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Education Program Allows Students To Embrace Marine Corps History
(October 8, 2010) | 
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MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, VA. (MCN - 10/14/2010) — A
13-year-old girl sitting on the benches inside the National
Museum of the Marine Corps sketches a Word War II fighter
aircraft hanging from the steel beams and glass ceiling
above. She dreams of one day becoming a Marine combat artist
even though she was told it wasn't possible.
Through the NMMC Teacher-in-Residence Program, she was able
to visit and learn about Donna Neary, a renowned Marine
combat artist.
“That young girl went away with the idea that, yes, she
could make her dreams come true,” said Anne Leighton, the
National Museum of the Marine Corps' education chief.
Moments like this became possible after the museum
established the NMMC Teacher-in-Residence Program in 2008 to
share Marine Corps history with students from Prince William
County in Virginia.
“School is shifting into high gear and the National Museum
of the Marine Corps is ready for the bus loads of eager
students,” said Dr. Barbara Daniels, 2010 to 2011 National
Museum of the Marine Corps' teacher-in-residence.
The museum chooses a teacher each year from the school
system to act as a liaison and develop curriculums and
workshops to help teachers educate their students.
“It is exciting to provide these workshops using the museum
resources that include historians and primary sources,”
Daniels said.
The program touches mostly the Prince William County school
system, but its reach extends far beyond the local area.
“We have had schools participate from across the country;
Ohio, California, South Carolina, Georgia and most of the
counties in the Commonwealth of Virginia,” Leighton said.
The program is important because it helps the education
department of the NMMC build a network among educators and
provide visiting school groups with a meaningful experience,
Leighton said.
The Teacher-in-Residence program is also looking at other
means to reach schools across the country.
“The education department is expanding our offerings to
engage larger audiences of students,” Daniels said. “We
intend to use the power of the Internet to support the
mission of the museum. The virtual tour available on the
museum web site provides a virtual walk through the museum
along with a great number of ancillary materials that can be
used to prepare for a visit or see the museum at a
distance.”
The program has also created Marine Corps History Travelling
Teaching Trunks, a resource for schools unable to send their
students to the museum. This program allows the museum to
send an education specialist to the school and teach Marine
Corps history first hand.
The growing and successful program continues to find new
ways of teaching Marine Corps history due to the cooperation
of the teachers involved.
“We've had a tremendously enthusiastic reception from
teachers - especially for our Teacher-in-Residence Teachers'
Workshops for which teachers receive professional
development credit,” Leighton said. “We have found that
teachers who attend the workshops bring their classes back
for visits and programs.”
The NMMC Teacher-in-Residence Program also supports other
goals of the museum's education department.
“The current program includes a national outreach
component,” Barbara said. “The museum is currently
sponsoring two programs – Art for Wounded Marines and The
National Geography Week Poster Contest; both on the web
site. Students across the nation and worldwide are
encouraged to participate.”
The Art for Wounded Marines provides students with an
opportunity to support those Marines they learn about while
visiting the museum.
“We have kicked off a campaign to collect art for wounded
veterans. Students are encouraged to create messages and
pictures for the Wounded Warriors recovering at Bethesda
Naval Hospital,” Leighton said.
For more information on the NMMC Teacher-in-Residence
Program, visit www.usmcmuseum.org. | |
By USMC Sgt. Jimmy D. Shea
Marine Corps Headquarters
Copyright 2010
Provided
through DVIDS
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