Hingham Historical Society hosts prestigious teacher training seminar

Gilder Lehrman Inst-78
June 27, 2019 submitted by the Hingham Historical Society
Above photo L-R Jim Conroy, Jim Basker, David McCullough, Deirdre Anderson and Lia Poorvu (Photo by Robin Chan for the Hingham Historical Society)

The Hingham Historical Society recently welcomed 45 educators from across New England and leading historians and authors to the Hingham Heritage Museum for a teaching seminar in partnership with the  prestigious Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History of New York City.

Founded in 1994 by Richard Gilder and Lewis E. Lehrman, visionaries and lifelong supporters of American history education, the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History is the leading nonprofit organization dedicated to K–12 history education while also serving the general public. The Institute’s mission is to promote the knowledge and understanding of American history through educational programs and resources.

The three-day professional development workshop, titled Political Pioneers and the Founding Era, was offered to teachers at Gilder Lehrman’s affiliate schools with all expenses paid for those who were accepted through a competitive application process. Gilder Lehrman typically holds its teacher seminars at universities or Presidential libraries around the country; this was the first to be hosted by a local historical society. Participants, including teachers from the Hingham Public Schools and K-12 Social Studies Director Andy Hoey, attended daily lectures and workshops at the Hingham Heritage Museum and enjoyed field trips to the Adams National Park and Hingham’s own Old Ordinary house museum.

Daily lectures featured Pulitizer Prize winner David McCullough speaking on “The Lessons of History,” Pulitzer Prize winner and Harvard Professor Annette Gordon-Reed on her seminal work The Hemingses of Monticello, Jim Basker, Gilder Lehrman President and Professor of History at Barnard College on Phyllis Wheatley, renowned maritime historian and Northeastern University Professor Emeritus Bill Fowler on American Revolutionary sea battles and Hingham’s own Jim Conroy on his forthcoming book Jefferson’s White House: Monticello on the Potomac.

In addition to hearing from leading voices in the field and receiving signed copies of their books, attendees worked with course materials and Gilder Lehrman’s online collection of primary sources under the guidance of Gilder Lehrman master teacher Dave Mitchell, the 2008 National History Teacher of the Year and faculty member at  Masconoment Regional High School. Historical Society staff and volunteers served as hosts and local tour guides. In addition to Hingham, participating teachers haled from  the Boston, Quincy, Hanover, Hull, Abington, Holbrook, Pembroke, Dennis-Yarmouth, Bourne, Dover-Sherborn, Windham, New Hampshire and Hanover, New Hampshire public schools and private and parochial schools including Xaverian Brothers, Winsor School, Brewster Academy, and the Salisbury School.

David McCullough, a Gilder Lehrman Board member and a good friend of the Historical Society, hatched the idea of holding a teacher seminar in Hingham. Funding for the program was generously provided by Gilder Lehrman donors and Hingham Historical Society supporters David and Martha Hannan.

As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity, the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History is supported through the generosity of individuals, corporations, and foundations. The Institute’s programs have been recognized by awards from the White House, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Organization of American Historians, and the Council of Independent Colleges. Learn more at gilderlehrman.org.

Photos by Robin Chan and Susanne Malloy courtesy of The Hingham Historical Society.

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