Last week I received a thoughtful e-mail from Traci Mosby, a teacher at Highland Elementary School in Ewing, Missouri. It illustrates perfectly the long-term, extended side-effects produced by a workshop organized by the Mark Twain Museum in Hannibal. They realized that their visitorship depends on a national population who love the stories of Mark Twain. Using Twain in a classroom poses some challenges for contemporary teachers, though, so the museum organized some week-long workshops to help teachers develop confidence in using the material. When our board saw the grant application for this summer's workshops, they saluted the excellence of the programming.
Traci gave me permission to reprint her note here:
"I wanted to take a minute to thank the Missouri Humanities Council for the grant that helped fund the Mark Twain Teachers Workshop. As an educator, this is one of the best workshops that I have ever attended. Being able to walk in Twain's footsteps and listen to experts is an amazing way to learn about one of Missouri's own. This was my second year taking this workshop, and I have continued to expand my knowledge and excitement. After last year's course, my co-workers and I implemented an afterschool club, Twain's Travelers, for third and fourth graders in our school. Through this club, we were able to teach great reading, writing skills, geography, research skills, art, and technology. The Mark Twain Museum played a great part in our club, providing resources, programs, visits, and "extras" when we needed it. Without this workshop, I would not have had the knowledge, confidence, or resources to teach Twain to my young students. We will be continuing our afterschool Twain club this year, with many students rejoining for the second year. The knowledge and excitement for learning is a result of my participation in this workshop. Thank you for help making this possible."
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