May 14, 2013

Finest Hour 149, Winter 2010-11

Page 45

Education – “Winston Churchill and the Anglo-American Relationship,” 2010

A three-week summer institute for teachers on July 11th-30th, directed by Churchill Centre Academic Chairman James W. Muller, University of Alaska, Anchorage, was funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities

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By Suzanne Sigman

Mrs. Sigman is the Churchill Centre’s Educational Programs Coordinator

Twenty-four high school teachers attended The Churchill Centre’s third summer institute funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Professor Muller, TCC Chief Operating Officer Daniel Myers and this writer selected participants from a large number of applications submitted in spring 2010. The Institute was a great success, and teachers returned home with a broadened understanding of Churchill, World War II and the “Special Relationship” that will benefit their teaching, lesson planning and curricula.

James Muller’s past experience with the Archives was aided by the endless assistance and courtesy offered by Archives Director Allen Packwood and his staff. Mr. Packwood was truly the lynchpin in our teachers’ research experience. After their training and their work in the files, teachers earned an Archives Centre Reader’s Card, entitling them to return for further research in the future. Joining Muller and Packwood were lecturers including Kevin Theakston, University of Leeds; Richard Overy, University of Exeter; and author, journalist and broadcaster Max Hastings. Addressing the wartime relationship between Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt were David Woolner of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Institute; Piers Brendon, Churchill biographer and former Keeper of the Churchill Archives Centre; and Celia Sandys, Sir Winston Churchill’s granddaughter and a Churchill Centre Trustee. The vast array of site visits included Bletchley Park Cryptology Museum, Sir Winston’s birthplace Blenheim Palace, his country home Chartwell, and his boyhood school Harrow. In London we visited the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Hall, the Cabinet War Rooms and Churchill Museum.

Teachers anonymously evaluated their three-week experience on the NEH website, and the following comment was representative: “The Archives sessions were superlative….Allen Packwood’s enthusiasm and knowledge were exceptional. His ability to assist each of us in an incredibly welcoming, engaging and helpful manner allowed participants to navigate through what seemed like a massively overwhelming task: conducting research in the Churchill papers. A fine host as well as a vital part of this program, he made everyone feel useful and gave us the help and encouragement we needed to get started on our research. I loved his initial presentation as well as his colleague’s talk about preserving archives documents. I hope to return and make further use of the archives.”

Communications between teachers and organizers began on a Google discussion group in mid-April and will continue indefinitely. Many postings testify to the value of the experience. August 26th: “Hope you are having a good start to the school year. See the August 30th New Yorker for an interesting comparison of American and British views on Churchill.” September 3rd: “Just wanted to let you all know that I did my lesson plan (a seminar on four of Churchill’s post-World War II speeches) today in my Cold War Politics classes. It was awesome to see the work come to life, but much more impressive to see how excited and into the whole thing the kids were. I guess my enthusiasm was infectious. I introduced the seminar and did the background lecture earlier in the week and, ever since, have called my students ‘Young Churchillians’—which they love.”

In summary, as one teacher wrote, “This was an amazing experience. Through the readings, discussions, research, guest lecturers and field trips, I gained new insight into Churchill and World War II. As a teacher, I feel it is important to be a lifelong student. There is a misnomer that history is an unchanging, stagnant subject; new scholarship is always occurring which can and does alter our understanding of the past. It is important that high school teachers are part of this ‘conversation,’ that they have access to the most up-to-date understanding. After all, we are the ones conveying information to the next generation. The Institute was an amazing way for high school teachers to be brought into the academic dialogue, enabling us to bring it back to our classrooms.”

Participants

Eileen Bach, Concordia International School, Shanghai, China • Courtney Beitler, H.B. Plant High School, Tampa, Fla.
Genie Burke, Greenhill School, Addison, Texas • Clarissa Bushman, Stuyvesant High School, New York, N.Y.
Paul Clark, Wausau East High School, Wausau, Wis. • Leanne Dumais, Rickover Naval Academy, Chicago, Ill.
Robert W. Faubel, DeWitt Clinton High School, Bronx, N.Y.
Joseph Gianetto, Maple Avenue Middle School, Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
Jonathan Greiner, Lawrence School, Brookline, Mass. • Troy Hoehne, Aviation High School, Des Moines, Wash.
Catherine J. Holden, Franklin High School, Reisterstown, Md. • Ben Kaplan, Gateway School, New York, N.Y.
James Kravontka, Newington High School, Newington, Conn. • Mera Kriz, North Quincy High School, Quincy, Mass.
Arnold Mansdorf, High School of American Studies, Bronx, N.Y.
Karalyn McGrorty, Mount St. Joseph Academy, Flourtown, Penna.
Elizabeth Montgomery, Cherry Creek High School, Englewood, Colo. • Sara Olds, Summit Academy Jr. High, Draper, Utah
Brian Powers, Willink Middle School, Webster, N.Y. • Maritza A. Salazar, James A. Garfield High School, Los Angeles, Calif.
Kevin Semelsberger, Sunnyslope High School, Phoenix, Ariz. • Robert Simpson, Penncrest High School, Media, Penna.
Lyn Tillett, Christ School, Arden, N.C. • Suzanne Wooten, Deer Valley Middle School, Phoenix, Ariz.