Contact: Allison Matthews
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Thirty social studies teachers from across the state will have the opportunity to be part of the second Social Studies Teachers' Summer Institute at Mississippi State.
Participants will be selected on a first-come basis for the free June 17-22 university workshop.
The curriculum is designed to assist history and social studies educators in teaching 21st century students the relevancy of the American Civil War, whose 150th anniversary observance is under way.
March 15 is the deadline for applications, which may be found by clicking here. Public, private and home-school teachers are encouraged to take part.
The institute is sponsored by the National Park Service's Shiloh and Vicksburg national military parks, along with MSU Libraries and campus-based Ulysses S. Grant Association. Funded through an NPS "Teaching History through Civics" grant, it provides on-campus lodging, transportation to and from historic sites, and meals throughout the week.
Campus activities will be held in Mitchell Memorial Library. The six-day schedule includes lectures by Civil War scholars, along with visits to the battlefields of Shiloh in Tennessee, and Vicksburg in Mississippi. Excursions will also include visits to Corinth and the Old Capitol Museum in Jackson, as well as to the Starkville Artillery Museum.
"Teachers always are working hard to present the best information possible to their students, and this institute will give those who teach social studies the opportunity to interact with leading historians of the Civil War and improve their effectiveness in the classroom," said John F. Marszalek, Grant Association executive director and retired MSU faculty member.
While the workshop is free, four continuing education units will be available to interested participants for a $20 fee.
"It is going to be an exciting week, which will affect history learning in the state for a long time," added Marszalek, a nationally recognized Civil War scholar.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see www.msstate.edu.
NEWS DIRECTORS/EDITORS: For additional information not available through the online link provided in the story, contact Elizabeth Coggins at 662-325-4552 or ecoggins@library.msstate.edu.