Danna Beck:  Seven of us attended the NCSS Conference in Houston this fall!  We stayed busy and got lots of good information.  I always am fascinated to visit with Social Studies people from other states!  Our issues and concerns are very similar across the board.

Rebecca Yelverton was the heroine of the trip!  Not only did she act as our (VERY knowledgable) tour guide, but she also acted as our chauffeur!  We couldn't have made it without her expertise!  And thanks to Dr. Wade Shaffer for attending and hanging out with us!

We began our trip with a tour to College Station to the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library.  On the way, we stopped at Wheat Cemetery in Navasota, where we visited graves more than 150 years old!  I was amazed at the Confederate flags by several of the plots, and by the "homey" chairs, swings, etc. at a few.  Although we did not see either President or Mrs. Bush, we are pretty sure we saw at least one relative helping to prepare for a big "do" that evening.  They have just completed a renovation of the museum, which was really fun.  The grounds are beautiful!

In addition to interesting break-out sessions and thought-provoking keynote speakers, we visited the Houston Holocaust Museum and were fortunate to visit with a Survivor.  The museum was very well done, but that topic always makes my heart ache.

Thanks to all who went for making the trip so much fun!

Rebecca Yelverton- My first trip to the NCSS conference was wonderful.  I was AMAZED at the number of people and the number of sessions!  There was so much to choose from I was amazed. The State Dept had a session on the US relationship with China... they even handed out a 20 minute DVD. I attended another session on the Middle East that has helped me with my current events lessons. The general session speakers were interesting. The conference was great plus  I brought home so much good information from the vendors... i've put my request in for resources through the library and special education deptartments.

Our outside excursions to the San Jacinto Monument and the Battleship Texas were short but educational, you have to love Texas History. 

We somehow stumbled upon a mini-Turkish History lesson at a restaurant as the owner came out and explained his menu.  We were unfornuate that he was out of "Alexander The Great's favorite dish". 

The Bush Library was very interesting.  I loved the plane hanging from the ceiling AND the virtual game where I ATTEMPTED to land a plane on an aircraft carrier... crash and burn.  The exhibits reflected the personality and productivity of George Bush's life, not just his presidency.

It was a great experience.  I enjoyed all the professional 'chit chat' that encourages me to re-evaluate my lessons and appreciate my colleagues.

Angeline Clements

The trip to Houston was awesome! I had a very good experience. The entire trip was based on history, either world, national, state or local. It was incredibly educational for me. The first activity was visiting President Bush's Library at A&M. Although I'm not an Aggie fan (Go Longhorns!!!) I was impressed with the campus and the people that I encountered. I especially enjoyed the Bush museum because he was Vice-President and then President as I was growing up. Many of the exhibits at the museum were things that I grew up watching on the news and hearing about at school. It was neat to get to see some of the things first hand, such as a piece of the Berlin wall, and the space exhibit.

The following day, the NCSS conference began. I could not believe how many people attended. I went to a session covering the Arab-Israeli conflict where the facilitator talked to us about ways to approach the subject objectively and non-offensively. I also had a chance to walk around the area where the vendors were set up. I received a lot of good information and resources to help me in my classroom. I used one this week in fact, it was from the U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian. The lesson covered the Open Door Policy. William Bennett also spoke later that morning. We were also able to visit the San Jacinto Monument and Battleship Texas late that afternoon. It has been a long time since I visited any Texas history sites.

On Saturday, I attended a session that discussed the topic of Vietnam. I will be teaching the conflict for the first time this year and I believe the resources that I received will help me immensely. We also ate at a Turkish restaurant for lunch, it was incredibly interesting. I liked it when Janet asked if the rice pudding on the menu was comparable to regular rice pudding, and the waiter said “no, it’s better, it’s Turkish!” We also visited the Holocaust museum it was inconceivable. It is still hard for me to wrap my brain around the horrors that so many experienced at that time. I am also thankful that there were people who survived to tell their stories so that the world will remember.

On Sunday, before we left for home, we had the opportunity to hear Howard Zinn. The contrast between Zinn and Bennett, who had spoke earlier in the conference was notable and it was neat to hear both speakers at one conference.

