Day 6–A couple of Museums, Dinner and a Show

I woke up today knowing that this was going to be another learning experience of a lifetime and hoped for an awesome day with my friends and the City. I was not disappointed.
We started off for midtown Manhattan this morning with a brisk walk on a beautiful day to the subway bound for Manhattan. By this point we have all become subway experts and are already going to miss this mode of transit when we get home. There is something about riding the rails to get to the vicinity of your destination and then being forced to walk wherever you need to go. I kind of like it. I am definitely getting my steps in this week, but I digress. We took the magnificent, but sticky subway, to the City Museum of New York. We met one of the best museum docents we have had the pleasure of meeting, EY Zipris, and she started a magnificent program for us about the history of New York.
The Museum is based on the history and evolution of the great city of New York. We started off in the painting gallery and started to travel through time on the streets of New York through the paintings of the cities great artists. I loved the way of conducting this activity. Seeing growth through an artist’s perspective really altered the way I thought about the progression of a city and the history surrounding it. Artists are the centurions of our cultural heritage and their work shows us a moment in time and piece of their society that can truly help us understand the past in a more contextual way. By seeing the progression of the artwork on the same subject matter, we can begin to see a new story taking shape about the past. I loved this activity and will be using it in the classroom. I think my students would be totally engaged in an analysis of artwork with the same subject throughout its history. I then made my way to the next gallery and proceeded to have my mind blown.
The gallery of activism was downright cool. The City Museum has chosen to tell the story of the progression of New York in another neat and interesting way, through the activism of the citizens of New York. The exhibit told the story of New York’s progression from the earliest activists in New Amsterdam, thought the women’s rights movement in the nineteenth century, to the civil rights movement of the 1960s, to the present day fight over the place of bicycles in the city. This exhibit opened my eyes to a whole new way of approaching American History. Students are enamored by activism. Many want to be the ones on the front lines fighting for change in their world. I can start to teach them that many of the important events in American history: the fight for Independence, Marbury v. Madison, the abolition movement, the unions fighting back against the corporate industrial system in the early twentieth century, the women’s movement, and the Civil Rights movement were all parts of this tradition of American activism. I plan to figure out a way to have more of this theme in my classroom over the next year so that I can hopefully engage my students in the civic participation that they so desperately need. What a great way to present history and what a great visit to the museum.
I then had the rest of the day to explore the city and see some of the history that I did not get as part of the trip. Several of us chose to go back to the MET. We only had a brief time there yesterday so we wanted to get another fix. The MET is enormous. You could actually spend a week walking from exhibit hall to exhibit hall and never get to see everything. This is truly a jewel in the crown of American democracy. I only wish I had more time here and could bring some of my students here to see this. During today’s museum exhibition I spent some time in the American wing, the Renaissance wing, the roof top garden bar and best of all the Egyptian wing. This was simply amazing. I am an American history buff, but these artifacts that they have here are astonishing, and made me feel the passion for history that I love so much. This brought me back to my child hood when one of my first experiences with history was at the Ramses exhibit at a museum in Texas. I was so excited as a kid to see all of these cool ancient artifacts and mummies and my passion for history began to grow. I still have the book on mummies that I bought there. Seeing this exhibit on my last history excursion sort of brought me full circle. I definitely see how important these last few summers have been and how they can inspire teachers and through them their students to love and participate in our great heritage.
After spending several hours going back to my roots at the MET we headed of towards Broadway. I was expecting to have a great dinner and catch a show; I was not expecting to have one of the great history experiences of my time here. Dinner tonight was at the iconic Sardi’s on 44th street. The meal was simply earth shattering and the atmosphere was as cool as cool can be. The restaurant has character paintings of all the famous people thato come in and eat and we spent some of our time trying to guess who they all were. I ate a great meal with great friends and had a hell of a time.

The rain started as we left dessert on the table so we caught a taxi over to the Neil Simon Theater to catch All the Way, the Tony Award nominated (update winner for best play) play about Lyndon Johnson’s struggle to pass the Civil Rights act of 1964. I was expecting just to see a good show and to be able to say that I got to see a play on Broadway, but I got so much more out of it. The play was phenomenal; Bryan Cranston who played Johnson was spot on. I thought we were looking at Johnson on stage. He was terrific. The history behind the writing was amazing as well. I thought that I was seeing a documentary on the issues that Johnson had during this time. I learned so much about the Presidency and his place in history. I am going to find a way to bring this play into my classroom to show my students how amazing history can truly be when put in the hands of such creative people. I wish that my students could have seen this; they would have a whole new appreciation for Johnson, just like I do now. By the end of the play I almost had to be picked up off the floor it was so good. What a great learning experience. What a great way to put an exclamation point on this trip.
Tomorrow we wrap up our stay in the city with a bus tour of Harlem and the Bronx and dinner in little Italy. I am going to be sad to see the city in the rearview on our way upstate. Huzzah!

