Keeping current of past history

My students asked my plans for summer last week. They are always curious about what teachers do when school ends. The truth is, I keep working for them. I have been called many things for this and I am sure the first two weeks will be spent on just me, but by the third week, I will be planning for next year. 

For many summers, I have done professional development through organizations that offer great, informational weeks spent learning the history of different periods in the United States, or individual states and people. Most of these offer a partial stipend to help offset costs of travel and lodging and some are close enough to drive from home. 

I have been to Mississippi to study the culture of the Mississippi Delta to Washington, D.C to immerse myself in Civic Education. I was able to study one of Florida's most famous women, Zora Neal Hurston and learn about Florida's role in the Civil War. 

When I first began teaching, I was lucky enough to take part in several different professional developments which delved in to the Florida history that most people never see. From Fernandina Beach and St. Augustine to Bartow and Clewiston with a little Ft. Myers thrown in, the Florida Humanities Council had a program called Teaching Florida. 

Most of these activities were for Florida teachers. They were about 4 days long and relatively inexpensive because the Council offset the cost. I miss this program. 

I listen to teachers today speak about Florida in modern terms but they have no idea of the rich history of our state. My family has been here for eight generations and I hate the ignorance of so many who do not realize how we evolved and changed. 

I belong to the Florida Humanities Council, the Florida Council on History Education, the National Council on History Education and believe that our students should be able to study the history of our state and there should be teachers versed in that history. In most areas, that history is limited to what the students can learn when it is embedded in World or United States History. 

Although the Department of Education demands we educate our students in our state's history, they give us very few tools to do it with. So it gets overlooked. 

With the demise of Teaching Florida, I contacted the CEO of the Florida Humanities Council to express my sorrow and dismay. His response stated that the Council must be available to a wide array of citizens and the history was available for schools to do field trips etc. These have become memories in many school districts due to cost. 

How great would it be if the new Executive Director would revisit the Teaching Florida program. 176,567 school teachers in Florida would love to learn about Zora, like I did, through an NEH program in conjunction with the Florida branch. Or how about Olustee? Do you know that name? Do you know Koreshan  State Park or have you been to the largest organic herb farm in the world or the sweetest city?

It seems as more and more people want to rewrite history, organizations would be trying to do more and more to educate those who are responsible for our school children. That's the way I see it. Is anyone listening?