Please note that the following is a digitized version of a selected article from White House History Quarterly, Issue 54, originally released in print form in 2019. Single print copies of the full issue can be purchased online at Shop.WhiteHouseHistory.org No part of this book may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. All photographs contained in this journal unless otherwise noted are copyrighted by the White House Historical Association and may not be reproduced without permission. Requests for reprint permissions should be directed to rights@whha.org. Contact books@whha.org for more information. Š 2019 White House Historical Association. All rights reserved under international copyright conventions.
REFLECTIONS
Creatively Teaching White House History STEWART D. M C LAURIN PRESIDENT, WHITE HOUSE HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION
92
57991_Text_X3.indd 92
White House Curator, Lydia Tederick, addresses participants during the 2019 Teacher Institute.
photographer George F. Mobley climbed the 75-foot ladder to capture the iconic view of the White House that reaches from the North Lawn fountain over the house and beyond the Ellipse, to include the Jefferson and Washington monuments. A long-wished-for opportunity for the Association to re-create the famous cover photograph became a reality this summer, thanks to current White House staff, who helped with the logistics, and to the D.C. Fire and EMS Department, Engine Company 3, which made its tower truck available. This time the photograph was taken from the South Lawn toward the South Portico, and the
photographer was spared the climb up the ladder, safely rising 95 feet on the tower’s platform. The resulting breathtaking new vista, which will be revealed when the anniversary edition of the guide is released, includes the majestic South Portico and the city beyond, as is fitting for the Association’s educational focus that has in recent years expanded to include the President’s Neighborhood. Whether through our ongoing publications, or our Teacher Institute, or our public programing, the Association’s mission remains engaged in sharing the stories of the White House and its history over time in new, fresh, and innovative ways.
W H I T E H O U S E H I S T O R I C A L A S S O C I AT I O N
This summer, sixty teachers from across the United States participated in the White House Historical Association’s annual Teacher Institute, a program developed to equip and inspire teachers to use the history of the White House as a portal for teaching American history in their classrooms. The institute features local site visits, inquiry-based learning activities, and more. Teachers have the opportunity to spend time with, and learn from discussions with, former and current White House curators, senior residence and presidential staff, and historians. The education component of our mission was inspired by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy’s decision early in the history of our organization to create the first White House guidebook. The White House: An Historic Guide continues to be a mainstay of our robust publications program, and in 2021—the sixtieth anniversary of the Association’s founding—we will publish the twenty-fifth edition of the guidebook. When it was first published in 1962, the Association worked with the District of Columbia Fire Department to arrange for the use of a ladder truck positioned on Pennsylvania Avenue to capture a cover photograph of the North Front of the White House. After receiving training from the fire department,
white house history quarterly
7/24/19 7:19 AM
57991_Text_X3.indd 93
7/24/19 7:19 AM