UWF explores history with local teachers

Dead guys and dusty books – these are the images many school children conjure up when they think about studying history. Public school teachers are challenged with the task of convincing their students that there is more to history than meets the eye and inspiring them to develop a passion for the past and an understanding of how it impacts the future. Giving local school teachers in Escambia County and Santa Rosa Counties the knowledge and tools they need to rise to the challenge, the University of West Florida is offering a one-week Social Studies Summer Academy June 8 through 12.

“Through the academy, we teach school teachers that by connecting local Pensacola history to general history, they can engage their students and make the curriculum much more interesting,” said Patrick Moore, associate professor of History at UWF. “The course is designed to inform the teachers of the resources in our area and provide them with the knowledge needed to create a better class experience.”

The academy, titled “Beaches, Burbs and Blue Angels: The Gulf Coast in the Modern World,” will be instructed by Moore and Matthew Clavin, assistant professor of History at UWF. Moore and Clavin will provide participants with reading materials, discussions and on-site visits to historic locations. Some of the sites the academy will visit include Fort San Carlos, Historic Pensacola Village, Arcadia Mill, Naval Air Station Pensacola, U.S.S. Alabama, Eglin Air Force Base and Destin.

“This is a great chance for teachers to get out in the area and discover local history they never knew about,” said Clavin. “The knowledge they gain from this course will completely revolutionize the way they think of Pensacola. They will return to their classrooms armed with new ways to engage their students in learning about history.”

In addition to gaining an in-depth knowledge of the Florida Panhandle’s history and how it is tied to American and world history, teachers who participate in the academy will also learn about the practitioners who work to preserve and present this history. Topics that will be covered throughout the course include “Florida History and the Atlantic World,” “Antebellum Florida, the Civil War and Reconstruction,” “WWI, Great Depression and WWII,” “Cold War and the Gulf Coast” and “Urban Environments, Downtown Evolution, Community Development.”

The academy is offered free of charge to teachers in Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties. Space is limited to 25 participants. Upon completion of the academy, teachers have the option of continuing their studies at UWF by enrolling in graduate-level courses.

For more information, contact Clavin at mclavin@uwf.edu or Moore at pmoore@uwf.edu.

Written by Josh Lyons, University Marketing Communications