Posts Tagged by catherine tuczek
The Henry Ford proudly announces that the National Endowment for the Humanities has awarded our institution a grant to again offer the Landmarks of American History and Culture Workshop “America’s Industrial Revolution at The Henry Ford” for K-12 teachers. The workshops will be held July 9-14, 2017 and July 16-21, 2017.
Participating teachers will explore the varied ways that Americans experienced social change between 1760s and the 1920s through lecture/discussions by noted scholars and by visiting select sites at The Henry Ford, Greenfield Village and Henry Ford Museum, including Thomas Edison’s Menlo Park Laboratory, working farms, historic transportation, and Ford Motor Company’s Rouge industrial complex. In addition, participants will explore archival sources in the Benson Ford Research Center and dedicate time to lesson plan development with colleagues.
“Learning by doing” - Scything, pre-Industrial Revolution.
Next year will be the eighth time The Henry Ford has hosted the America’s Industrial Revolution workshop. This deep learning experience has touched almost 500 teachers in the past 11 years – we estimate over 700,000 students have been impacted!
This year we are making some exciting tweaks that will make the week even more fruitful and more fun.
The biggest change is that we are adding a bus tour of Industrial Revolution-era Detroit. Participating teachers come from all over the country (and sometimes abroad, if they are teaching in military schools, etc.) and they just can’t miss our neighboring city which had such a pivotal role in America’s industrial story. On Monday evening, the second night of the workshop, teachers will take a tour bus to explore a few key areas of Detroit. We will visit Hamtramck, Highland Park, the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant and Corktown, allowing us to move through Detroit history from the era of a frontier surrounded by farmland, to a growing city fueled by industrial production that came to spawn the king of American manufacturing, the automobile industry. 
Henry Ford designed the Model T in a secret room at the Piquette Plant.
We have found that participating teachers are often history junkies (just like ourselves) hungry for more learning. So, during our daily site visits to Greenfield Village we will use our knowledgeable master presenters as guides. We invite you to try to stump them with the great questions we know teachers always have.
Speaking of historical learning, we have updated the workshop reading list to include some more recent and more diverse pieces of scholarship on the Industrial Revolution. I particularly enjoyed Steel Drivin’ Man: John Henry, the Untold Story of an American Legend by Scott Reynolds Nelson. It tells about a historian’s journey to uncover the real story behind the folk song about John Henry, investigating if there was truly an African-American convict working on the railroad who died in a contest with a steam drill.
We want to encourage more useful lesson-planning time, too. So we have allocated time during the day to spend with colleagues of similar grades/subjects to plan lessons and to visit the Benson Ford Research Center to make use of our primary sources. We will also encourage teachers to use those primary sources virtually through our online collections. Teachers will see our rich collections in use by the scholars each morning, too.
Read and touch primary sources at the Benson Ford Research Center.
And it’s not just for social studies teachers. The workshop will be useful in many types of K-12 classrooms. Obviously if you teach the period of the Industrial Revolution, or eras following it, this background is indispensable for you. Science, technology and engineering teachers will discover concrete, society-changing examples of the concepts they teach. English Language Arts teachers will experience a taste of the eras that produced literature like Little House on the Prairie, The Jungle, Mark Twain, slave narratives, and (from across the pond) Dickens’ many works. Art teachers may find themselves inspired by the beauty of the machinery, as did Diego Rivera and Charles Sheeler at the Ford Rouge Factory.
Rivera was inspired by the Ford Rouge Factory for his “Detroit Industry” fresco cycle at the Detroit Institute of Arts. THF116582
Sounds fun, doesn’t it? To learn more about the workshop, and to apply, please visit thehenryford.org/neh. Applications are due March 1.
Christian W. Overland is Executive Vice President of The Henry Ford and Project Director, America’s Industrial Revolution at The Henry Ford.
Catherine Tuczek is Curator of School and Public Learning at The Henry Ford.
by Catherine Tuczek, by Christian W. Øverland, events, Michigan, Detroit, educational resources, education, teachers and teaching
Agriculture is an important collecting focus for The Henry Ford, so we’re very honored to have the Michigan Farm Bureau join us as a partner. Catherine Tuczek, our curator of school and public learning, sat down with Education Specialist Amelia Miller to talk about the importance of agriculture in today’s classroom.Why does it make sense for The Henry Ford and the Michigan Foundation for Agriculture and Michigan Agriculture in the Classroom to partner together?
The Michigan Agriculture in the Classroom program strives to provide educators with standards-based lessons which teach about local agriculture through classroom subjects such as science, social studies, English language arts, math and more. To partner with The Henry Ford allows us a direct link to put these lessons in the hands of the teachers. With the historical agriculture exhibits and The Henry Ford’s focus on innovation, it makes sense to showcase modern agriculture, showing the progression in agricultural technologies throughout time.
Where do most people learn about agriculture these days?