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Day 5-Good Art, A deadly Rope, Great Beer and Pizza

After a Crowded Subway ride across midtown Manhattan and a good brisk walk through Central Park we arrived at the Met. God was I looking forward to this. I knew we were not going to have very much time there but was really looking forward to seeing the great works of one of the most amazing museums in the world has to offer. One aspect of these trips is that we are afforded great programs by some of the best curators and docents in the business. We had one such program today. The curator that took us throughout the American Wing really knew her stuff and geared the presentation right to how it could impact our teaching. The program focused on how American artists have interpreted and expanded on the American experience and how those experiences have shifted throughout our short history. It was phenomenal. The curator tied Washington’s Crossing to the Trial of John Brown to the work of the Hudson River School of artists and how they impact one another in the classroom.
One of the areas where I truly lack the expertise and knowledge to teach is art. Every year after the visits to these amazing American museums I say that I am going to use more art in my teaching and tie my primary source work directly to the works of the American culture. I only make small progress every year. The program and experience I participated in during our short time here at the Met has relit that fire in me. I already have a list of paintings and exercises that I am going to use this next year. This year is going to be the year of ART in room 153. Huzzah!
We only had a short time at the Met and all decided we were going to come back during our free time tomorrow and then headed off to the New York Historical Society. We love Historical Societies. These are the places where we have the opportunities to actually see the papers and artifacts of those who have made our great history. We have looked at the John Adams papers, John Brown artifacts, Benjamin Franklin Papers, the wills of slave owners, some really neat stuff. We saw none of that today at the New York Historical Society. In fact, in my mind, this was one of the worst stops of the four years of this grant. We literally did a scavenger hunt of the museum, both the children’s and public, for our four hours there. The program was geared more towards what students use the museum for than us adult teachers. I was here to learn about history and we only learned about the museum. There was no great learning experience or use of the museum’s papers and exhibits. I think that I had my hopes so high that they could only have been dashed. I was really let down. The only saving grace for this visit was an object on loan to them from the Massachusetts Historical society: the rope that was used to hang John Brown.
I am a huge fan. I was blown away. I was across the Museum and Dr. Harris yells at me to come over. I thought I was in trouble for goofing off. The crowd parts and I am standing face to face with the rope that caused the Civil War. I just stood there and basked in its historical glory. To see the instrument of death that killed one of my heroes and have it only inches away from me was a once in a lifetime opportunity. I was not supposed to take pictures of it but could not resist. This was pretty freaking cool.
After the let down at the historical society we went off in search of a pint. But not just any pint, the oldest pint in New York City. We found this pint at McSorley’s Tavern. This is the oldest bar in New York City. It is so famous that nearly every American president has had a drink here since Lincoln. You can even see the chair that Lincoln sat in while he enjoyed his drink. The bar serves only two beers: light and dark. There is no fanfare. No great service. Just beer and sawdust. I loved it. The history of the place is all over the walls and the beer was great. I got to spend an hour or so soaking it up with some great friends. Huzzah!
After the beers we headed back to Brooklyn for the best pizza in town. Grimaldi’s is a New York institution that everyone says is the best pizza in the city. I concur. It was such a great dinner with great friends in a great place. After we stuffed ourselves we headed down to the pier for one last look at the Manhattan skyline. It was so beautiful. I wondered if New Yorkers take the view for granted kind of like we do with our mountains. It was a great end to a pretty successful day. Tomorrow we head of on another great adventure.

