Narrative in History:  The Importance of Story

September 19-20

Embassy Suites Hotel

St. Paul, Minnesota

 The first fall retreat of the Cross River History Consortium promises to provide a great deal of enrichment to participants in both history content and pedagogy.  The content focal points of the retreat will be African-American history during slavery, and the continuation of oral traditions in African-American history into the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.  We will also learn ways to translate this content, and storytelling in general, into our classrooms.   In addition, participants will enjoy some opportunities for sharing expertise with one another as the group discusses the place of history in the curriculum.  We will welcome a very impressive team from the National Council for History Education, who will orchestrate the Friday and Saturday activities:

 Dr. Rex Ellis will serve as lead historian for the fall retreat.  Dr. Ellis is Vice President for the Historic Are of Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.  He has also served as Chair/Curator of the Division of Cultural History of the National Museum of American History, as Director for the Center for Museum Studies of the Smithsonian Institution, and as Director of the Department of African-American Interpretation and Presentations.  Dr. Ellis is a renowned storyteller and scholar of oral traditions.  His books include Beneath the Blazing Sun:  Stories From the African-American Journey, With a Banjo on My Knee:  A Musical Journey from Slavery to Freedom, and Tales as Tools:  The Power of Story in the Classroom.  Dr. Ellis has conducted numerous workshops and consultancies on the topic of using storytelling to make history come alive, and we are delighted to have him join us in St. Paul.

 Mary Beth Plauche brings her skills as master teacher to the fall retreat.  Since 1973 she has taught a multi-age kindergarden class as well as first and second grade at Metairie Park Country Day School in New Orleans, Louisiana.  She has also served as Adjunct Professor of Education at the University of New Orleans and Tulane University since the mid-1990s.  Mary Beth has made numerous conference presentations on history education, geography education, and portfolio assessment for emergent literacy.  She has published educational research articles on history and literacy.  Mary Beth will bring a wealth of experience in oral history, children’s literature, and the use of objects in the history classroom.

 Our retreat facilitator will be Dr. Bill Ross, Director of Professional Development for the National Council for History Education.  He taught social studies at Sidney High School in Sidney, Ohio for 26 years, and received Teacher of the Year awards three times in his career.  Bill has published numerous articles on history and geography education.  He has served on the board of the National Issues Forum, and as a grant reader for the U.S. Department of Education.  He has also served as a board member for professional societies concerned with social studies education, and has facilitated workshops on history education across the country, including work on the Wisconsin History Collaborative.  Bill adds a spark of fun to every history education workshop, and he will run a smooth and informative program for the Cross River group in St. Paul.