Chicago Summary – Final Blog

                The ten days in Chicago were as fun and educational as I would have imagined.  I was not sure what to expect when I signed up for the trip accept that we were going to learn about the progressive movement and being able to see the places where the history took place. 

   

                The speakers on the trip were knowledgeable about the topics they covered; I really enjoyed listening to Sarah and Stan Schultz.  They made Chicago’s history and the Progressive Era fun and exciting and they both made me want to find different ways of teaching the subject.  With this next year only being my second year of teaching I have plenty of time to figure out what is the best way to make my students excited  to learn about the Progressive Movement and how Chicago was such a driving force at the turn of the twentieth century. 

               

                I know the man giving the presentation at the Museum of Science and Industry was probably one of the most humdrum of all of our speakers I liked the virtual tour and learned so much about the White City and the architecture that I will be able to explain to the students about the World’s Fairs and why they were important to society.  Last year we briefly covered the White City and talked about how the preparation helped design the city of Chicago, but because of everything that we have learned and seen I will be able to go into more detail.

      

                One section of the Progressive Era that has always intrigued me was the Muckrakers.  The Muckrakers were the journalists who wrote novel s or articles that showed the corruption of some of the biggest companies and the corruption that people went through during their everyday lives.  I’ll have them look at chapters from The Jungle, Ten Days in a Madhouse, and How the Other Half Lives and have them research how the country has changed because of these particular writings.

      

                Overall I enjoyed the trip, and there is no doubt that I have learned more on this trip.  Because of the places we went and the people we met I will improve my teaching, and bring many of the sources that were given to us into the classroom.

Day 9 – Haymarket, Pullman, the Sears Tower, and Blackmail

                Today was our last day on the trip and we went out with a bang!  (HA HA) We first met our tour guide at the start of the morning.  We started off with a movie so we could get the background of the Haymarket bombing and just as a suggestion I wouldn’t have started the movie before everyone was on the bus because many of us did not listen, watch, or even hear the movie while everyone was slowly getting on the bus and getting situated.  The Professor was very knowledgeable on the subject of the Haymarket bombing, and he would let us know when he had something to do with a monument, or a monument’s miraculous disappearance, after he made a comment.  I do also want to say that I thought that he let his biases show a little too much.  We are here to look at these historical events from a objective view and that (I didn’t feel) was the case in today’s bus tour. 

       

                Being able to visualize and see where they think the Haymarket bomb was thrown and hit was really interesting and put the whole situation into perspective.  The alleyway where Parsons and the other Haymarket Martyrs were hung made me see how much the city has changed and how they do not try and preserve the culture.  It the big businessmen and the city wanted to stop the labor and union movements then they should have continued to use the gallows until they did scare enough of the people that the Haymarket was no big deal, just like they wanted in the first place. 

 

          

    

                The Pullman was really fun.  To go to the town and realize that many of the houses and some of the buildings are still there and are continually being excavated is interesting and great because we needed to know more about the working man and not just about the big wigs.  That is one idea that we need to get across to the students is that many of them do not realize that we do not always teach about the everyday man, but the wealthy.  It is good to be able to see how both the workers and the executives worked in and around the same building, but they did not have any contact with each other.  For example the fact that the workers came and left through different doors from the administration.  The students also need to know that the Pullman town was not original or was it the only one in the United States.  There were a few mining towns in Colorado that had the same situation.

     

   

                After we made it safely back to the dorms, Amy, Chris, and I ended up going to the “gay” bar to have dinner.  We proved that it wasn’t a “gay” bar and went on to the Sears Tower.  It takes less than one minute to make it to the top of the tower.  That is FAST!  We got there a little before sunset, and we had to leave right before the lights of the buildings came on.  But it was a B-E-A –utiful sight.

      

  

                I finally got to go to the Navy Pier, and I liked it.  I would have liked to go look around but my company was enough to keep me entertained. 

 

  

 

Day 8 – Madison, Wisconsin

At the butt crack of dawn we started heading to the great city of Madison Wisconsin.  I’ve been to Milwaukie twice before, but never to Madison.  It was fun, but I really had the urge to go shopping on State St.

                At the first stop at the Madison History Museum.  We got to see some great resources that they were able to create over the last few years.  I really stinks looking at tall the great resources that other cities and states have and have taken the time to create, but looking at the state of Colorado I have not found or have heard of anything like that. 

                One thing at PWHS is that they will not teach Colorado History.  When I asked them why they would not consider it all I got for an answer was that there was no high school textbook on Colorado.  The only textbooks that were out there are elementary schools and college textbooks.  What puzzles me even more is the fact that I have a classroom set of Colorado textbooks sitting in my class not being used. I guess I could teach Colorado History while I’m teaching U.S.

