Hey Guys! Amber and Stefan here!
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| Niles High School, the site of our first encounter with the Niles school system and its educators |
This semester we are
working with the educational community in Niles to see what potential overlap
in interests they may have with the Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project. We
are defining this community as those who are local educators in the Niles
public school system, the tech school, and the surrounding areas. We are hoping
to reach out to those who have also worked with the project in the past,
especially educators and students who have participated in tours and digs, or visited
the museum. As potential partners, the
educational community and the Project have the potential for considerable overlap
in shared interests. The field of anthropology has been interested in education
for themselves as well as the education of others. So far, the project has
hosted field schools for the community to participate in, hosting an open
house, and holding public lectures open to the community. As scholars and
anthropologists, we are concerned with obtaining, researching, and sharing
information. This is an area where the educational community in Niles might
also be interested. We would like to involve those who are interested as much as
possible, in order for everyone to fully benefit from an engaged and helpful
learning partnership.
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| An archaeological field school student exchanging information with a young re-enactor |
We
have reached out to several educators within the Niles community already! We
are excited to meet with educators as soon as possible. We traveled to Niles on
March 14th to meet with Brad, a Niles High School teacher who is
very excited and enthusiastic about the project. We discussed ways in which we
can incorporate his students into the project for the benefit of both groups.
We can see how the project can be a unique opportunity for students to earn
volunteer hours required for graduation, or using their technical skills for
the project. Niles High School hosts the Career Technical Education classes for
most of the county. Here they have the resources and opportunities to learn
about building trades, agriculture, and graphic design.
We
may be able to partner with the schools to provide new ways for students to
learn about their historic community, or to collaborate on future class
projects with the students in Niles. As we move forward with this project we
are looking forward to working with members in the educational community for
our mutual benefit.
