Buckingham Fountain, Grant Park, Chicago

       

     As I think back over the last 10 days in Illinois, my head just swims in the amount of new information I have gained.  Of course the fact that we had professors and guides that knew what they had talking about, with us at all times helped.  There was always someone there to try and answer our many questions, or lead us in the right direction to find the information. 

            Looking at the labor history in Chicago has enriched my understanding of the labor history in my own town.  The struggles in Chicago are some of the same struggles that were experienced and are still experienced right here in Pueblo, Colorado.  I have a better understanding of how and why unions have been formed and why they have been such an important part of the industrial history.     

            I really enjoyed learning what the Labor Statue really stood for; freedom of speech is such a fundamental right to most of us, and I have seen the statue, but never understood the symbolism.  This statue will be something that I share with my own students, for it does show the rebuilding of a wagon, which represents rebuilding or reclaiming that freedom of speech. 

            Another significant thing that happened to me from the labor tour was remembering how important it is to define terms, anarchy for example, with the definition of the time period in which the term is being used.  I plan on doing a better job of this for my students.  When people place modern day definitions on words, misunderstandings do occur. 

            Madison, Wisconsin offered me some much needed resources.  My students complete History Day projects and Wisconsin happens to be the home of “Mr. History”, so they have developed some great resources in the name of History Day that I can now use in my classroom.  The curator also shared some different ways to use primaries in the classroom; these ideas will also impact my students.

            I learned so much in Springfield, Illinois.  The Lincoln Library gave me a lot of new resources I can use when studying Lincoln.  Walking in the same areas as Abraham Lincoln will help me relate him to my students.  He was an ordinary man who did extraordinary things.  Students need to understand that great men and women are not born that way; they all have to work towards those types of goals.  In being able to remove all the celebrity from Lincoln, I will be able to show my students that they too can achieve much. 

            As I consider what I have gained from this Chicago Advantage, I must mention the fact that this has been a very emotional experience for me as a person and as a teacher.  To see and touch history is what makes my teaching come alive for my students, thereby affecting my instruction and presentation to my kids.

Abraham Lincoln the Surveyor

            Thank you for allowing me to continue learning more about our history and thank you also for providing me with new tools in which to deliver it!

Rebuilding Free Speech

After seeing the Labor Statue and listening to our speaker, I have a much better understanding of this statue.  It is always helpful to find out the intended meaning from the people who create it and present it. 

Stockyard Gate

Stopping at the Stockyard Gate was also a powerful experience.  So many different people walked through that same place in search of their American dream of which few were able to find.  I also notice the location of the railroad tracks right in front of the gate.  I am sure that was for ease of transporting goods to and from the stockyard. 

Lunch was very enjoyable and also an experience, as Jonathan stated.  I do use food in different lessons in my classroom.  I have made Johnny Cakes and butter with my students when we have studied the Revolutionary War to name one example.  Food is a great conversation with students anyway.  We talk about traditions that occur in different families and discuss where they might have originated.

 

We stopped by the cemetery where the anarchists are buried.  I know there have been controversies that this statue has generated.  Today it was obvious that this has continued.  There were different places on the monument where people have spray painted comments onto the statue.  I really liked the fact that our guide explained how the meaning of anarchy has changed since that time period.  Misunderstanding issues can be a dangerous thing. 

Florence Hotel in Pullman

George Pullman tried to care for everything his workers needed.  He called his workers his children.  After studying the Colorado Coal Strike of 1913-14, I see that Pullman’s ideas are really no different from the mine operators in Colorado who developed the mining towns.  These men wanted to take care of all their workers needs too; however, the result was the same in both places.  Yes Pullman was a nicer place than any mining town would have been, but the main problem of both was the removal of free choice.

I think both systems were a continuation of the Feudal system.  Within this system, there were Kings, Lords, Knights and Serfs.  Each class was given different degrees of personal freedoms; the serfs were given none.  Does this sound a little familiar?  With Pullman, you just got a taller ceiling the higher up on that social class you were.

Ethelbert B. Stewart, mediator for President Wilson during the Colorado Coal Strikes of 1913-1914, made this statement, “The companies created a condition which they considered satisfactory to themselves, and ought to be to the workmen, and jammed the workmen into it, and thought they were philanthropists.  That men have rebelled grows out of the fact that they are men, and can only be satisfied with conditions that they create, or in the creation of which they have a voice and a share”. 