Overall the trip was educational. I would not have these opportunities if it were not for the grant. I am so thankful that I made the effort to apply when I did. All of the experiences and the history that I have learned has definitely made me a better and more effective teacher, especially here at the beginning of my career.

Thanks to Danna for putting this trip together and to Rebecca for driving us around!

Janet Fleming:  The trip to Houston was so educational.  I loved the George Bush Library.  It was interesting to see so many aspects of his life.  One of the men that died in the Persian Gulf War was from Stinnett.  His name was James Hawthorne, and his daughter was in my class.  It was able to do a rubbing of his name.  The nameplates were located by the Kuwaiti door which was a gift to America from Kuwait.  Also, the walk to the burial ground of Robin Bush was very beautiful.  My students enjoyed seeing the pictures from the library.  Our side trips to the San Jacinto Monument, the Holocaust Museum, the ferry boat, the old cemetery, Rice University, and Texas A & M were such a bonus to the conference.  Honestly, I was not that excited about going to Houston, but I found out that I had no idea of how much there really was to see.  Also, our accommodations in downtown Houston made the  trip even more delightful.  I shared all of this information with my students through pictures.  Somehow, knowledge makes a teacher more credible.  My students love learning through my travels.  Concerning the conference, the highlight was the contrast between William Bennett and Howard Zenn.  It confirmed my beliefs about history; however, it is necessary to be challenged.  America is not perfect but I do believe it is the best.  (sounds almost like B. Franklin's quote)  Firoozeh Dumas was also very inspiring.  I am planning to read her books.  I went to a breakout session called Contemporary Iran.  The speaker had visited Iran, and she stated that the people do not always agree with their President.  She challenged us by saying, "Do you agree with everything that your President says?"  Once again, this opened my mind to opinions of Iran.  The session called "Examining White House History: President Lincoln in Wartime Washington" was very interesting.  I received a role play to act out the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation.  It was similar to a History Alive strategy.  On Saturday, I attended a thought provoking session called "Civil Disobendience from Samuel Adams to Burma 2007".  At the "Banned from Boston!" session, I received a good activity for Colonial America.  The most amazing aspect of the trip was how seven different people with various personalities can have such a great time because of a common love for history.  Danna, thank you for all of the opportunities.  Rebecca, you were a great driver and tour guide.  

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Rusty Phares - Sorry I'm so late with this blog, but the time after the trip have not been kind to me.  But I am here and here are my thoughts on this experience. I have to start off by saying that I'm not a well traveled individual.  I have to thank Danna for the opportunity to see the places that we have traveled in this grant.  I have been in the grant for a while and I really hate to see it go.  This has been an experience like no other.  Any way, back to the Houston trip.  Going to College Station and visiting the George Bush Presidential Library was very interesting.  Seeing where he came from and all the hats he wore for this country was fascinating.  The Wheat Cemetary in Navasoto was an interesting side venture.  Rebecca, our amazing guide of the city, has family there along with others dating back to the Civil War era.  Taking the ferry across the ship channel was a first for me (and I am not fond of water).  I must say it gave an awesome view of the San Jacinto monument that we had just visited.  The battleship Texas was cool as well.  I just wish we could have had the chance to get on board.  Driving through Rice University and Texas A&M was cool too.  Both campuses were very impressive (of course wearing Texas Tech gear on A&M's campus will not make you very many friends either...GET YOUR GUNS UP!). The NCSS Conference was great.  There were so many breakout sessions to choose from that I was torn between which ones to go to.  I will tell you this...go to the conference if you can.  The resources you are exposed to is amazing.  Not to mention the speakers that they have each day.  It was very interesting to hear the opposing views of William Bennett and Howard Zen.  I have to say though that the highlight of the conference was the chance to network with other teacher of History at all levels of education.  The ideas the sessions provided and the other teachers provided gave me a wealth of new strategies that I hope to implement in my classroom.  (The "Reading a book in ONE day" is probably my favorite.)   And if you ever need a place to eat, you have to visit our friends at the Turquoise Cafe.  It's a little Turkish diner that was awesome.  I highly recommend it.  Over all, I had a great time in Houston.  I want to thank Janet, Angeline, Rebecca, Danna, Susan and Dr. Shaffer for an enjoyable trip. 

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