(Atlanta, Ga.) - This month, as educators from across the country gathered in Atlanta, Ga., for the Civil War Trust's 2014 National Civil War Teacher Institute, the organization presented prestigious awards to two dedicated educators and preservationists. Dr. Robert B. Pamplin, Jr., founder of Pamplin Historical Park and the National Museum of the Civil War Soldier, received the Shelby Foote Preservation Legacy Award, and Joe Foster received the Preservationist Teacher of the Year Award.
"An outstanding educator has unparalleled power - the ability to inspire a love of history across an entire generation," said Trust president James Lighthizer. "We are incredibly grateful for the vision of Dr. Pamplin and the tireless passion of Joe Foster, two men whose body of work resonates across their communities and the nation as a whole."
The Shelby Foote Preservation Legacy Award, named in honor of the great Civil War historian and novelist, is given only occasionally, for extraordinary merit in the field of preservation. Pamplin Historical Park, located in Petersburg, Va., has stood for two decades at the vanguard of history education and experiential learning. Dr. Robert B. Pamplin, Jr., has shown an unending commitment to present and future generations of historians and preservationists through his involvement with Pamplin Historical Park, one of the elite history destinations in America. The Park has profoundly shaped the way visitors connect with the history of the American Civil War, notably through The National Museum of the Civil War Soldier, which includes photographic images, artifacts and historical documents, and the Civil War Adventure Camp. Through its mission, activities and programs, Pamplin Historical Park has made a significant and lasting impact on all those who study our nation's pivotal conflict. For more information on Pamplin Historical Park, visit www.pamplinpark.org.
The Preservationist Teacher of the Year Award was presented to Joe Foster, a high school teacher at Waynesfield-Goshen Schools in Augalize County, Ohio. This honor follows the Trust's long tradition of recognizing outstanding teaching of the American Civil War. Through his early leadership in the Civil War Trust's Teachers Regiment and enthusiastic participation in the Trust's Teacher Institute series, Foster led the charge locally to engage both his students and the wider community with Civil War history and preservation. In 2010, Foster formed a service organization "Civil War Brigade" at Waynesfield-Goshen High School; the group is now expanding to include adults and organizing more formally as a nonprofit.
The Civil War Trust's National Teacher Institute is a four-day professional development conference for educators to explore the history of the Civil War and new methods for instruction. Several smaller-scale Regional Institutes are also held each year, focusing on helping educators harness the power of place through historic resources available in their own communities.
The Civil War Trust's education goals span all aspects of the war and employ numerous methods of delivery appropriate to a variety of age groups and skill levels. The Trust employs a broad approach to reach millions of people in classrooms, on battlefields, through its website, and in printed media. The popular Teacher Institute series offers free professional development to hundreds of teachers every year. Other resources include: the Civil War in4 video series, which highlights basic topics of Civil War study in four minutes or less; the Civil War Lesson Center, which provides hundreds of free lesson plans and classroom tips to educators of all stripes; the Teachers Regiment, a professional community of educators sponsored by the Civil War Trust; the Civil War Traveling Trunk program, which provides reproduction Civil War artifacts, books, music and other various materials for teachers to utilize during their Civil War instruction; contests designed for students and teachers; and Civil War Kid's 150: Fifty Fun Things to Do, See, Make, and Find for the 150th Anniversary, a book designed to help young people experience history in tangibly, interactive ways. Learn more about these and other initiatives we offer for Learning about America's Wars.
Civil War Trust is the largest nonprofit battlefield preservation organization in the United States. Its mission is to preserve our nation's endangered Civil War battlefields and to promote appreciation of these hallowed grounds. To date, it has preserved more than 39,000 acres of battlefield land in 20 states. Learn more at www.civilwar.org, the home of the Civil War sesquicentennial.