In the history of man, one group taking over another and doing so in what is said to be the best interest of the other group has never met with success.  My father always said, “Don’t tell me what to do!”  I think that sums up how we all feel.  Once we have become adults, right or wrong, we want to make decisions for ourselves. 

George Pullman wanted to treat grown men as children, and they rebelled for many reasons.  In the end, it did not matter that he provided a beautiful environment for his workers to live in; he still cheated them out of money and jobs by lowering their pay and raising their rent at the same time. 

I think the Pullman strikes and the Colorado Coal strikes would be fabulous to compare with students.  It would be exciting for me to see if they could come up with the reasons both of these town systems failed so badly.

Pullman Factory Today

Wisconsin was a wonderful place to visit.  I really enjoyed the presentation done by the lady at the State Historical Museum. When she went over the “Think Like a Historian” chart, I knew she would have great resources.  She gave me a  class set of those and I plan on using those in my classroom for History Day, as I already use something similar; she defiantly had much better resources! 

 

She also showed us around the museum and explained how she uses a mural in the museum to explain to her visitors about how it is a primary source just like a document would be which of course gives a different perspective.  Most students prefer pictures and cartoons to reading anyway.  I would like to use this idea more in my classroom.

 She also showed us a modern day room and explained that she tells students to pretend that this is their room and to think about the most important thing to them in the room.  “Then think of removing that from your room.  Now if an historian went into your room, would they know you and your whole story without that item in your room?”  She said the kids say “NO WAY! Not without my —- in the room.  You can’t know me.” I thought that would be a great lesson to use with my students.  It would help them understand that it is impossible for any historian to know everything 100%.

I learned a lot from John Pollack as well.  He introduced the Naturalization Forms and explained to us how guidelines had changed over time, which was very interesting.  That would be another fabulous lesson to show students.  I’m sure I could adapt this lesson for use for other items and time periods.

Don't Throw the Baby Out With the Bath Water

Then we got the privilege of looking at different archives that Harry Miller pulled out for us.  I was really interested in the photographs taken by Lewis Hine.  He created a lot of reform for child labor through the use of his photos.  My students will love seeing these, and there are so many ways I can use them.  I may use them as warm-ups to begin some of my immigration units. 

Lastly, Dr. Stan Schultz gave us a lecture on the Progressive Era.  He really made it make more sense to me, which I really appreciate.  I liked the way he related the movement to today, which will be a good way to present it to my students.  He talked about how educated women were the ones heading up the social programs that were began and we talked about how these were the same women who had been active In different ways during the Civil War.  I just wonder if these women were active in the Progressive Era for reasons like the fact that in some areas, there were fewer men around to marry, so they found other ways to fill their time.  Time that would have been spent on family life went to social programs.  Just a thought.

I also found these two photos intriguing.  They are from the Lewis Hine collection, showing two families at dinner.  This would be a good comparison for students to see; they look like two different ethnic groups and there are some things similar and somethings that are very different.

Jane Addams

Going to Hull House today was a pleasure!  Jane Addams did so much for the immigrants in Chicago and many of her programs caught on elsewhere.  She was an important visionary of the 19^th Century.  She was the champion for the underdog. 

I thought it was interesting that she and her supporters believed in the importance of play.  Today we have entered an age when testing is more important!  As we continue down this road, the idea of play has been pushed to the side in the importance of utilizing every minute for instruction. Elective classes are disappearing, recess is being replaced with more instructional time and PE classes have been cut down in most schools.  We have gotten away from being concerned with developing the well rounded, balanced child in the name of progress and improved test scores! How sad is that!

Children at Hull House

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Addams also supported the family unit and the traditions set up in the homes.  She allowed immigrants to teach classes and attend classes given by others as a way of supporting these beliefs.  Addams offered training in the areas of job skills, and classes that taught the immigrants how to speak English, but she did not stop there.  She worked for labor reform for the immigrants as well.

Lettuce I helped pick for lunch

Jane Addams is a great example of what a difference one person can make.  She was not afraid of having others join in her cause and help her.  In fact, Hull House would not have survived as long as it did any other way.  I know my textbook does not due her justice.  I plan on visiting the website and going through the information we were given today to see how I can do a better job of introducing my students to Jane Addams.

