Plunging headfirst into history

For slaves in the 1800s, freedom was a dream, a hope that was kept alive by the Underground Railroad and those who believed that no person should be owned by another.

Next week Michelle M. Casciano, a second-grade teacher at Armstrong Elementary School, will get a sense of these struggles. She is among 100 educators chosen from around the country to attend a workshop funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. They will visit landmarks of the clandestine operation to broaden their knowledge of the railroad.

The weeklong workshop will be held at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa., and teachers (kindergarten through Grade 12) will have the opportunity to go to Harpers Ferry, W.Va., and Christiana, Pa., where key events in the struggle against slavery occurred. While considered to be precursors to the Civil War, neither incident is usually discussed much in classrooms, more often than not overshadowed by other aspects of the war, Ms. Casciano said.

“I was looking to find opportunities to further my education in this area,” Ms. Casciano, 35, said. “As we continue to study history we need to be wary of biases. This is a good opportunity to get some insight.”

This isn’t the first time the Westboro teacher, who has taught in the district for eight years, has been chosen for a special training program. Last month she traveled to Springfield, Ill., on a Horace Mann Abraham Lincoln Fellowship to study the life and legacy of Abraham Lincoln.

She described visiting Lincoln’s law office, home and presidential library there as “an amazing experience.”

Her firsthand accounts of historical places can enhance what students read about in textbooks, she said.

“It was amazing to me to read about certain events but being there brought you to a whole new level. All of a sudden you are in it. Being there puts you in the story,” she said.

In discussing the Civil War-era, second-graders learn about prominent figures like Lincoln and Harriet Tubman instead of complex concepts like the war and the causes behind it. The challenge for teachers is making these personalities come alive so students can relate to them.

“It is important when teaching 7- and 8-year-olds that you make the people real for them,” she said.

During the Horace Mann fellowship work, she and other teachers developed a lesson plan about the 16th president’s character traits to use back in their classrooms.

“What things in Lincoln’s childhood helped him to become the man he was,” Ms. Casciano said, in describing the lesson plan. “Using children’s literature (the students) will identify earlier experiences that shaped his decisions.”

For instance, she said, he went to New Orleans when he was 17 and witnessed a slave auction. “He saw families being separated and that really laid the foundation for wisdom beyond his years.”

Ms. Casciano hopes to get at the Underground Railroad workshop the same kind of experience to use to enhance her lessons and share with other Armstrong teachers.

Although slavery has long been abolished, continuing to examine how and why it occurred is a very relevant subject, she said. “We are where we are today because of history,” Ms. Casciano said. “It could have turned into a different country if not for certain people and events. People stood their ground for something they believed in.”