This year the White House Historical Association brought together about 60 teachers from around the country to learn about the History of the White House over the course of 2 weeks. I attended week one where I met an array of amazing and talented teachers. We were housed at George Washington University and met each day in the Decatur House. Each day was a nice blend of knowledgeable speakers, tours and practical activities that we could take back to our own classes. The facilitators of the Summer Institute, Joanna and Whitney, were awesome!
On Monday we:
Had a brief overview of White House History
Toured the Decatur House and the White House Neighborhood
Learned about the Digital Library and White House Experience App (Wanna tour the White House, but won't be going to DC anytime soon? There's an app for that!)
Had a guest speaker from Amazon Web Services
Played a Kahoot
and finally a Happy Hour inside the Decatur House.
On Tuesday we:
Listened to a Historian on Lincoln's White House
Curated an "museum exhibit" on Lincoln- this will be a great lesson in class
Learned about National History Day
Played a Kahoot
Traveled to Lincoln's cottage ( NO, not his log cabin!)
On Wednesday we:
Went to the Diplomacy Center at the US Department of State where we toured the Diplomatic Reception rooms and participated in a simulation that can be used with or students.
Listened to a historian from the Diplomacy Center
Participated in an activity that can be applied in our own classes
Had a guest speaker from Dreamwakers
Played a Kahoot
On Thursday we:
Visited the White House Visitor Center
Toured the White House (I almost did not get in...more on that later!)
Listened to a Historian discuss White House Renovations
Created an activity relating to the app from earlier in the week
Participated in a mini lesson on workers in the White House
Played a Kahoot
Finally on Friday we:
Toured the National Portrait Gallery
Participated in an activity on First Ladies
Had a panel discussion with Chief of Staff for Laura Bush
Reflected on the week
Played a Kahoot
The week was so interesting it flew by. Now a week later, I have had some time to decompress and absorb the information in a way that I will be able to make meaningful for the 8th graders I will be seeing in a few weeks. I am excited about the friendships I made, the information I gained and the skills I acquired and will bring to my students.
In the evenings, I got to see the sights around DC with the incredible group of teachers. We even saw Hamilton at the JFK Center for the Performing Arts. So exciting!!!!!!! I took a segway tour, found Mary Surratt's house ( it is now a Wok and Roll- a Chinese Restaurant in the heart of Chinatown), saw a Burning Man exhibit at the Renwick Gallery and saw the Marine Corps Band just to name a few.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot! About the White House tour and me almost not getting in. When you enter the White House you need to pass through 4 security checkpoints before you enter the house. I got stopped at the first checkpoint because my birthdate did not match what was on the guest list. I was escorted to an area that was cordoned off by a Secret Service Agent. There I waited for about 15 minutes while my information was vetted. I watched teacher after teacher head to the next checkpoint. I was not the only one though. There were about 15 or so people ahead of me and one other teacher from my group. Thankfully Joanna, one of the facilitators, waited for us as the others moved on with Whitney. After the Secret Service was sure I was not a threat to national security, I was given my id and a card that said I was checked at the first checkpoint. I had to give that card at the second checkpoint with my id to another Secret Service Agent who immediately called the first checkpoint to verify that I was indeed who I said I was. The third checkpoint consisted of sniffing dogs and the fourth was a metal detector and x-ray (much like airport security). While I was waiting for my phone to come through the x-ray the person behind me set off the metal detector. The Secret Service Agent gave me a gentle shove to get out of the way quickly. As my son put it to me later, he was doing his job making sure there was no danger or threat. Finally, I was able to catch up with the rest of the group to tour the White House!
Check out the story the local news did on the White House History Teacher Institute!