After our tour of the Frank Lloyd Wright homes, I have a much better understanding of why he was so revolutionary, and after a while I could actually pick out the homes he designed.

 

 

Porch of Maidens

Then away we went to the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.  The virtual tour the guide gave us of the World’s Fair was fascinating.  It was so much easier to imagine where buildings, etc., had been located outside by previewing that simulation, as he called it, first.

At the same time, this museum held a special treat for children.  The Harry Potter car was there, advertising for the Exhibit they had on display of costumes and props from the Harry Potter books/movies.  As teachers we know what an impact Harry Potter has on our reluctant readers.  It was great to see that enthusiasm in the kids that were on the same tour I was.

Mr. Weasley's car

Lastly, I visited a wonderful exhibit on Abraham Lincoln in the library that is across the street from where we are staying.  It is on the 9^th floor.  If you have some extra time some evening, go and enjoy; it is free and takes about 30 minutes to walk through!

Lincoln in Lincoln Park

It was a great day for DBQs!  We listened to Chip Brady present his Mini-Qs today.  He went over how to implement the mini-Qs pretty much step by step, which was a great review for me.  I have used DBQs in my class, I have done a DBQ (Jonathan’s) in my master’s class, and I found this review very helpful. 

As you know, if you have been reading my blog, I plan on making my lesson plan similar to a Mini-Q.  So I will be able to make my lesson stronger as a result of this presentation today. THANK YOU!

 

Poet, Eugene Field, of "Wynken, Blyken and Nod" lived here. My cat's named Nod after this poem

I also took part in an Old Chicago City walking tour.  Our guide, Richard Cody, pointed out many interesting sites, including the town house that Helen Hunt’s character moved in to in the movie What Women Want, which she starred in with Mel Gibson!  COOL! 

Helen Hunt's house

Anyway, I just wanted to say that Pueblo has a great walking as well.  If one goes to the Pueblo Chamber of Commerce, there is a guide that Joanne Dodd wrote that explains a lot of the local history.  The walk is down Union Avenue and by the Train Depot, I think.  It has been a few years since I have gone.  I have taken students on that walking tour and they always seem to enjoy it.  One of the sites that I remember most is the location of the Hanging Tree, right in front of the Gold Dust Restaurant.  Of course, my students all thought that was the coolest thing ever, even though I tell them, there is no real documentation on it ever being used.

Horsen around on the greeen-made out of car bumpers

Today we were given a lot of information about the history of Chicago.  One of the topics that Dr. Sarah Marcus talked about that I found very interesting was when she was comparing the history of Chicago with the little known history of Peshtigo, Illinois.  We explored the reasons why Peshtigo is so unknown, even though it suffered a worse fate than Chicago at about the same time- having a great fire destroy the town, and only a few hundred of the two thousand living there survived.   We talked about economics, waterways, trade, immigration and investors to name a few reasons why Chicago was rebuilt and Peshtigo is pretty much forgotten. 

I actually just completed a class on Colorado History and in part of the class, we focused on the development of Denver as our state capital.  Pueblo wanted to be the capital as well; however the mighty dollar won out there as well.  Denver had the people, politicians and investors to make Denver Colorado’s capital, whereas the industrial base developed in Pueblo.

  I think this would be an interesting study to continue with students, asking them to do some brief research on different towns in Colorado, looking at the economic development in each.  After researching, they could infer why they think certain cities developed in different areas of Colorado, explaining how each town/city etc. fit in to the puzzle that makes up Colorado.

I know I have not totally figured this out, but it would be a new way of looking at Colorado, or any other state for that matter.

Another GREAT Chair!

Going to the Art Institute today was a special treat.  I heard many stories that I had not heard before; however, the story I enjoyed the most was the one about the painting called “American Gothic”. 

American Gothic

It was fascinating to know the history behind the painting.  I did not know the artist had his own sister model as the farm wife in the painting, and who would have guessed that the pitchfork wielding farmer was the artist’s own dentist.  That is such rich information.

At the same time, because of going to the Art Institute, I started thinking about what we do not have back home, and how hard it is for our students to enjoy the benefits of attending places like the Art Institute.  I think this exposure is very important to our kids.  I overheard this conversation that a father and son (about eight years old) were having about some of the different techniques that were being used in the different pieces.  The boy was clearly excited about the art and/or the conversation he was having with his dad. 

