"Pickin' Up Steam" at the Midyear Teachers' Retreat, February 10-11, 2006

Teachers climb aboard the TAHSC Midyear Retreat Express.Project Director Don Stewart and Chris Weatherhead as Mary Boykin Chesnut discuss life in South Carolina during the Civil War.Teachers met in groups to present the primary source based lessons they have been working on during the 2005-6 school year.South Carolina Archives and History Director Rodger Stroup shares his knowledge of the railroad in South Carolina with the TAHSC teachers at the South Carolina Railroad Museum in Winnsboro.

Participants in the Teaching American History in South Carolina (TAHSC) program recently gathered at White Oak Conference Center in Winnsboro for the 2006 Midyear Retreat.  The event, which brought teachers from the Lowcountry, Pee Dee, and Midlands together, had a railroad theme this year in the hopes that their TAHSC experience has helped them to “Pick up Steam” for using primary sources in the classroom.

Mary Boykin Chesnut, as portrayed by Chris Weatherhead, entertained the group on Friday night.  In keeping with the railroad theme, the audience encountered Chesnut as she waited for a train.  She passed the time by sharing anecdotes and reading selected passages from Diary from Dixie with her fellow travelers.  The group enjoyed her wit and charm and the experience was a compelling reminder of the power of learning about history through first hand accounts.

On Saturday, the group reflected on their own Teaching American History experiences since the summer.  They shared lesson plans and teaching strategies with colleagues from the three regional Summer Institutes.  In both regional and grade level meetings the teachers learned from each other and discussed their successes and challenges in the classroom.  At the end of the day Master Scholar Marty Matthews, Master Teachers Tim Hicks, Mike Kreft, Marc Turner, and Wardie Sanders, along with the TAHSC staff congratulated the participants on their hard work and outstanding accomplishments. 

TAHSC encourages teachers to form partnerships with local cultural institutions and to work with primary sources.  In order to encourage collaboration, staff members from several South Carolina museums, historical sites, and libraries took part in the retreat. Additionally, each participant received a  primary source packet entitled Tied to Cotton that uses 21 replica documents to tell the history of cotton and the railroad in South Carolina.  Along with this resource, working model cotton gins will be distributed to each teacher for classroom use.  Both projects help to make history a hands-on experience for students. 

To close the retreat, TAHSC took participants to the South Carolina Railroad Museum for a ride on the Rockton and Rion Line.  Rodger Stroup shared stories of the line with the group and let them know about opportunities for working with schools.  As the group pulled into the station and the 2006 Midyear Retreat came to a close the success of the event proved that TAHSC is on the right track!