        

                The second part of the day we met with two people Jonathon thought very highly of and wanted to give money to.  John Pollock (?) spoke about immigration and how hard or easy it was to become a citizen in the United States between the 1880s and the 1930s.  I really enjoyed the handouts, and how John showed us how to use those handouts to teach about how immigration has changed from the 1890s to the 1930s.  We could also use this information when talking about modern immigration and the parallels of the immigration situation that the country is fighting today.

                                                             

                Stan Shultz got me excited to teach the Progressive Movement to my students.  When I was an undergrad I would have been kicked out of his classes because I did not like the Progressive Era.   It wasn’t until I taught it to my students that I started to understand what the movement entailed and how much could go into the era, and I could push it and teach the students what they would want to learn.  The main points that he went over was really insightful and I could follow those main ideas so I could make a good baseline about what I could teach and branch off from there.

                I wish I could say my night on the town was more enjoyable then class, but it was not and I have about 3-4 blisters to prove it.  Thank you guys for dragging me all around Chicago for nothing!  

 

Day 7 – Hull House and architectural tour of Chicago in the rain

                Hull House has been one place that I’ve wanted to visit since high school.  I’ve always have known it was a settlement house, but I couldn’t tell you anything else about the house or what a settlement house really was.  Lisa Leslie was real informative about how Hull House started and explained why and how Hull House was able to continue its work until the 1960s.  What came as a shock to me was the fact that the mayor of Chicago wanted Hull House torn down.  The fact that he wanted the University of Illinois at Chicago to be put in the exact spot where Hull House stood in its entirety, and let it continue after many people from around the United States protested against it is still unbelievable.

      

                I never really knew how big Hull house was, and I am glad that I was able to see a model about how big it was, and what it all contained.

                What I would talk about to my students would be the origins of Jane Addams’ idea about Hull House and how she was in on the first generation of women who went to and graduated from college and didn’t want to sit at home and wait on her husband.  I would explain the different types of programs that Hull House offered to the community and how internationally known Addams and Hull House had become.  And the other main topic I would touch on was that many progressive reformers actually came to Hull House on a regular basis and spoke with Jane Addams and made many plans there. 

                It is just amazing that during the progressive movement and the decades after they figured out how to create the elaborate skyscrapers that engulf downtown Chicago and other major U.S. Cities.  I was looking forward to the boat tour, but when the rain did not stop, I was thinking twice.  I am going to say that the clouds were very pretty going through the city.  I would think that it would be very hard for an architect to build a building that looked different from one another.  Just the little subtleties such as the windows being in a different color, or the décor of the building made the building stand out.  The older buildings were I think the grandest.  The decretive art on the buildings at the bottom to the very top is amazing.   The Montgomery Ward building was just incredible in size and we wouldn’t have seen it if we didn’t go around on the boat.  I really enjoyed the tour, but the stupid rain had to make it hard to enjoy the great beauty of the sky scrapers. 

              

Day 6 – Frank Lloyd Wright, 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, Harry Potter, and the White Sox Game!

I was really looking forward to the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair simulation, but I turned out to be more impressed with the Frank Lloyd Wright tour. 

I had heard about Frank Lloyd Wright before, but I didn’t know about him and how his ideas could be used both in small structures and massive structures.  He seemed to push the boundaries while still sticking with the ideas of the times.  I love how he not only designed the buildings themselves, but he also made the interior furnature as well.  making the furnature match the house is a diffrerent type of thinking then I would have imagined. 

If I were to take this into a lesson plan, I would first find 5-6 architects of the time and have the students compare and contrast the different styles.  I could also have them compare them to the victorian and colonial style houses and have them exoplain the differences and what trend they see when looking at the newer buildings compaired to the older style.  After I had them compare the different types of architecture then I could have them create a floor plan, and they would have to build it to scale which would tie in both math and history.

The 1893 Chicago World’s Fair simulation was interesting, and very informational.  It gave me some ideas that could be used if I have my students learn about the White City.  The lesson could be about the inventions and the new items that were featured in the fair.  I could futher the architecture and have the students talk about the architecture of individual buildings.  Or have them create the Colorado Building.  There are many possibilities.

I am in Hufflepuff if anyone would like to know what Hogwarts house I am in.  Yes I did put on the sorting hat.  I really wish I could have gotten a picture.  The exhibit itself brought costumes, creatures, and film sets from the movies to let us see them up close.  It is amazing the time and effort that filmakers go through to make a prop and you might only see for 30 seconds or less in the movie. 

Finally the game was fun and the seats were pretty good too!  I just wish the White Sox would have won.

