National History Academy
| National History Academy | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| , | |
| Information | |
| Motto | Historia Est Magistra Vitae |
| Established | 2018 |
| President | William W. Sellers |
| Campus | Rural |
| Website | historycamp |
National History Academy is a five-week residential summer program for high school students, which teaches the foundations of American democracy through place-based education.[1]. It was created by the Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area, a non-profit federally designated National Heritage Area in portions of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland and Virginia, in the eastern United States.[2][3] It was launched in the summer of 2018, and is hosted at the Foxcroft School in Middleburg, Virginia.
History and Mission
National History Academy’s mission is to inspire students to understand the foundations of American democracy and the responsibilities of citizenship.[4] The first of its kind, the Academy was founded in 2018 to address the current crisis in American civic and historical literacy.[5]
During the five-week course, students study American history, from the Native American settlement era through the civil-rights movement, with an emphasis on significant events and figures between 1765 and 1865. The group alternates between classroom studies and visits to historic sites within and near the Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area.[1]
National History Academy’s motto, “Historia Est Magistra Vitae,” is taken from Cicero’s De Oratore and means “history is the teacher of life.”[6]
Admissions and Student Life
The Academy has capacity for ninety rising 10th, 11th, and 12th grade students each summer. Courses are taught by six master teachers. Students are also overseen by twelve college counselors.
National History Academy is hosted at Foxcroft School in Middleburg, Virginia, a private secondary school.[7] The campus is located 45 miles from Washington, D.C.. The campus is located within a three-hour drive of all the historic sites that the students visit. Filmmaker Ken Burns created the Academy’s promotional video.[8]
Curriculum
The curriculum is built around four components: (1) history cases; (2) parliamentary debates; (3) a speaker series; and (4) visits to the defining sites of American history.[9]
History cases
The Academy uses the case-based History of American Democracy curriculum developed by Harvard Business School Professor David A. Moss. The cases provide an interdisciplinary and contextual examination of key historic events, permitting students to consider multiple viewpoints and to place themselves in the role of decision makers. In 2018, Professor Moss taught the first case on the United States Constitution at James Madison’s Montpelier.
Better Angels debates
The Academy offers a parliamentary debate program in partnership with the Better Angels. The College Board provided the initial funding for this partnership. The debates are designed to encourage civil discourse across the partisan divide in an open and respectful environment. This formal style of parliamentary debate allows students to explore challenging contemporary issues in contrast to the historical debates studied in the cases.
Guest speakers
The Academy invites more than 20 nationally recognized guest speakers to supplement classroom activities. Among the 2018 guest speakers were David Rubenstein, Ernest Green, Margaret Richardson, Brent Glass, Jon Parrish Peede, Trevor Potter, Douglas Owsley, Ronald F. Maxwell and Robert Duvall.[10]
Site visits and unique experiences
The Academy alternates classroom work with visits to the defining historic sites in the region, from Gettysburg to Harpers Ferry, Washington, D.C., Charlottesville and Colonial Williamsburg. Students experience iconic National Parks, museums, presidential homes, battlefields, and Civil Rights sites.[11][12]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Brown, Nell Porter (6 April 2018). "Harvesting History". Harvard Magazine.
- ↑ "The Journey Through Hallowed Ground Official Site". www.hallowedground.org.
- ↑ "Journey Through Hallowed Ground creates summer residential program". Fauquier Times.
- ↑ "About the National History Academy".
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ Ehlert, Heather. "Inaugural National History Academy".[permanent dead link]
- ↑ "National History Academy". Foxcroft. 24 June 2018.
- ↑ "Proudly Supported by Ken Burns". 23 February 2018.
- ↑ LoudounNow (6 July 2018). "National History Academy Debuts in Loudoun".
- ↑ "Guest Speakers". 30 October 2018.
- ↑ Tuesday, Maria Carrasco Herald Staff Writer; Aug. 7; Pm, 2018 2:07. "Camp offers up-close look at American history". Durango Herald. Archived from the original on 2019-01-09. Retrieved 2019-01-07.
- ↑ Foxcroftschool, ~ (1 August 2018). "The National History Academy".
External links
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