Teachers Study Railroads

Dan Loftis, Jane Loftis, Luba Havraniak, Kwame Nyerere

Four teachers from Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools - Luba Havraniak of Meadowlark Elementary, Dan Loftis of Paisley IB Magnet, Jane Loftis of Flat Rock Middle and Kwame Nyerere of East Middle - participated in a week-long, residential seminar called “Laying Down Tracks: A Study of Railroads as Myth, Reality, and Symbol.” 

Sponsored by the N. C. Humanities Council’s 2012 Teachers Institute, the seminar was held June 17 to 23 in Chapel Hill.  Altogether, 41 public-school educators from across the state addressed such topics as “Railroads and the Transformation of Nineteenth-Century Life,” “The Death and Rebirth of the American Railroad” and “Mapping Modern Rail Corridors in North Carolina.” 

The seminar was led by Anne Baker and David Zonderman of N.C. State University and Rachel Willis of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In addition to academic sessions, participants were treated to a performance of “railroad music” by The Hushpuppies, an old-time string band, and to a full afternoon of research in Wilson Library on the UNC campus. Another program highlight was a field trip via train ride to the N. C. Museum of Transportation in Spencer with a day of presentations and exploration led by museum personnel.

 The Teachers Institute is a free professional education development program designed to bring teachers together to study the cultures of North Carolina’s diverse communities.  Through rigorous, challenging, and interdisciplinary academic sessions, Institute seminars provide access to continued intellectual growth for the state’s educators.  Participation is by application only, and teachers selected to attend Institute seminars receive continuing education credits and have the option to receive graduate credit.

The N. C. Humanities Council is a statewide nonprofit and affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.  The Humanities Council serves as an advocate for lifelong learning and thoughtful dialogue about all facets of human life.