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Day 4–A Day to Remember

We began today in the shadow of one of the most famous preachers and abolitionists of the nineteenth century. We had a great deal to live up to. The preacher, Henry Ward Beecher was able to encourage the masses to board hundreds of ferries every Sunday to cross the river from Manhattan to Brooklyn in order to hear his stirring sermons on temperance and abolition. We went back across that river today on a pilgrimage of our own through the history of the early nineteenth century with our own preacher, Dr. Ed O’Donnell. We made our way down the road to the Brooklyn Bridge.
Walking across the famous landmark was a special treat. As we trekked across the 130 year old bridge I was amazed at the construction and the story behind this behemoth. At the time it was completed it was the largest man made structure on earth. Many men died while building it, many in the depths of the sunken cantons, dying of the as yet unknown pressure sickness. Learning the history behind the creation and use of the bridge was remarkable. It was truly an accomplishment of the Gilded Age of astronomical proportions. This feat was an American success story for both the uber- wealthy patricians and the newly arrived poor immigrants who built it. Seeing the colossal efforts behind this bridge brought immigrant story full circle for me.
The American immigrant story would start with the symbol of success and freedom in the Statue of Liberty and the progressive era bureaucratic icon of Ellis Island. These Italians, Germans, and Irish would then scramble for an opportunity for a safe and clean home only to find the dirty and dangerous tenements of Five Points and Mulberry Hill. They would find some success in jobs controlled through government patronage from the likes of Boss Tweed and Tammany Hall and would eventually make it off of Manhattan Island to the other side of the river to Brooklyn or Harlem. Then as bakers, and tailors, and masons they would find themselves providing their skills to the newest immigrants back on the island crossing this grand bridge to come to work.
It was great to make this journey through the life of those who built this country. There has been no better learning experience I have had on these trips. I have not taught a great deal about the immigrant in class, really only in passing, but I now realize that there is a much larger, deeper story to be told. It is really the story of America. My ancestors are the ones who came to this country and made it great. And I have had the great pleasure to be able to walk in their shoes for a few simple days.
After the bridge we left the concrete jungle for Central Park. This was a great change of pace. Having rambled a near sixty miles in the last several days it was nice to get off the busy streets and into some nature. I have already begun to miss the trees and mountains back home so it was great to catch a glimpse of some creeks and trees and wildlife. We got to stop and see an extremely long but entertaining street performance put on by local acrobats and got to see Strawberry Fields. After the shooting of John Lennon on the sidewalk in front of the Dakota in 1981, the city created a section of the park named Strawberry Fields to honor the singer and humanitarian. As a huge fan it was really neat to stop by and pay my respects to this icon. His memorial has one request for the visiting public, “Imagine,” and that is just what I have been doing on this trip. Imagining the lives of the immigrant workers of the 1890s. Imaging the lives of their aristocratic bosses as their empires grew. Imagining what it must be like to live the lives of these lifelong New Yorkers.
After Central park we made our way to the 9-11 Memorial Museum. This museum opened the week before last to the public and we had the true honor of being some of the first visitors to this amazing memorial to our fallen heroes. This was a truly special experience for me and the museum and memorial were mind blowing. This was an event that altered the trajectory of my life and something that I love teaching. This is so important to me I plan to write a separate piece on this experience itself. See my post on the Memorial for more.
After such a great experience we decided to take it back a notch and head out for some history and dinner at Grand Central Station. We all had some great burgers at the New York institution Juniors there in the station. The station itself was beautiful and another glowing example of the Gilded Age excesses of the turn of the century. It is the only great railroad terminal still standing in New York and it still shines like the diamond it is. It was a great end to an exhausting night.
We have been going non-stop since we got here and it won’t stop for a couple more days. These last couple of days have been the most exhausting of any trip that I have been on. This is my shot in New York and I want to take as much advantage as I can. It is hard when we have been going all day to keep it going all night but I am doing my best. Tomorrow we have a change of pace and are heading to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and New York Historical Society. I am really looking forward to sitting down in a chair and will take advantage of the time to peruse some primary sources.

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Day 3–Security vs. Safety in Lower Manhattan

