by a Teaching American History grant from the U.S. Department of Education.  Bedford County Public Schools received the grant in partnership with the Presidential Library and Alleghany, Bath, Craig, Giles, Highland and Pulaski Public Schools.  

Monday’s workshop will be a four-hour seminar led by Dr. Joel Hodson, the Presidential Library’s Director of Education, on early American history, specifically the age of exploration, colonization, and early republic periods.  The workshop and an earlier workshop in October are designed to prepare teachers for the first of three week-long summer institutes in a professional development curriculum entitled “American History in International Context.” 

This summer’s institute, entitled “World Encounters,” runs from July 11-16.  Later in July, the teachers will continue the program with historic site visits to Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown.   

The development program explores the full breadth of American history – from the first contact between natives and Europeans to the present – by focusing on critical intersections between the United States and the rest of the world.  During the first year of the program, the teachers are examining four international moments that shaped the early history of the United States:  the contact between native peoples and Europeans in North America, the creation of the Atlantic system of trade and the development of colonies in British North America, the origins of the American Revolution, and the early development of the United States in a global context.  

Through the participating teachers, the Teaching American History grant will enhance the history education of thousands of students over the term of the grant.  The project is designed to strengthen teachers’ understanding of American history, impart a sense of the interplay of factors that influenced national development, provide knowledge of primary documents and material artifacts, demonstrate the use of advanced technology and, ultimately, improve Virginia students’ performance on standardized tests in American history.