Berlin Middle School Social Studies Teacher Erin Rightmyer has been selected as one of only 80 teachers in the country to participate in “Forever Wild,” a workshop offered by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) that explores the Gilded Age of history in the Adirondacks.
During the week-long July workshop, Rightmyer and the other participants will convene at Camp Huntington in Raquette Lake, NY. Participants will explore the “great camps” of the Adirondacks, vacation homes to the elite from 1870-1910.
Now considered National Historic Landmark sites, the homes will provide historical context to the Adirondacks by allowing participants to learn about the political, economic, social and cultural history of the era.
Rightmyer said she plans to take what she learns during the workshop and apply it to her lessons at Berlin Middle School – particularly the historical information about leisure time in the Adirondacks.
“So many of our kids are interested in fishing and hunting,” she said. “This is a great way to bring the outdoors into the classroom to make the history lesson applicable to their own lives.”
“This is a great opportunity for Ms. Rightmyer to connect her expertise as a social studies teacher with the Berlin Middle School Mountaineer values of Spirit, Integrity, and the Environment,” said Berlin Middle School Principal Jason Breh. “I am excited for Erin, but not surprised. Over the last three years I have been able to observe her in action teaching our students and working with colleagues. She is one of the hardest working teachers I know and I am so very appreciative of the professionalism she exhibits daily.”
The workshop runs July 19 to 25. For additional information about the program, visit www2.cortland.edu/foreverwild.