• The Mural Project.

  Since our completion of the College Board's AP World History Exam, our class has taken on two of our most ambitious historical projects to date.  The first project was to choose, research, design, and paint 40 international flags along the top of my classroom wall.  We worked in groups, each with a head artist - and went to wrok.  It took us about 8 days to complete, and the students were incredible.  Next, we have taken on an even more ambitious project in the form of an historical mural, spanning the back wall of the classroom.  Again, we teamed up and researched seven main historical images to highlight.  Then, students David Koontz, Sydney Ducker, and Tori Silverman took to designing the frames.  With much help from the remainder of the class - they have just reached a completion of this amazing mural.  
• In all my years, I do not think I have ever been so impressed with the talent, work ethic, and discipline of a group of students.  All I can say is "thank you" to this incredible group of young people that I am lucky enough to have in my class.

The Chapel Bridge

When I was 17 years old, I traveled to Europe for about three weeks, with 25 other students from my high school. I rank this trip as one of the most important moments of my life, and certainly a major turning point for me. My European tour became the primary catalyst of my pursuit of education, history, and adventure. We travelled to 12 cities, including: in Italy - Rome, Assisi, Perugia, Florence, Venice, Verona - In Switzerland: Lugano and Lucerne - In France: Paris and Calais - In England: Canterbury and London. It revolutionized my world view. The cities of Rome, Florence, Venice, Paris, and London especially ignited a spark in me to learn about the culture, history, and ideologies of Western Europe. This spark carried me to UNCG's department of history and education, where I learned that the history of Europe is intrinsically intertwined with the rest of the world. I continued to pursue my passion, becoming a teacher of AP World History, Humanities, etc. Simply put, Europe made me curious.

But the place that left an indelible mark on my psyche was Switzerland, specifically the city (and surrounding mountains of) of Lucerne. Still to this day, I tell everyone who asks that it is the most amazing place I have ever seen. We spent much time in the Alps, and spent an entire day hanging around the oldest wooden bridge on all of Europe (1333) -the Chapel Bridge (or Kapellbrücke, stretching over the Ruess River), rented speed boats on Lake Lucerne, and shopped around. I was amazed that I could literally jump up and touch the wooden rafter with my hands - the same rafter that witnessed the Black Plague. I remember wondering aloud how I had lived my whole life in school, and had never heard of this beautiful bridge, or even this city. Again, I was curious how Switzerland had stayed below my radar.

I think that my time (though relatively short) in Switzerland still impacts so much of my teaching, as I just hope to make my students curious about why things are the way they are.