Knowledge of food and agriculture is no different than any other topic. Consumers today turn to social media for information about their food and the way it’s raised. 63% of Michigan consumers say they prefer to purchase products grown and raised in Michigan. Today’s consumer expects transparency between farmers, food processors and consumers. About half of U.S. consumers want to learn about food safety and the impact of food on their health directly from food labels; while about 40% want to learn about animal well-being, environmental impact and business ethics from company websites. (source: Center for Food Integrity) 
What are common misconceptions children have about agriculture?
Many students (and parents!) draw conclusions from their immediate surroundings. Less than 2% of the U.S. population live on farms or ranches, with this disconnect comes misconceptions. Often, students guess their milk comes from a grocery store cooler rather than a dairy cow. Careers in agriculture don’t just mean working on a farm, from sales and marketing to plant science to animal health jobs are available in business, biology, mechanics, and more. Today’s agriculturalists are very technology-savvy people. Farmers utilize advancements in plant breeding and genetics to grow more food on less land while utilizing less water, fertilizer and pesticides than ever before. 98% of Michigan farms are family owned rooted in the tradition of raising plants and animals in our Great Lakes state. No matter the size of the farm, these farmers are working to take care of the land, animals, plants and the environment.
How can agriculture enrich traditional curriculum like science, social studies, math or English Language Arts?
Agriculture can be the tangible subject which brings any content area to life. With educational trends focusing on inquiry-based learning, agriculture provides a living platform to ask questions or present scenarios. Beginning in preschool, students explore basic plant science through growing seeds, labeling plant parts and drawing conclusions that some plants produce edible fruits or vegetables. Similarly animal science can be integrated into cell biology, nutrition or physiology. When we think about advanced science, we also think about math. 
These two foundational concepts go hand in hand as students progress in physics, chemistry and biology all of which are necessary in plant, animal and food science. Agriculture, food and natural resources is Michigan’s second largest economic sector, easily connecting to third and fourth grade social studies. The Mitten State’s unique geography creates many microclimates which allow our state to be the second most diverse food producing state in the nation, growing more than 300 different agricultural commodities. Not to be forgotten, English Language Arts (ELA) can tie all these subjects together. Particularly at elementary levels, reading and ELA is of a primary focus. Utilizing recommended Agriculture Literacy texts and their partnering lesson plans, teachers can pair ELA standards with connecting science standards within one lessons.
How can agricultural education enrich children’s personal lives?
There is great reward in seeing the fruits of our own labor. Learning to care for the land or animals is one of our most basic life skills. With trends focusing on unplugging from our electronic device toting society and theories about “Nature-Deficit Disorder” creating the “No Child Left Inside” movement, agriculture education encourages children to learn from the environment. Hands-on lessons focusing on growing plants, caring for animals or studying natural resources gets students out of the classroom. Agriculture education easily caters to all learning styles providing visual, kinesthetic and auditory teaching methods. From early on, society encourages children to consider “what they want to be when they grow up.” While many answers are simple, familiar responses such as firefighter, teacher or doctor, those are just three of the wide world of careers available, each requiring varying levels of post-high school training. Between 2015 and 2020 we expect to see 57,900 average annual openings for graduates with bachelor’s degrees or higher in agriculture. A farmer or veterinarian may be popular career choices amongst children, but reality is agriculture needs scientists, engineers, business managers, marketing professionals, graphic designers, agronomists, animal nutrition specialists, food processors, packaging engineers, mechanics, welders, electricians, educators, and government officials. (source: USDA, AFNR Employment Opportunities)
What are the most important components in agricultural education?
There are five basic groupings of agricultural literacy lessons: Agriculture and the Environment; Plants and Animals for Food, Fiber and Energy; Food, Health and Lifestyle; STEM; and Culture, Society, Economy and Geography. These National Agricultural Literacy Outcomes developed by the National Agriculture in the Classroom Organization focus agriculture learning and assist in aligning lessons with national education standards. If K-12 teachers utilize these groupings when incorporating agriculture into curriculum, students will effectively gain an understanding of agriculture in their daily life.
As with any topic of study, utilizing authentic resources, which are founded in research-based theory is also an important component of agricultural education. Product marketing can often lead consumers astray as to the potential health benefits or risks of food and fiber products. Focusing on teaching accurate agricultural lessons from credible resources will mitigate this confusion in the grocery store aisles. 
What are some easy first steps or activities for agricultural education, that a teacher or parent can try?
In Michigan, agriculture is all around us! Ready to go lesson plans paired with state and national standards can be found online from Michigan Agriculture in the Classroom or search more options from the National Agriculture in the Classroom organization. Play learning games on your tablet or computer from My American Farm or visit their educator center for free to download lessons and activities. Gain first-hand knowledge by visiting farm markets around the state, the Michigan 4-H Children’s Garden at MSU, Michigan Grown Michigan Great or any of these Breakfast on the Farm events. Other national organizations such as Nutrients for Life, Journey 2050, Discovery Education, Food Dialogues or Best Food Facts provide great resources for agriculture, food and natural resource learning!
innovation learning, food, philanthropy, educational resources, education, agriculture, by Amelia Miller, by Catherine Tuczek
What did you do this summer?
