School and Community Summer 2023

Feeling new confidence, I dedicated my annual tax refund money to a family trip along with any savings we had managed. Each trip involved the family working together to plan out interesting sights to see. I recommend anyone, especially with children in the “golden travel years” of around 6-16, to do this and take advantage of this quality time without any screens - learn to play the alphabet game using billboards instead! Such travel will make an important impact on any family and rejuvenate everyone to face the next school year. We all have the same number of hours in the day, but we also decide how to use them. When my children were old enough to have jobs without much vacation time, I started taking only those who were available during the summer. Devoting time to one child at a time is a special bonding experience of its own. Through these travels, I developed a “bucket list” item to visit all 50 states. Teachers can actually access some special travel opportunities at a lower expense. I became aware of summer institutes and seminars offered by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Gilder Lehrman attempt in 2001 allowed me to join 14 other teachers from across the country at Gonzaga University for an entire month to study Lewis and Clark. This required the huge risk of leaving three daughters (then 20, 18 and 15) to manage the home front alone for a month. The kids’ reward at the end was to fly out to join me for a vacation to Glacier National Park. Was I anxious about the decision to attend the workshop? Of course, but that major leap outside of my comfort zone later resulted in writing a Missouri Conservation grant, which provided three field trips for our history organization on a competitive application basis. My first application

students and numerous library materials on Lewis and Clark. That experience prompted so much personal growth. I followed in the explorers’ footsteps hiking the Lolo trail, made a three-day float trip on the Snake and Salmon Rivers and slept on the ground under the most incredible star show ever. The NEH grant paid for nearly everything. Participants were required to do extensive reading on the subject and create lesson plans, which were shared amongst each other to take home. I applied for these excellent opportunities every summer after that. The Gilder Lehrman organization offers online and week-long workshops for K-12 teachers and, even though many are aimed towards 7-12th grades in subject matter, all K-12 level teachers are encouraged to apply. What could be better than being paid to travel someplace new and study with like-minded, enthusiastic teachers? As Marcel Proust once said, “The true voyage of discovery consists, not in going to new places, but in seeing with new eyes.” Between 2001 and 2018, the NEH selected and paid for me to study at Pearl Harbor, Ellis Island and in a college dorm at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge. I also learned about Jack London in Sonoma, California, and the history of mining at the University of Montana. The Gilder Lehrman selected me for week-long workshops at Georgetown University, and in Boulder, Colorado, among others. Each of these opportunities made a real difference in my life and only required taking the first step to apply! These are only two of many organizations with incredible learning experiences for teachers. I believe midwestern teachers may have an advantage to be selected because there are so many applicants from the east and west coasts. Anyone who takes this leap will not regret it!

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