By Dr. Curtis Varnell
U/A Fort Smith and GFESC cooperatively hosted the 12th annual This is Arkansas Seminar on June 7 at Echol hall on the Fort Smith campus. Over forty teachers from area schools attended the all-day session.
The seminar was initially organized to promote the inclusion of Arkansas history, science, and the arts into the school curriculum. Arkansas, often thought of as a backwater site, has had considerable input into all facets of the above and, by using our local information as a hook, the subject matter becomes of much more importance and interest to students. In many instances teachers can begin the study of a period of history or science by talking about local items and then link them to what was going on at the national or even international level. This leads to better understanding and retention of information because the lesson is pertinent to the world in which the student lives.
This year’s line-up included several outstanding presentations over a wide-range of topics. Mr. Cody Faber began the day with an overview of the Fort Smith National Park and the services the park can provide in interpreting Arkansas and national events. Sweet String, a local group than provided music, entertainment, and the history of mountain music with a dulcimer and stringed instrument presentation.
Aaron Chastain, an instructor from Springdale schools demonstrated the use of technology in the classroom. Using camera, sound equipment, and a drone, his students created a video of the Smith hospital in Paris. The overview demonstrated how classrooms can integrate an interdisciplinary approach to teaching literacy, history, science, math, and technology into one unit of study.
Mr. Patrick Millard of Waldron started off the afternoon session with peals of laughter with his home-spun humor in using the telephone and music to demonstrate the different world students of today live in than did their parents.
The key-note address was my Mr. Tom Wing of U/AFS as he presented a living history of the Mexican War and how it affected Arkansas and the world. Mr. Wing is a Fort Smith native, a university professor, and a curator at the Drennan House in Van Buren. A gifted speaker, he held the audience spell bound with real to life stories of Albert Pike, Archibald Yell, and other key figures in Arkansas history.
Teachers are required from 45-60 hours of professional development during the summer session. GFESC will continue sessions for the next two months, offering teachers the content and methodology to continue to develop their teaching skills. A typical day for the educational cooperative includes as many as a dozen teaching sessions daily in everything from physics to the arts. Sessions are held at the cooperative, at area schools and universities, as well as outdoors and at the Huckabee Nature Center. School is never out for teachers, it’s just all a part of the job to provide the best possible education for our students.
