OXFORD — Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School librarian Jennifer Davis loves being around books.
The Paris resident has been selected from more than 500 applicants to participate in the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources Summer Teacher Institute during the week of June 17.
“I’m very excited about this,” Davis said. She will be learning with other school library media specialists, classroom teachers and school administrators from across the country. They’ll learn new ways to bring library sources to students and teachers.
As a former social worker turned librarian for the past 17 years, Davis works with 1,200 high school students, bringing her enthusiasm for books into their studies. This opportunity will allow her to teach students and teachers how to broaden their skills using books, websites and other media as sources, she said.
According to a statement issued by program organizers, the five-day program will allow participants to work with Library of Congress education specialists and subject-matter experts to learn effective practices for using primary sources in the classroom. They will explore some of the millions of digitized historical artifacts and documents available on the library’s website.
Primary sources are described by the Library of Congress as “the raw materials of history — original documents and objects that were created at the time under study. They are different from secondary sources, accounts or interpretations of events created by someone without firsthand experience.”
Davis described a primary source in this way: “The idea is if you’re reading about slavery, say in your textbook, it’s not as powerful as looking at a bill of sale for a human being. It really makes history come to life.”
Educators will develop primary-source-based teaching strategies that they can take back to their school districts, apply in the classroom and pass along to colleagues, program officials said.
Davis said she will be able to train teachers so they can use the tools in their classrooms.
“We work really hard to co-teach with the staff here. This is another opportunity,” she said.
She will leave for Washington, D.C., shortly after school gets out June 13, paying her own way to save money for the district.
“Times are tough. I’m paying for it myself. This was important enough,” she said.
ldixon@sunjournal.com
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- Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School librarian Jennifer Davis heads to Washington, D.C., this month to study at the Library of Congress.
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