by Jean Gibran
May 6 was a glorious day for the 6th annual Community Service-Learning (CSL) Conference sponsored by the Massachusetts Department of Education at the Worcester Holiday Inn. CSL advocates attending the Boston TeachNet workshop enjoyed hearing how student and teacher researchers on women’s achievements can inform the community.Barbara Locurto, BWHT Board Member and IMPACT II @ School to Career Director of Service Learning, convened Celebrating Women’s History ~ Boston Women’s Memorial. Her first order of business was to describe Boston’s recently formed CHESP (Community, Higher Education, School Partnerships) Advisory Council. Now it’s official. As a CHESP member, BWHT will expand its collaboration on BPS/CSL projects. Barbara also announced Tufts University College of Citizenship & Public Service as a major CHESP player and introduced that organization’s Program Manager, Mindy Nierenberg.
Then it was up to Maggie Hoyt. West Roxbury High’s Media teacher used a computer slide show to demonstrate how her students, inspired by the Boston Women’s Memorial, created Public Service Announcements for the school’s radio station and organized a letter-writing campaign about the sculpture. Excerpts from the student-produced Boston Neighborhood News (BNN) video documented a lively interview between the high school anchors and BWHT Board Members Sylvia McDowell and Marie Turley. Maggie also shared scenes from Legacies of the Ladies, the student organized Service Learning Festival for visiting first graders. As viewers watched high schoolers role-play “Women of Substance,” she described her boys’ involvement in women’s history. Her advice? Create opportunities for boys to assume historically relevant characters who interact with the featured women.
Sara Masucci, author of “The Boston Women’s Memorial Curriculum,” followed Maggie with a glimpse into BWHT background. Focusing on “Writing For Change: The Power of Women’s Words,” she explained how its primary sources allow students to interpret the exact words of Adams, Wheatley, and Stone. Sara also distributed “Blazing Trails for Women’s History,” a checklist about embarking on such an adventure. Exiting workshop participants enthused over the presentations and the BWHT handouts, which included the BWM Curriculum, the “The Ladies’ Walk” booklet, and brochures on local neighborhood walks designed by BPS students.
For more on the Boston Women’s Memorial Learn & Serve Signature Projects go to the BWHT homepage or Boston TeachNet.
|
English High Celebrates Women’s History
Seven teachers at English High School in the Media Arts Community adapted and expanded the present “Boston Women’s Curriculum” as a professional development project that included a “Teacher Binder” for reference. Students and teachers created a variety of projects showcasing Women’s Month by posting the student work and research on ten large display panels in the EHS lobby and school library. On these panels, the history of women in the arts, media, and the military was illustrated along with pictures of students attending various field trips at primary sites. The students and teachers enjoyed the following sites- Boston Women’s Memorial, the women’s mural in the Copley Library, the State House, Adams House and the JFK Library. Visually impaired students visited the MFA, where they learned through a special program how to appreciate a sculptor’s work. The team of teachers produced over 60 questions and invited all EHS teachers to take their classes for a walk through history by reading the information on the panels and answering the prepared questions. Students also were assigned as tour guides to assist in the process. Congratulations to Col. Jones, Ist Sgt. Alford, Ms. A. Collins, Ms. Blackburn, Ms. Sharpe-Etteh, Mr. Watson, and Ms.Mortensen. 
 |