The Delaware Historical Society is looking for teachers to help develop new lessons plans on slavery in the state.
The lesson plans are a part of a new program “Liberty in Our Grasp,” which uses items from the historical society’s slavery collections to offer a clearer image of slavery in Delaware. Delaware Historical Society is creating a digital database of these scanned collections items to be available for classroom use.
The historical society is currently recruiting a diverse group of teachers to work with its staff and representatives from the Hard History Project to develop classroom activities using the collections materials. The pilot group will include six teachers: two 3rd-5th grade teachers, two in 6th-8th grade and two in high school. Selected teachers will be expected to participate in activities between May and November. Each teacher will receive a stipend of $1,000.
Rebecca Fay, the Delaware Historical Society’s director of education, told Delaware Public Media that the project responds to what students in the state want in their history education. “There’s absolutely a need (for this kind of lesson plan); but there’s also a demand. People are asking for this kind of history, with current events and everything going on in the world today – this kind of history is in high demand. People want to know about this history, not only in Delaware, but nationwide,” Fay said.
The application to work with “Liberty in Our Grasp” is open until April 12th.