2016 - 2017 Civic Conversations Program

Winter 2017
Civic Conversations and a Social Welfare Case Study

Offered in two locations, this workshop will begin with an overview of Project-Based Learning and how to integrate it into the history or social studies classroom through an investigation of issues our communities prioritized and grappled with at Town Meeting in the past. We will think about how those issues connect to our communities today. Examples include civic duty, separation of church and state, and going to war. If possible, primary sources will be drawn from the communities of teachers who register.

The second part of the day will explore a social welfare case study to learn more about poor farms and social welfare in our region's past. We will analyze primary sources such as poor farm records, the census, and other town sources to find the history behind the story of Jip, by Katherine Paterson. We will discuss how one teacher is developing a project-based learning investigation using these materials. There will be time to brainstorm project ideas for your own students.

Cost: $150

Time: 8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Dates and Locations:

February 7, 2017: Windsor Welcome Center, Windsor, VT

REGISTER HERE

Fall 2016
Immigration in History: Flash Points and Local Connections

Immigration has become a hot-button issue in the 2016 presidential contest. What public policy options make the most sense? Do we want to place restrictions on immigration? What should be done about the millions of people who now live in the US illegally, without documentation? Who should get to decide? Join us for two after-school sessions in Hartford:






November 9, 2016
Immigration Flash Points in US History
Hartford Middle School, Hartford, VT, 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm

This session will focus on significant episodes in American history when immigration was especially controversial. We will analyze political cartoons and learn how to find them at the Library of Congress.

November 30, 2016
Immigration in this Region
Hartford Middle School, Hartford, VT, 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm

Learn how to use the census, historical newspapers, and other primary sources to investigate immigration and ethnic history of the Upper Valley region. Who came here and where did they come from? How were they received? Did they persist in the community? What institutions did they build? What did they contribute and do we benefit from those contributions today?

Cost: $100 for this two-session after-school series.

REGISTER HERE