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Combating Historical Illiteracy: National History Day is Proving that Professional Development Can Make a Difference
The 2001 U.S. History National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) painfully pointed out that America is raising young people that, to an alarming degree, are historically illiterate. The report's findings--almost unchanged from its last report in 1994--are neither new nor surprising, but do reinforce what various reports over the last quarter century have lamented as the problem of students' lack of historical understanding and the devalued nature of history in our nation's schools.
That so many students are deficient in historical knowledge testifies to the inadequacies of our nation's teacher preparation. Concerned about history teacher education and the professional development of practicing educators, National History Day, Inc. (NHD) has created an annual summer institute to provide teachers with both intellectual and practical instruction.
Last year, OAH Executive Director Lee Formwalt directed the 2002 NHD institute "'We Shall Overcome': 100 years of the Civil Rights Movement." The institute was a tremendous success, and included prominent scholars such as Leon Litwack, Waldo Martin and Patricia Sullivan. Teacher participants talked witha those who were involved in the Civil Rights Movement including Representitive John Lewis, Joan Browing, Reverend Charles Sherrod, Chuck McDew, Faye Bellamy Powell and Constance Curry.
The scholars' interpretations called attention to historical debate, and every participant was challenged by new ideas and new approaches. Through the week, the teachers became ever more sensitive to historical context and to the constant evolution of historical experience. "I have been attending summer institutes for over twenty years, and this one was the best I have ever attended," said teacher Jim Barstow from Lincoln, Nebraska. "I am sure that the skills gained by all of the participants will stay with them the rest of their academic and professional lives." Teacher Gideon Sanders used the NHD institute as a focus for a Tolerance and Civil Rights Awareness week at James Madison high school in northern Virginia. The students were able to interact with some of the same speakers that Sanders was exposed to at the NHD institute; the week opened up new ways of thinking for students. On 6 April 2003, participants from the 2002 institute will discuss their experience at the OAH Annual Meeting in Memphis, Tennessee, in a session focused on the impact of the NHD institute on teaching the Civil Rights Movement in elementary and secondary classrooms.
NHD's commitment to teach education continues in 2003 with the selection of thirty educators to participate in the intensive seven-day NHD institute, "History of the American West: The Legacy of Exploration and Encounter." The institute will take place 19-26 July 2003 in Portland, Oregon. The institute is free but participants must cover the travel cost to Portland. The central objective of the institute is to improve the teaching of history by exposing participants to recent scholarship about the American West, familiarizing them with the primary sources available for studying and teaching, and modeling different ways of encouraging active learning. The institute director is Katrine Barber, professor of history at Portland State University and the Center for Columbia River History. The institute will include special activities, such as visits to historic sites on the Lewis and Clark Trail, an exploration of Native Voices in discussions with tribal members and visits to Native American sites.
Through programs like the NHD institute, OAH and the historical community can make a difference in the way history is taught and learned. The most important part about the NHD institute is that the teachers' work continues into the classroom. In addition to the incorporation of new ideas and methods into their teaching, those who participate in the program are committed to conducting workshops for teachers in their own states. As a result, teachers nationwide benefit from the institute and National History Day's commitment to education reform.
National History Day is not just one day, but a year-long nonprofit education organization that makes history come alive through educator professional development and active student learning. The organization has received the National Endowment for the Humanities Charles Frankel Prize for public programming and engages more than two million people annually in its programs.
For more information about National History Day or the History of the American West Institute go to <http://www.nationalhistoryday.org/> or call (301) 314-9739.
--Mark Robinson, National History Day
Humanities Advocacy Day in its Fourth Year
Humanities Advocacy Day, a national advocacy event organized by the National Humanities Alliance and cosponsored by more than twenty organizations to promote support for the National Endowment for the Humanities, will take place 24-25 February 2003 in Washington, D.C. In its fourth year, Humanities Advocacy Day aids in the creation of a network of humanities advocates from across the country and a variety of institutions, including museums, libraries, colleges and universities, humanities institutes, state humanities councils, historical societies, and other organizations. The event provides a unique opportunity for scholars and others working in the humanities to communicate to Congress the importance of federal support for the humanities. For more information, visit <http://www.nhalliance.org/jd/>.
History High Schools and More from the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Historical illiteracy remains a serious problem. Our students must learn how to explore the past and apply its lessons to the present and future. They should be able to draw connections between historical events, ideas and trends and their own experiences. As the United States becomes increasingly diverse, a deep knowledge of its history can help citizens from a wide range of backgrounds understand their common interests and goals. Unfortunately, the single year of U.S. history education that high schools typically require is too brief to provide that knowledge.
To address this need, the Organization of American Historians and the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History are discussing an innovative partnership. Both organizations are committed to promoting the study and teaching of America's past through programs for teachers, students, scholars, and the general public. A main goal of this alliance would be to expand the Gilder Lehrman network of history high schools.
OAH president Ira Berlin, and member of the Gilder Lehrman advisory board, says that history high schools offer the best opportunity to elevate knowledge of the past among the American people. "This is an exciting, innovative--yet eminently practical--program that has a proven record of success. I am delighted to have the OAH join in its expansion." This collaboration with the Gilder Lehrman Institute will have a deep and enduring impact on how new generations learn American history.
What's a history high school? Usually, it is a small school of choice, with a rigorous, college-preparatory program requiring American history courses every year for four years-- along with emphasizing math, English, science, and foreign languages. Students acquire computer literacy, an appreciation of learning, and the ability to read, write and research at a high level.
