October Conference for Teachers

In addition to History Day, I also coordinate the New York State Historical Association's annual October Conference for Teachers. This year the conference will be held on Thursday, October 21 and Friday, October 22. The conference takes place here in Cooperstown, and the fall leaves on the rolling hills of Otsego County make a peaceful and picturesque backdrop for professional development. Where better to learn best practices in Social Studies education than at The Farmers' Museum?

This year we have a great schedule of sessions for elementary, middle and high school teachers. I encourage you to take a look at the schedule and consider attending. Pre-registration is only $42 for NYSHA members and $50 for non-members.

I am bringing the conference up because I wanted to highlight a session related to History Day. High school teacher Jerald Hensler from LaSalle School in Albany will present his experience incorporating the History Day program into the classroom. You may remember hearing about Jerry. He received the National History Day Patricia Behring Teacher of the Year Award for New York State last year. (I wrote about him in this post.)

Jerry brought the National History Day program to LaSalle School in 2007. Founded in 1854 by the De La Salle Christian Brothers to serve abandoned and orphaned boys, La Salle School has developed into a multi-faceted human services agency. LaSalle schools serves boys in grades 6-12 who have social or emotional needs or who have been referred by the court system. Most of the students come from urban “high needs” schools and are at great risk of not graduating high school.

“Many of our students have never experienced any level of academic success,” notes Jerry. “Once the students make the choice to participate in History Day, they are quickly surprised by their successes and their confidence in their academic abilities increases exponentially.”

I asked Jerry to present at the conference because I so often hear that History Day is a program only for "gifted and talented" learners. In fact, History Day can engage students at all academic skill levels. In his session, Jerry will share how History Day has transformed the lives of his students, and share tips and strategies for bring History Day into alternative learning environments.

It's going to be a great conference, and I encourage you all to attend. For more information, visit the NYSHA website at http://www.nysha.org/nysha/for_teachers/october_conference