Earlier this summer, winners of our 2015-16 Building Stories student creative contest visited Henry Ford Museum to tour the exhibit With Liberty and Justice for All. They had photos taken on the Rosa Parks Bus, a fitting memento of their hard work writing poignant stories on Rosa Parks, one of our nation’s most impactful social innovators. Please enjoy the story written by our grand prize winner, Yani Li, here.
From left: Teacher Dr. Melissa Collins, Elementary First Prize Winner Isaiah Watkins, Middle School First Prize Winner Sarah Ellis, High School First Prize and Overall Winner Yani Li, and teacher Julie Ellis.
While the Building Stories contest has been cancelled moving forward so that The Henry Ford can reconsider its contest offerings, we encourage teachers to make use of the primary source “foundational materials” developed for Building Stories.
Catherine Tuczek is Curator of School & Public Learning at The Henry Ford.
Henry Ford Museum, educational resources, by Catherine Tuczek, childhood
The education department at The Henry Ford has the pleasure of working with teachers who do an excellent job of planning their field trips. They each bring their schools and classrooms here for a multitude of reasons but they all agree that preparing their students is the key to a successful field trip. The more preparation that students receive increases their comfort and excitement, leading to a more powerful learning experience. This “prep work” includes both the logistics of the visit and linking what they do and see at The Henry Ford to what they are learning in the classroom.
This spring, we are making two major investments to help teachers better prepare their students prior to visiting us:
TV, The Henry Ford's Innovation Nation, educational resources, education, field trips, by Phil Grumm, by Catherine Tuczek 
The Henry Ford has a newly designed website to help teachers easily find the many options for customizing a field trip to meet specific curriculum and scheduling needs. Each venue has its own page with logistical assistance for your trip and our most popular curriculum-aligned activities to use before, during and/or after your visit. If you don’t find the perfect resource there, additional activities can be found in our Resource Bank.
Each teacher who books a field trip now through June 30, 2016 will receive a season one DVD of The Henry Ford’s Innovation Nation. In this Emmy-award winning TV series, host Mo Rocca meets up with our curators to learn the significance of our most famous artifacts and experiences – and lets viewers in on some hidden gems. Then, co-hosts visit with today’s innovators, linking the past with the present and future. Some of these innovators are even the same age as our field trip visitors!
The clips can tie classroom curriculum to the artifacts and experiences at The Henry Ford. For example, a high school U.S. History class visiting Henry Ford Museum should watch our segment on the Rosa Parks Bus. An elementary class studying inventors should check out the Wright Brothers and Thomas Edison segments before coming to Greenfield Village.
If you are interested in your own copy of The Henry Ford’s Innovation Nation Season 1 DVD, it is available in our gift shops and online. You can also access individual clips of both season 1 and season 2 on The Henry Ford’s YouTube channel.
Continue Reading
Our founder, Henry Ford, realized that not everyone learns best by reading books or listening to a lecture, the traditional modes of education he experienced 150 years ago which are still dominant today. One of Henry’s most important learning experiences was fixing pocket watches. He developed an understanding of engineering and science through hands-on, self-directed discovery. He founded The Henry Ford as a school, where children would learn by doing with the real stuff of history and science. He collected artifacts which showed hundreds of years of changes in technology and daily life, and allowed the children to use them.
Today, we still share with children the “real stuff” of history and science. Over 200,000 students are lucky enough to take a field trip to The Henry Ford each year. Although we’ve discovered we can’t allow many of our artifacts to be used to the degree they were in the 1930s, The Henry Ford has made historical artifacts more hands-on than most other history museums. On field trips, students literally go inside science and history when they fathom the overwhelming number of inventions at Edison’s Menlo Park Laboratory or explore (and smell) the Firestone Farm barn. Of course, there is no experience more powerful for our student visitors than taking a seat in the actual Rosa Parks Bus.
You may be wondering, besides Mold-A-Ramas and selfies with cool historic cars - what do students come away with?
Yes, they see examples of the “real stuff” which they learn about in Social Studies, Science and English Language Arts every day. And, they have had fun learning, which is vital to becoming lifelong learners. But the most important thing they get is a profound understanding that real people did these things which they study in school. Real people, just like them, changed the world. And they can, too.
On this #GivingTuesday, we hope you will consider making a gift of at least $8 to The Henry Ford. Your contribution makes these important field trips possible and helps us to inspire the next generation of innovators and change makers. You can make your gift below.
Catherine Tuczek is former Curator of School and Public Learning at The Henry Ford.
Henry Ford, philanthropy, childhood, education, #GivingTuesday, by Catherine Tuczek
teachers and teaching, school, Greenfield Village buildings, Greenfield Village, educational resources, education, by Catherine Tuczek