The Gilder Lehrman Institute has created and maintained twenty-five history high schools since 1996, eleven of which opened in September 2002 in the New York area, Maryland, Wisconsin, Ohio, and Minnesota. These schools provide a model for improving academic performance in all subjects, raising test scores, and sending a high percentage of seniors to college. Their success is based on:
- A rigorous, full curriculum, with at least one course in American history each semester for all four years (this includes a three-year chronological sequence and a senior thesis or special project)
- An emphasis on analyzing primary source materials and on extensive writing.
- College-preparatory courses in English, math, science, foreign languages, and Advanced Placement course
- Integrating the history curriculum with literature and the arts
- Enrichment activities such as special lectures and visits to historic cities such as Boston, Washington, and Philadelphia, or sites within the school's region
- Ongoing training and support for teachers through workshops and seminars
- Small classes in which teachers enforce high expectations and provide personalized, supportive attention
- A school "culture," promoted by the administration, teachers and peers, that fosters a personal drive to achieve
The results have come quickly. The first history high school, the Academy of American Studies--a public school in Queens, New York--was founded in 1996. It already boasts many of these achievements including:
- Graduating seniors have college acceptance rates of 96 percent in the first three classes, to such schools as Duke University, New York University, and Barnard College. Most students are the first in their families to attend college.
- Among New York City high schools without selective admission, in 2001 the Academy scored second in graduation rates (89 percent), second on rates of passing the statewide English Regents Exam necessary for graduation (93 percent), and third on rates of passing the Math Regents Exam (93 percent)
- The Academy has twice been named one of the top ten high schools in New York City by New York Magazine (13 April 1998 and 22 October 2001). The school received over a thousand applications for 125 openings in the fall of 2002.
These results clearly suggest the impact of additional history schools.
Another important contribution will come from foundations. The Cargill Foundation has awarded a grant to establish the Cargill/Gilder Lehrman American Studies Academy at Washburn High School in Minneapolis, and the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation has supported two history schools in Milwaukee.
After identifying likely regions and schools, the Gilder Lehrman Institute will hold informational meetings and set up a competition among interested high schools, which will submit proposals. When host schools are selected, the Institute's education coordinators will work with administrators and social studies departments to set up a history program.
The role of the OAH would be to help coordinate partnerships between each school and a local college or university. The school will provide two liaisons--a scholar and an administrator--who will oversee enrichment activities such as lectures by visiting professors. It will also offer students the opportunity to take college-level courses.
Another major Institute initiative is the sponsorship--along with the OAH, the American Historical Association and the National Council for the Social Studies--of a national history conference in June 2003, "Innovations in Collaboration: A School-University Model to Enhance History Teaching, K-16." The Gilder Lehrman Institute is also pleased to sponsor fifty travel fellowships of $200 for elementary, middle and high school history teachers to attend the 2003 OAH Annual Meeting in Memphis, Tennessee, this April. Teachers will be able to attend sessions geared to their professional interests, as well as scholarly panels, workshops, roundtables, and performances. For more information, visit <http://www.oah.org/meetings/>.
The work of the OAH and the Gilder Lehrman Institute joins other encouraging developments in history education. At the federal level, Senator Robert C. Byrd's "Teaching American History" program and the National Endowment for the Humanities' "We the People" grants also support the study and teaching of U.S. history. In this new atmosphere, history high schools offer a model of excellence for public schools nationwide.
--Leah Arroyo
Educational Liaison
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Malcolm X Collection on Loan to Schomberg Center
A rarely seen collection of Malcolm X's letters, speeches, photographs and other documents has been released to the Schomberg Center, a division of the New York Public Library renowned for preserving and documenting experiences of people of African descent. The collection has been loaned to the Center by Ilyasah and Malaak Shabazz, executor's of Malcolm X's wife Betty Shabazz's estate, following the resolution of an protracted legal dispute between the family, Butterfields Auctioneers, Public Storage USA, and James Calhoun and Shergill's Auction House. What is considered the largest cache of Malcolm X materias was almost lost to private collectors last March after the documents were nearly placed for auction by Butterfields Auctioneers. Claiming ownership rights, the family threatened legal action if their property was subject to private ownership. According to a spokesperson from the New York Public Library, "Butterfields withdrew the documents from sale, and eventually the family reached an agreement with the Butterfields and others claiming rights to the property that allowed the family to recover the entire collection." The Shabazz family has relinquished possession of the materials to the Center's safe keeping for the next seventy-five years.
Two large crates arrived at the Schomberg center on 31 December including an assortment of speeches, letters, personal diaries, and photographs. One of the most important archives among this collection includes a diary that documents Malcolm X's pilgrimage to Africa and the Middle East, made after his break from Islam in 1964. According to the Library, the diary "record[ed] his impressions abroad, experiences which led him to rethink and alter his views about race relations." Other materials include: a written agreement with author Alex Haley concerning The Autobiography of Malcolm X, sixty-seven handwritten radio address manuscripts, hundreds of photographs, and the outlines of many speeches including one of his most famous, "The Ballot or the Bullet." The collection will not be available to researchers for another eighteen months, after processing, preservation, and cataloging is complete, which means it could be ready for what would have been Malcolm X's seventy-ninth birthday on 19 May 2004.
All parties have agreed that the outcome is one that benefits not only all those involved, but the general public as well. The family's lawyer Joseph Fleming stated, "The ultimate outcome is one that preserves for the family of Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz the ability to reclaim their father's property without having to pay the human cost that might have resulted from a legal battle, and returns to the family the right to be the proprietors of their father's magnificent legacy." q
--Amber Hussung
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