Walking through Manhattan you begin to feel how small you really are. The buildings that reach for the stars and scrape the sky have a way of showing people that they are but a small cog in the much larger machine of the urban environment. We made our way through this urban jungle of massive steel redwoods and learned what it would have felt like to be a part of this amazing urban transformation at the turn of the Nineteenth century. Today Dr. Ed O’Donnell took us weaving throughout the streets of America’s financial mecca to help us understand the history of this glorious place.
The most amazing part of lower Manhattan is how the collection of differing historical periods of American history meld itself together so well in this concrete maze. A sky scraper built tin the 1970s overshadows a tenement built in the 1890s and they both seem to belong together. This began to create a shift in my thinking. I began to see this city as a chalkboard that I could use to teach my students about myriads of topics: urbanization, industrialization, environmentalism, and creating a balance with our surroundings in this technologically advanced and sterile world we are begging to live in. This trip is all about seeing our history in a new way so that we can bring it back to our classrooms and impart that new knowledge on our students. This amazing place will help me do that.
We had a list of stops today that really show what this trip is all about.
• Seeing Wall Street in all of its understated glory was a pretty neat experience. The financial district and its importance to the American and global economy is centered here and its was pretty neat to feel that buzz in the streets
• The stock Exchange, which is closed to the public left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth. Having to have the economics of this country sheltered behind closed doors is what got us into the problems we are having in the first place. Light is the best disinfectant.
• Definitely one of the coolest stops was Federal Hall where we got to see where Washington was inaugurated (we will be going back there soon on our own). We stopped for a great group picture here under the watchful and approving gaze of our first president. The story of his inauguration and administration is the stuff history dreams are made of.
• Trinity church was simply amazing with all its history and austere ornamentation. This is also the burial site of one of my favorite founding fathers, Alexander Hamilton. It was cool to pay our respects.
• The park where the occupy wall streeters were stowed away during their protest was pretty neat. They initially tried to actually occupy wall street but were forced to relocate for security concerns. I disagree with everything these people stand for and despise the group itself, but am really concerned with the inability of citizens to confront those in power with their lists of grievances. Democracy is often dirty but it is democracy and we need to protect it for all. (See commentary below)
• St. Paul’s church was really emotional for me. This is the church where many of the first responders and rescue workers came and rested during those first months of recovery after 9-11. It was humbling to see the place where these great heroes of ours came and rested their weary heads after what they sacrificed for us.
One of the more amazing stops on today’s journey was the African Burial Ground. In the early 1990s as a new federal building was being built, a 400 year old slave cemetery was unearthed and through a tough battle with the community eventually preserved. This site has been called the most important archeological find of the twentieth century. This historical preservation and story behind the excavation, turbulent fight for preservation, and the preservation of the site itself is a really cool story. See here. I will be using this story to tell my students about the impact of history and how we can participate as citizens in the preservation of that history every day. A very cool visit.
One of the things we keep talking about as we walk through New York is the absence of the stereotypical crime ridden New York we all think of when we conjure up ideas of this great city. Mayor Giuliani really cleaned this place up years ago and it still shows today. Streets are clean, subways feel safe, there is a cop on every block. It is a different city. It is also a police state. I do not use that term loosely as I believe in the rule of law and feel that in these new hard times we must make some sacrifices in order to protect our society. But 13 years after the attacks of 9-11 New York still sets up barriers to democracy. Wall Street and the financial district of Lower Manhattan is a prime example of this new democracy.
As we walked down the nearly deserted streets of Wall Street you have this palpable feeling of being watched. There is a camera on every block and hundreds of police officers throughout the district. As we walked past city hall, the branch of government that is supposed to be closest to the people and a place where democracy its truly supposed to happen, citizens are not even able to come within 100 feet of the steps. When citizens are denied the opportunity to participate in their own governing, democracy breaks down.
When I go back to my classroom I will definitely have a new way to look at and teach this new world of security vs. civil liberties. I am happy to be safe but am deeply concerned about the direction our republic is moving. Benjamin Franklin once said that “They who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” This is something we must keep in mind when we discuss our democratic trajectory.
To end the night we walked around Chinatown having; some great authentic food and great beer. Tomorrow we are heading to the Brooklyn Bridge, Central Park and the 9-11 Memorial. This is going to be one of the best days.

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Day 2–Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor, Your Huddled Masses

