Greetings, everyone!
Your friendly neighborhood education coordinator here, giving you an update on what I’ve been doing at the Museum during my first few months. It’s fair to say that I’ve been keeping myself busy with Museum projects, educator events, and presentations for West Virginia students.
One of my first experiences working for the Museum was a visit to Chapmanville Intermediate School’s fourth graders. They were such a wonderful group of students, and an excellent first audience for me. They loved getting their very own redneck bandanas!
The biggest project I’ve been working on for the Museum is the development of a series of teaching trunks for use by educators. Each of these trunks will feature primary sources, lessons, and activities to teach a unit on a theme from the Mine Wars. I have worked hard to incorporate feedback and ideas from West Virginia educators for each of the three trunks that we will debut this school year. In June, I presented one of the trunks at the West Virginia Council for Social Studies annual conference in Fairmont, as a workshop for the educators to familiarize themselves with the materials in the trunk. This July, I facilitated the first meeting of our Educator Advisory Panel at the Museum to evaluate and develop the trunks even further. Without their hard work, the trunks would be nowhere near as good as they are shaping up to be.
Perhaps the highlight of my time at the Museum so far has been the talks that I was invited to give at the Mercer County 4-H Camps in Princeton. Along with my wife, Carlie, I presented on the road to the Battle of Blair Mountain from a coal miner’s perspective. I showed them how the miners loaded coal, told them all about the company towns, and about how the mine guards kept West Virginia coal miners oppressed. I shared the story of the Red Neck Army with the young 4-Hers, keeping them enthralled as I told them about how ten thousand miners stood up against the coal operators to demand their rights. When I finished, they responded with an enthusiastic “HOW-HOW!” I’m ecstatic for the opportunity to present to other 4-H groups across the Mountain State.
