A Rowan County teacher participated in a week-long, residential seminar sponsored by the North Carolina Humanities Council’s Teachers Institute this summer in Chapel Hill.
Joining 40 public school educators from across the state, teacher Nikisha Leak explored “Laying Down Tracks: A Study of Railroads as Myth, Reality, and Symbol.”
Led by Dr. Anne Baker and Dr. David Zonderman of North Carolina State University and Dr. Rachel Willis of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, these 41 educators addressed such topics as “Railroads and the Transformation of Nineteenth-Century Life,” “The Death and Rebirth of the American Railroad” and “Mapping Modern Rail Corridors in North Carolina.”
In addition to academic sessions, participants were treated to a performance of “railroad music” by The Hushpuppies, an old-time string band, and to a full afternoon of research in Wilson Library on the UNC campus.
Another program highlight was a field trip via train ride to the North Carolina Transportation Museum in Spencer with a day of presentations and exploration led by museum personnel.
The Teachers Institute is a free professional education development program designed to bring teachers together to study the cultures of North Carolina’s diverse communities.
Participation is by application only, and teachers selected to attend Institute seminars receive continuing education credits and have the option to receive graduate credit.