There was a common theme today as we walked around New York: American exceptionalism. On our trek through New York today, we kept talking about freedom, virtue and righteousness espoused by the American ideal. From lady Liberty, to Ellis Island, to the Lower Eastside and the struggle of the immigrant, even to the New Yankee Stadium, this theme seemed to be a constant companion on this tour.
We started the day off going to Battery Park and then hopping a short ferry ride over to The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. As the ferry moseyed across the bay, Lady Liberty grew larger as we moved closer and I could start to understand the importance this towering symbol of freedom has meant to the huddled masses coming over in those cramped ships hoping for a fresh beginning and the ability to grab a piece of the American dream. I did not think that the Statue of Liberty would mean that much to me but the visit altered my perception. It is more than just a statue but a symbol that has meant so much to so many. The unalterable fact that we are a nation of immigrants and that this melting pot of ideas and cultures is what makes the US exceptional is the real symbolism of her magnificence. IT was great to spend some time with her today and to get that reminder of what we really are.
Ellis Island, the monument to the American Progressive bureaucracy of immigration was pretty cool as well. We toured the grounds and got to see the immense standardization of the immigration process at the turn of the century. The exhibits were well done but sparse due to damage done by Hurricane Sandy of 2012. Unfortunately the climate control system was damaged and many of the artifacts need to be removed for safe keeping. But that history was pretty neat as well. Seeing the preservation process and the care that historians have taken to preserve out history was pretty cool.
When then made our way back to the mainland and toured the Lower Eastside of Manhattan and the famous tenement district of the turn of the century. Ed O’Donnell professor of History at Holy Cross was our tour guide and he was phenomenal. We literally walked back in time, seeing New York as it was in the early 20th century. The often horrid conditions these new immigrants lived in and fought to get out of, are truly inspiring. We saw many examples of these tenements and how they have now been gentrified into the multi-million dollar real estate Manhattan is famous for today. We ended our walking tour at the Tenement Museum and their wonderful hands on tenement experience. The museum was extremely well done and I learned quite a bit about the daily lives of these new Americans.
The story of medical exams, bureaucracy, tenements, hope and despair were really well portrayed by todays the museums and exhibits. I usually do not spend that much time on immigration in my teaching but have seen another side to this story, one that deserves more than the short shrift I usually give it. The personal stories of the immigrants who risked all for this singularly historic opportunity to alter the trajectory of their family’s future are the stories that my students, often immigrants themselves, need to hear. They need to hear them because they are exceptional and show what makes this country what it is today. The huddled masses coming to America to create a new Republic build upon the labor of free men. What a great day.

Tomorrow, we head back to the Lower Eastside and Five points and make a stop by the African Burial Ground. I can’t wait.

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Day 1–Sinatra Was Right

Woke up at 4:30 this morning and headed off on my newest journey. Going to New York today I told my roommate. After a long morning of waiting and flying we saw that infamous skyline from the window and knew it was time to get it on. We were all smiles when we got off the plane at La Guardia.

New York came alive right there in the parking lot of the airport. As soon as we left the building we come upon a sea of yellow cabs and the stereotypical honking and yelling of New York cab drivers ensued. One cab honking at another, one cabbie yelling for him to get out of his way, Dr. Harris crossing the street nearly getting clipped by a runaway cab driver, I loved it. It was pure New York. We then inched our way to through Brooklyn in stop an go traffic for an hour arriving at the Brooklyn Marriot. Looking at the historic skyline as we drove we knew this was going to be such an amazing adventure this week.

After settling in at the hotel we set off for directions unknown. Actually Coney Island, but that sounded better. I know it sounds dorky, but riding on my first New York subway made me feel like I was in a Woody Allen movie. The experience itself, including having to jump a turn style when I operated my metro card wrong, was just cool. An hour later we arrived at New York’s playground. We were sadly disappointed.

Our first stop was the Famous Nathan’s Hotdogs. It was just what we needed. Famished after a long day of flying we tore into those famous dogs like carnivores of old. It was delicious. Coney Island was closed however and it had this sad feeling of neglect about it. It was cold outside but not something that we could not all handle and we were looking for an adventure. We strolled the board walk for a bit and found our way down to the Atlantic. Unfortunately it felt as if Brooklynites used the beach for a dumping ground as we had to walk through piles of garbage being picked at by a thousand seagulls just to get a good picture.

We hopped back on the subway and made it back to the hotel with more time and anxiety to experience the Big Apple. I headed to a quiet spot down the road the famous O’Keefe’s Bar and Grill and had a couple drinks with some great friends. Sitting with Spencer Wykstra, Stephanie Cox, Bob Bentley, Matt Elhofer, and Sean Kelly was such a morale booster after the landfill at Coney Island. We sat and talked about what was to come over some good Brooklyn Lagers and Goose Island Honkers. After the commiserating we headed for one of the most amazing views of my life.

I can’t really describe the view from the pier at Brooklyn Bridge park other than to say it was truly inspiring. Like a beacon of democracy Manhattan was lit up right there in front of us. We stand talked about the history of the city and our hopes for the excursion while we basked in the glory of New York and it felt amazing. I remembered my trip to DC two years ago and sitting in the shadow of the Washington Monument at midnight staring at Lincoln and feeling this amazing sense of awe. I felt it last night as well. New York is one of those towns that drags you in and I am hoping it does the same to me. I know this is going to be a week that I will never forget and I can’t wait to soak up every minute of it.

Today we are off to Ellis Island and Lady Liberty and Yankee game. Start spreading the news…New York, New York.

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