Stronger, Better, Faster, and Smarter

I was sitting in yet another summer seminar when it hit me—I’m smarter (in terms of historical analysis skill & knowledge) than I was when school let out! And I have direct contact with many historians to thank for that:

•Randall Miller, St. Joseph’s University
•Chris Brown, Columbia University
•Gary Nash, UCLA
•Emma Lapansky, Haverford College
•Richard Neumann, RIT
•David Waldstreicher, Temple University
•V. Smith-Chapman, National Archive @ Philadelphia
•Melvin Garrison, Teaching American History Grant, SDP
•Kenneth Finkel, Temple University
•Janet Golden, Rutgers University
•David Contosta, Chestnut Hill College
•Marion Roydhouse, Philadelphia University
•Sean Adams, University of Florida
•Walter Licht, University of Pennsylvania
•Roger Smith, University of Pennsylvania

These teachers have been AMAZING this summer, and I hope that they have prepared me to come back stronger, better, faster, and smarter for all of you.

At first, I felt really stressed and nearly overwhelmed about the amount of responsibility that I was taking on for the summer with all of these seminars, tennis, and my master’s program starting in two months. But in the middle of this last lecture, I had a moment of clarity: I love what I’m doing. This summer work is reaffirming me as a professional and justifying the amount of work that I put into my teaching.

I also had another epiphany: what good is all of this historical and pedagogical (teaching method) knowledge if I don’t share it with others? The answer to that question makes me particularly grateful. I get to bring this new knowledge back to my girls!


Hope that you’re enjoying summer and growing too.