Doreen Uhas Sauer, Education Outreach Coordinator, Columbus Landmarks Foundation

Proposal Type

Pecha Kucha

Seeking
  • General Feedback and Interest
Related Topics
  • Civic Engagement
  • Preservation
  • Place
  • Teaching
Abstract

Historic Preservation, Public History and the Public School – What do school kids thinks about being in “the Middle.” So you come from Indiana or Ohio-this is not the world of the East Coast vibe, the California laid back, or even the Miami glow. It is the land of corn and soybeans, smaller cities, wholesome living and frequent snow.

Seeking

Columbus Landmarks Foundation was founded in 1977 and is pledged to the preservation of the built environment and the advocacy of sound new design. Landmarks is completing a two year grant funded project to develop a high school curriculum plan for both practical and conceptual learning about historic preservation.

So what can we learn about “Why this Place – the Midwest – Matters” to borrow a term from the National Trust for Historic Preservation? Using a student advisory board of urban kids from a public school who were very forthright about what they wanted to learn – based on what a host of young planners and urbanites and a band of old fashioned historians and policy wonks thought they should learn – a curriculum plan called “A Sense of Place” was developed. The Midwest became meaningful as “my place.” Lessons on urban planning, preservation, hands-on techniques, design and history were created at the Fort Hayes Metropolitan Education Center in Columbus, Ohio.

There are few places in our country where one can pursue a college degree in historic preservation and urban design. Places pursuing these studies at the high school level in a thorough and effective way are even harder to find. Students at Fort Hayes will have the opportunity to move from a high school preservation immersion curriculum to careers in preservation or to college degree historic preservation programs in Columbus, Ohio, or elsewhere.

To our knowledge, no one else is doing what we are undertaking – a full integrated secondary school through college program in preservation and design. This approach calls for, not only teachers, but students to consider the roles of public “consumer”, public historian and public policy maker. And we feel it is quite appropriate that this new idea, this new movement and this new moment in preservation came from the Middle of America the place where so many of the best ideas in the American story have begun.

In a brief presentation we will present a bit of what we have learned about who we have been, who we are, and the power of place in the American Heartland


If you have a direct offer of assistance, sensitive criticism, or wish to share contact information for other people the proposer should reach out to, please get in contact directly: Doreen Uhas Sauer

If you have general ideas or feedback to share please feel free to use the comments feature below.

All feedback, and offers of assistance, should be submitted by July 3, 2016.

Comments have closed. Please email the proposer directly with any additional comments or offers to collaborate.

Discussion

1 comment
  1. Greg Martin says:

    Doreen, I would recommend you incorporate more info from the seeking section in your proposal abstract. Perhaps focusing on how you designed and implemented the integrated secondary/undergrad curricula would provide the right kind of focus and make a clear fit with a teaching-focused session.

Comments are closed.