This reminded me about how important it is to get students out of the classroom to explore the world around them, even if that world is not as rich as what we have experienced here in Chicago.   I know how hard fieldtrips are to plan, pay for and justify. Yet there is no way of knowing whose spark might be lit as a result, and we do have a few places in town where many times, we think our students have visited, where actually few of our students are exposed to museums.

Because of the information given to me today about the stories behind some of the art pieces, I think I may have a way to help justify visiting an art museum as a history class.  I know, art is history, but it is that curriculum thing we all use these days that slows things down. 

I could call my local museum and get some information on what artists have pieces on display.  From there, depending on the number of artists, I could have my students research these various artists, either as a class or individually.  Then we could visit the museum, and I would ask my students to look at the pieces of their researched artists, and decide if some of the information from their research would explain the influences this artist is demonstrating in their work.  We would also be able to place the artists in to timelines and back in the classroom, after the visit, we could decide if some things occurring within the nation or the world, etc., are also influencing the art and the artist.

 

Settee

Oh and by the way, I think I am moving away from my chair fascination to the settee.  All of us deserve a comfy place to lie down and write a blog, read a book, or take a nap:). 

 

 

 

This one reminds me of the “Green Caterpillar”. 

Settee

As we walked through the different sites today, the feeling of walking through Lincoln’s world was so real to me.  The National Parks Service and other historical institutes have done a great job of making these different sites comparable to how they once were.  I was able to get a feel for their life style; I took many impressive pictures that I will be able to place in to a presentation for my students, assisting them in taking the same walk with me. 

 

Lincoln Lesson Plan-

Lincoln wrote his first Inaugural Address on this desk!

These last two days in Springfield have given me many of the needed materials I want to use in the lesson plan I want to develop.  I want to develop a “mini-Q”, which I would define as a smaller version of the DBQs we have recently used in our Master’s Classes. 

I want to present my middle school age students with six to eight different documents/primaries written by and about Lincoln.  I actually started collecting the documents our first day.  I want to use Lincoln’s autobiography, the letters Erin presented us with, and the paintings of Lincoln from different events and/or time periods.  I think each of these shows a different Lincoln than what is usually presented.  I want to find a few more, and create a balance of viewpoints of Lincoln. 

Then after my students are exposed to these primaries, I want them to answer a given question, which I think will be, “Abraham Lincoln is considered a great man.  After reading through the given documents/primaries, what do you think?  Was he a great man, or were there just great things written about him?  Please support your answer using the given text etc.”

Anyway, this is my developing idea, and we were given many web-sites that I plan to visit to look for the remaining documents.

Lincoln's Tomb

   Coming to Abraham Lincoln’s home town was a dream come true for me!  I am so excited to be here and I feel like this first day has been a great kick off to our ten days of discovery.

Today was a day full of useful information.  Erin Bishop, from the library, gave us tons of valuable activities.  She gave us a primary source/secondary source activity that I will definitely use in my classroom.  It will be easy to implement and at the same time, it will be VERY helpful for beginning my students on their History Day research! 

Erin also gave us a hands-on activity using paintings of Lincoln at different time periods.  She had a list of questions that helped us explore the paintings in depth.  I will use this activity in my class as well, because of the ease it created depth, and how it produced a lot of interaction within our group; the questions she used could be somewhat adapted to use with many paintings.  My students will really benefit from this kind of understanding. Her questions included:

• What is Lincoln doing?
• Is he having fun? Working? Both?
• How is Lincoln dressed?
• Does his clothing provide clues about his financial situation?
• Who else is in the picture?
• What kinds of people did Lincoln interact with?
• What do the paintings say about Lincoln, his character, his beliefs?

Erin also gave us some copies of letters written to and from Lincoln.  These letters were between Lincoln and his step-brother, and they provided me with a view of Lincoln that I have not seen before.  I cannot wait to show these to my students and get their reaction to them.

After visiting the Lincoln Museum, which was very interesting, I was able to continue exploring this fascinating town.  Chris and I were able to find and go through the Lincoln home.  Wow! That was a treat!  The park ranger pointed out the rags to riches story that we all know; Lincoln started out in the log cabin and went on to a beautiful two-story home by 1860.  That is a story I can now show my students through photographs and painting, not just read it in a book.  Pictures do speak a thousand words you know.  I can hardly wait for tomorrow’s adventures!  

Lincoln's desk -1860

Lincoln's Springfield Home