Putnam pg 12 9-8-11
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ASHLAND, Ohio --- Brian Germain from Putnam High School in Putnam, was selected for and attended the 2011 Presidential Academy for American History and Civics, held this summer. The Presidential Academy is coordinated by the Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs at Ashland University and is funded by the U.S. Department of Education.
Sixty teachers were selected to participate in the Presidential Academy, in which they were led by some of the finest scholars of American history and government in a careful study of the pivotal turning points in American history memorialized by the Declaration of Independence, the Gettysburg Address, and the “I Have a Dream” speech. The faculty included a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and many recipients of teaching awards at their respective colleges and universities.
Participating teachers spent five days in Philadelphia, six days in Gettysburg, and seven days in Washington, DC, studying the American Revolution and Founding, the Civil War, and the Civil Rights movement, respectively. During their stay in each of these cities, participants were surrounded by the streets and halls, the battlefields, public places, and private lodgings where the history they studied took place.
Beginning with three documents, studying in three cities, this Presidential Academy aims to understand three great turning points in American history. Participating teachers saw how these key events, infused with fundamental ideas, shaped and continue to shape our national identity, our public institutions, and our public discourse. Participants in this Academy joined in a conversation across time about the most important issues facing America in 1776, 1863, 1963, and today-a conversation participating teachers will be better equipped to continue with their own students.