History On The Side Of Two North Hills Teachers

ROSS TOWNSHIP - Two North Hills Middle School teachers are about to have busy and challenging summers. Larry Dorenkamp and Joe Welch have been selected to attend the prestigious Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History summer teaching seminar programs.

The competitive programs are open to instructors in buildings participating in the Gilder Lehrman affiliate school program, which exists to promote and impact American history education across the country.

Dorenkamp will travel to Stanford University to attend the week-long seminar “The Gilded Age and Its Modern Parallels.” Led by Stanford American history professor Richard White, the seminar will focus on how the Gilded Age’s immigration, industrialization and class struggle created the foundation for modern America.

Welch’s week-long seminar, “9/11 and the American Memory,” is held in conjunction with New York University in partnership with the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum in New York City. Led by Edward T. Linenthal, an Indiana University history professor and editor of the Journal of American History, the seminar will examine the nature and meaning of historical memory using the 9/11 Museum collections, the historical site and memorial.

Participants for these programs are selected by a committee of educators and administrators based on their American history interest, a commitment to growth in the teaching profession and an ability to translate new knowledge and materials into effective instruction.

Dorenkamp and Welch also will attend the Elevating and Celebrating Effective Teaching and Teachers (ECET2) Western Pennsylvania convening this summer. The event is sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Photo via North Hills School District.