Day 5 – DBQ, Chicago Fire Tour, Second City Comedy Club

 

               The DBQs and the Mini DBQ books looked like they would be a great source to have in the classroom.  I would take all four if I could.  These DBQs that Chip Brady was showing us today would be real easy to add into a unit or the curriculum that I have in my classes.  This would also be another great source to use to find primary sources.  There have been a couple DBQs that I have found on the internet and they were nice, but I wish I could have had the teacher’s notes about the writings and pictures to see what they wanted their kids to get out of it when they thought of that topic.  I know that when I make an assignment that I have one outcome or possibility of an outcome, and someone else could come in and see something completely different.  That is why I really like how there is a guide to the DBQs. 

                Even though it seemed like such a simple idea, the bucket idea just turned a light on in my head.  I’ve always been told to group ideas together and make an argument out of what I grouped, but using the bucket idea seems like it is such a good visual tool that the students will understand it and like to use it.  These ideas just made my teaching about writing essays so much easier.  Thank you Chip!

Paul having a beer on the Blob!

                The walking tour was really insightful about how big the fire was and how easy it would have been to spread.  Even after Sarah and Heidi explained how Chicago was built mostly of wood (including the sidewalks) it was a little hard to imagine exactly how far the use of wood could go.  Heidi and Sarah took us to a street that had been there since the time after the fire, and they still built the streets with wood.  These roads were built with sand, two layers of beams, and a mixture of tar and wood bricks.  I guess they do not learn from their mistakes.  

The left side is paved street, while the right side is the wooden blocks

                On our last stop we walked into Old Town Chicago and saw a relief cottage that is still standing since the Chicago fire.  Dianne (I think) made the connection between the Chicago Fire cottages and the Hurricane Katrina trailers.  The only thing different I heard was that the only people who were able to get these cottages were ones who were considered skilled workers.   The reason why is because they had to build their homes from the material given to them and many did not think unskilled workers could build the cottages.  This could be a good comparison is economic and social classes.

Relief Cottage

This might be a relief cottage. They do not know.

 

 

                 Finally, the comedy club was so much fun.     

Day 4 – Chicago History Museum and Wrigley Field

                I thought that today was the best day that I have had this trip.  Heidi and Sarah were both really great speakers and it was a pleasure listening to both of them.  The Encyclopedia of Chicago is an amazing resource that I will be able to use in my classroom, and not just to study Chicago history.  My U.S. History class starts in the turn of the 20^th century, and there are many parts of the time period, such as the 1893 World’s Fair, the labor wars, and the Progressive area, and I think that being able to pull resources to show the students that this was a fight that the everyday men took, and be able to read it would be a great lesson. 

                One question that was asked during the presentation was how much of Chicago is still diversified and if that racial divide still exists, and to here that the de facto segregation is still around shows that some ideas can slowly, and I mean slowly, change.  That is also something that I would be able to talk to my students about while I am talking about the Great Migration.  I can talk about what it was and what the reasons for the “push and pull” were for the African Americans to want to go to Chicago. 

                I wish that every major city and every state would be able to put together their own Great Stories.  The resources that Chicago has come up with to teach their own history is phenomenal!  The stories seem to put the reader into the story, and they would be able to relate to the characters in the story.  In the story of the Haymarket many of the students in the class might feel that they are second in line after their parent’s job.  So they may be able to feel like Albert Jr.  And they also get to see the story of the Haymarket bombing and the after effects from a different point of view.  They get to see it in the eyes of a child, and not an adult.  Sometimes the students seem to respond when it is someone who is the same age or younger explaining what is going on, and then they are able to pick up what is really going on. 

                My final stop of the day of WRIGLEY FIELD!!!   The group I was with road the L all the way to the stadium, and we didn’t realize that the stadium was right across the street from where the bus stop was.  We turned the corner and we were shocked to see it.  We walked around the stadium and saw the bleachers from the rooftops behind the stadium.  Those are really nice seats!  But they are about $150, no thank you.  I wish I could see them play, but I guess the White Sox will have to do.

Day 3 – Chicago Art Institute and Gino’s Pizza

                Today was fun and tiring.  After a long trip last night it was nice to sleep in.  I didn’t end up going anywhere this morning, but I’m going to be kicking myself in the head if I don’t get to go to a couple places I could have gone.   

                At the Chicago Art Institute we went to the American Collection and were given a guided tour.  The lady was very interesting to listen to, but I will admit that I am not the person who likes to look at art so I did kind of wander after a little while. 

 

                What I can and will use in my classroom is the pictures of the artifacts from the Asian, Greek, Roman, Islam, and Egyptian exhibits.  What I would do would be to use the pictures to help show the differences in the style of art throughout a particular period and show how cultures can be similar even if it is across the continent from each other.   The easiest to see this contrast is the Asian cultures and their gods and Buddha.  These civilizations do not live in the same area, but they still believe in the same type of being. 

