RMS teacher chosen for program at nation's capital
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Aug. 6—"I Hope to Have God on My Side, But I Must Have Kentucky."
RUSSELL Abraham Lincoln seems to be a recurring theme in the life of Lauren Hobbs Brewer.
The seventh-grade English teacher at Russell Middle School was one of 20 teachers chosen from hundreds of applicants to attend a Ford's Theatre program called Set in Stone: Civil Ward Memory, Monuments and Myths, which was July 23-28 in Washington, D.C. The program focuses on Lincoln's time as president.
"Through the beauty of social media algorithms, it was in one of my feeds," Brewer said, explaining how she learned of the program. "I thought, 'That's a really interesting program,' and it was open not just to history teachers but to English teachers, too."
The benefit to any teacher is the historical perspective gained by having the chance to analyze original documents, speeches and historical sites, and the opportunity to teach students about seeing situations from points of view they might not otherwise consider.
"Everyone experiences things differently, so you have varying perspectives. That creates a dynamic landscape for our country that isn't always understood. There's a lot of context that's left out because it's not known or it's not available," she said, adding it's important for historians to keep researching to fill those gaps of knowledge. "History may not change, but we constantly process it and learn about it. Historians are still researching to find out more and, as we do that, comparing the perspectives we have today is important in moving forward and helping our kids become better students, better students and really contributing to humanity."
The group visited Howard University, which Brewer said was her favorite part of the tour. It included a talk by Dr. Edna Green Medford about Reconstruction in and around the Washington, D.C., area following the Civil War.
"We went to the old, original library where Thurgood Marshall prepared arguments for Brown v. Board of Education," she said; the 1954 case found segregation in schools based on race was unconstitutional. "It was a chilling moment. You knew it was special. For me, that was definitely a moment I will not ever forget."
They also visited Arlington Cemetery, the Lincoln Memorial, the Emancipation Memorial, African-American Civil War Monument and spent time at Ford's Theatre for lectures.
As Brewer pursues a doctoral degree in educational leadership, she said she expects things she learned in the program will continue to be beneficial.
"It was an intense and profound experience," she said. "We all know to look for symbolism in religion and politics, but it's really everywhere. The intent behind the symbols has meaning as well as a purpose. ... You start to look at things in a very different way."
Brewer, daughter of Mike and Paula Hobbs, took a little something extra on the trip. Brewer's father owns an Abraham Lincoln portrait created by local artist Zoe Brewer (no relation), and the teacher asked the artist if she could make prints of it to share with the other teachers on the trip.
