I have always been impressed by the stories of Lydia Maria Child, an abolitionist, human rights activist, and author, who lived in the town where I teach, Wayland. Inspired by Child's activism and our students' yearly deep dive into the biographies of global change makers, our team wrote a grant proposal to the local Wayland Public School Foundation (WPSF) to fund a visit from a living history artist, Laura Duggan, who portrays Child's life.
Thanks to the generosity of the high school's history department chair, Kevin Delaney, and Principal Mizoguchi, Ms. Duggan performed in the high school's lecture hall. One high school history class and a number of high school social studies teachers also joined the presentation. Via a survey and the looks on students' faces, it's clear that the presentation was valuable for many including the teachers as we learned more about Child's life and impact.
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Many students reacted favorably to the presentation. |