Teaching from Montpelier

Teachers & the Temple

Adjusting to the real world after a week at Montpelier can be challenging. There are real pressures to be ready for the next school year but an equally real mission to teach the substance of the ideas present in our curriculum. Several participants have shared their gratitude via e-mail or the Facebook group. I wanted to share those ideas here and invite you to add your own thoughts.

Whether you left Montpelier last week or two years ago, how will you use it to super charge your teaching?

Sherry Willis wrote this poem to commemorate our time together. I especially like that last line…

They came from everywhere all across this great land
…West coast, east coast, the north, and the south
Dark hair, light hair, young and mature
All thrown into the Madision melting pot
Scholar, teacher, and student
Listening, discussing, thinking, and learning
All in the Madision way
Laughing, walking, feasting, and fellowshiping
Honoring not only the man but the work he had done
Revived, renewed patriotism and passion
Diverse yet joined in the Spirit of the Union that is greater than themselves

The James Madison Workshop June 20-25, 2010

From the second week, Paige forwarded her thoughts on the week by e-mail:

I realized to an even greater extent than before that we really have to find the time to focus more on the founding using primary source documents.  Perhaps by empowering our students with that “maker’s knowledge” we can best fight the cynicism and lack of political efficacy that seem so prevalent today.

Works in progress are welcome too… so, alumni from previous years, tell us what you did and how it worked.