ATTENDANCE: Susan Beehler, Lucious Edwards (VSU), Jay Gaidmore, Lyn Hart (LVA), Jim Gwin (UR), Curtis Lyons (VCU), Eileen Parris (VHS), Susan Riggs (W&M), Gerrianne Schaad (VT), Elsie S. Weatherington (VSU) Chair and VIVA Steering Committee Liaison
During its June 1999 meeting the VIVA Steering Committee made a decision to review the structure of the Virginia Heritage Project Task Force at the March 2000 meeting. The chair discussed the information she would present at the March meeting. An update on training activities, EAD guidelines and a summary of the survey will be presented.
The chair shared an email from Kathy Perry, VIVA Director, regarding misstatements in a Library Journal article entitled "Consortia Hit Critical Mass." Kathy plans to send a letter to the editor of the journal asking for a correction with a copy to the chair of the VHP. Elsie will forward a copy to the National Endowment for the Humanities.
VIRGINIA FOUNDATION FOR THE HUMANITIES
Standards of Learning (SOL) SubcommitteeSusan Riggs gave an extensive report on her sub committee's work on preparing a grant proposal, perhaps to be made to the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities. The preliminary work has forced the subcommittee to look at an October 1 submission date. William and Mary will serve as the lead institution.
The SOL subcommittee has looked at the SOL for History on the Web. The original goal was to use 11th grade resource guides for the teaching of social studies to meet the SOL. After discussions with Bill Obrachta, head of Education at the Virginia Historical Society, who has worked with both teachers and primary resources for over ten years, the subcommittee decided to take a different approach to the project. The focus will be re-centered on teaching American History as well as Virginia history using Virginia documents to teach American History. He stated that primary sources could be used to teach the content the students need to pass the SOL and to teach the students how to work with primary sources which is an SOL in itself. Other salient points from Mr. Obrachta include:
- Decide what history we want to teach and tie it into the SOL
- Do not target a particular grade; the same primary document can be used on several levels
- Think broadly
- Show the human behind the document
- Use things that relate to the children's lives -- school notebooks, teacher's account books,
- Use photographs. Children see things in photographs adults don't.
- Printed forms with handwritten completions work well.
- Try to use legible documents but provide transcripts where needed.
- Children like lists -- use inventories of estates, accounts, grocery lists
- Use pictures of artifacts
The subcommittee will next meet with the William & Mary education faculty, Deborah Hocutt of the Library of Virginia, and John Haskell, Director of Manuscripts and Rare Books at Swem Library.
NEXT MEETING
The next meeting will be held on April 14, 2000 at the VSU Cooperative Extension Pavilion.
http://spec.lib.vt.edu/viva/VHP/minutes/20000217.html
added March 8, 2000; updated December 29, 2003 (MBG)