 

                While looking through the gift store there were a couple of books about how to use art in the classroom.  They were more geared for Ancient Civilizations, but they would bring the culture, architecture, and Art into the classroom.

                The Architecture of the buildings all up and down Michigan Ave. is amazing!!!

                Gino’s Pizza!  It was so much fun.  Nick, our waiter, was so nice.  And I was able to write my name on the wall!!! 

Day 2 – Springfield and New Salem

               Today we went to the Old Sate Capital Building, the Tinsley Building, Lincoln’s Home, Lincoln’s Tomb and New Salem.  These were five places all were fun and interesting, but I was really disappointed about the Tinsley Building and the Old State Capital Building because few items in the collection were original Lincoln pieces.  It was really a downer when the two guides explained that neither or all of the pieces were new, or “This wall is not supposed to be here.” 

                This will be another blog that I talk about what we did instead of how I would use it in the classroom because I do not cover Lincoln in my U.S. History class as of this point.  The one idea that I would do in my class would show Lincoln and his legacy as a review up to the Progressive Era.  It would also be a good conversation starter for getting the students to discuss what they learned the years prior and get a good idea of what I need to cover before I start the Progressive Era. 

                We first started at the Old Capital Building.  The most interesting items that I learned and would like to talk to about to the kids is the idea that in the Old Capital Building they showed the differences of State legislation to the Federal government.  They showed this by the columns and the decorations in the room.  The local government and the state rooms there was a plain columns and decorations and compared to the Federal and State Representatives were there were huge rooms and immaculate paintings and columns.   I could also explain how women were only allowed in the balconies and not on the Representatives’ floor.

 

                The Tinsley Building just completely disappointed me, but it would be good to explain to the students how friendly and talkative Lincoln was while talking about how Lincoln had to find a secure area where he was able to write his First Inaugural Address without being bothered.  What was also interesting about the Tinsley Building was the post office and how postage was paid for.  It is not like today where the sender pays for the shipment of the letter or by the pound, but by the distance and how many papers the letter contained.  No wonder there were privacy issues with the mail.

                 The Lincoln House and Tomb were the two most interesting places that were went today.  The Lincoln House had many of the original pieces before the Lincoln’s went to Washington.  What I did not like was the fact that the tour guide said that they might be thinking about building houses in the empty lots both across the street and next to the Lincoln home.  I don’t think that anything needs to be build next to an historical sight, just in case a mishap happens. And the idea that they don’t know what any of the buildings looked like.   That could be a good question to the kids about what they think about people trying to make up the past.  Do they agree or disagree about whether the park service has the right to build buildings and or places that was originall never there.                                  

                The Tomb was awesome!!!!  The marble work and the statues were amazing.  I had to rub Lincoln’s nose because I was told by a native of Illinois that you needed to rub his nose, make a wish, and take a picture.  So I had to do it!  I don’t know what I could say but this was amazing.

                                                                                                          

                New Salem was interesting.   I really wish we could have climbed up to the mill, and walked up from the back way.  There was one contraption that we couldn’t figure out what it was or what it did, so if anyone knows, please let me know.  

Day 1 – Springfield, Illinois

Day 1 – June 5

                Oh man, I had fun today!!  This is the first time on this trip with this great group as well as my first trip to Springfield, Illinois.  After the long journey yesterday it was really nice to go and do something productive. 

                This morning with Erin Bishop (?) and her presentation was really great.  The different activities that we can use with primary documents were fun, and I think that even my freshmen will do these types of activities.  The one I liked the most was when we split up into four groups and we looked at the different sections of slavery:  The slave holders, abolitionists, the slaves.  It was interesting to look at the documents and the pictures that actually depict what they were doing.  I had one where a free slave (with a free slave card) gave up his freedom for indentured servitude.  It did not say how long or why, so unless there is another document we can find then who knows why he agreed to do this, or even how long he was going to give up his freedom.

                The Lincoln Museum was very nicely done.  I loved how they split up his life into before and after his presidency.  I can understand why Brian said that you cannot get everything about Lincoln in the exhibit.  I know that this is going to sound a little corny, but I really liked the dresses in the White House.   It always amazes what women would do to either be in style or to be a part of the elite.  Looking at General McCellan’s wife’s dress I do not know if I would have been able to wear it.  It looked so heavy!!  But I have to admit it was gorgeous. 

                Afterwards Amy, Becky, and Donna went walking around the reenactment out in front of the Old Capital Building and we got to take pictures with Abraham Lincoln himself!!