This post brought me great joy - I grew up in Livermore where the home of the Washburns, the Norlands, is today a living history museum. I teach social studies in our local school district, and in past years have taught an elective called "Hands on History" in which we have partnered with the Norlands to help introduce students to the re…
This post brought me great joy - I grew up in Livermore where the home of the Washburns, the Norlands, is today a living history museum. I teach social studies in our local school district, and in past years have taught an elective called "Hands on History" in which we have partnered with the Norlands to help introduce students to the real work of historians. Our work included helping to digitally transcribe the family's collection of letters - no small feat as they are all (of course) written in cursive, which was always difficult for students to get used to (here is a link to one of our online exhibits - https://www.mainememory.net/sitebuilder/site/2556/page/4110/display?use_mmn=1). We also helped to create an app-based self-guided tour with a script written by students and narrated by Maine's own Senator Angus King. We are very proud of our hometown heroes and feel lucky to have their homestead as a living history resource.
As a retired social studies teacher (36 years), permit me to extend kudos. Local history is, ironically, often the hardest to incorporate unless you have a repository of documents/collections readily accessible (as they are often not digitized). But local lore reinforces - as Dr. R's letter today does so well - that history is often driven by "ordinary" people who are not lionized in history texts, but who were nevertheless vital players in a larger story.
Hurray for Social Studies!! Huzzah for Civics! And Home Economics and Shop and Auto Mechanics and Bookkeeping and many other hands-on, critical thinking, vitally important classes that are no longer widely taught in high schools today. In those classes I learned checkbook balancing and cooking/sewing and how our government works. Back then a girl could not take Shop and a boy could not take Home Ec, but that would be so great to do now. What is old is made new again, eh? Thank you, all you teachers, past - present - and future.
It infuriated me that I wasn’t allowed to take shop or drafting in middle school or high school, but was required to take home economics. I was the oldest girl in a family of 8 children, with 4 older brothers, so my cooking and sewing skills were well-developed by middle school. I didn’t need or want more home ec.
With three brothers, I never had or is envy (except when hiking in the woods) but frequently had great envy of their freedom to do SO much more than I. At an all-girls school, shop wasn’t even a thing. How I would have lived to learn auto mechanics. On the other hand, Home Econ was also not offered. It was all about liberal arts... to become “educated wives.” Ack!
Typing class, which every 7th grader in my school district was required to take, is something for which I remain extremely grateful. I can’t imagine how much more difficult every class and job, not to mention our reliance on keyboarding today, would have been without having touch typing ingrained in me.
I am a descendent of this family and love the care and love the staff at the Norlands shows for this family and its property. And thank you for the work your class did to transcribe the letters.
This post brought me great joy - I grew up in Livermore where the home of the Washburns, the Norlands, is today a living history museum. I teach social studies in our local school district, and in past years have taught an elective called "Hands on History" in which we have partnered with the Norlands to help introduce students to the real work of historians. Our work included helping to digitally transcribe the family's collection of letters - no small feat as they are all (of course) written in cursive, which was always difficult for students to get used to (here is a link to one of our online exhibits - https://www.mainememory.net/sitebuilder/site/2556/page/4110/display?use_mmn=1). We also helped to create an app-based self-guided tour with a script written by students and narrated by Maine's own Senator Angus King. We are very proud of our hometown heroes and feel lucky to have their homestead as a living history resource.
As a retired social studies teacher (36 years), permit me to extend kudos. Local history is, ironically, often the hardest to incorporate unless you have a repository of documents/collections readily accessible (as they are often not digitized). But local lore reinforces - as Dr. R's letter today does so well - that history is often driven by "ordinary" people who are not lionized in history texts, but who were nevertheless vital players in a larger story.
Hurray for Social Studies!! Huzzah for Civics! And Home Economics and Shop and Auto Mechanics and Bookkeeping and many other hands-on, critical thinking, vitally important classes that are no longer widely taught in high schools today. In those classes I learned checkbook balancing and cooking/sewing and how our government works. Back then a girl could not take Shop and a boy could not take Home Ec, but that would be so great to do now. What is old is made new again, eh? Thank you, all you teachers, past - present - and future.
Socialization into gender roles and norms begins early, even before Home Ec or Shop, which drive the message home.
It infuriated me that I wasn’t allowed to take shop or drafting in middle school or high school, but was required to take home economics. I was the oldest girl in a family of 8 children, with 4 older brothers, so my cooking and sewing skills were well-developed by middle school. I didn’t need or want more home ec.
With three brothers, I never had or is envy (except when hiking in the woods) but frequently had great envy of their freedom to do SO much more than I. At an all-girls school, shop wasn’t even a thing. How I would have lived to learn auto mechanics. On the other hand, Home Econ was also not offered. It was all about liberal arts... to become “educated wives.” Ack!
I wanted to take shop. Soooo bad. Home ec instead, where I flunked and was sent to typing class instead, because, you know, of the piano.
Typing class, which every 7th grader in my school district was required to take, is something for which I remain extremely grateful. I can’t imagine how much more difficult every class and job, not to mention our reliance on keyboarding today, would have been without having touch typing ingrained in me.
Hurray for teachers like you!
I am a descendent of this family and love the care and love the staff at the Norlands shows for this family and its property. And thank you for the work your class did to transcribe the letters.
Good to know.