Neither rain, nor sleet nor hail nor snow…
About twenty New York city teachers took part in a four-session ALBA workshop this winter, a special initiative sponsored by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and the Puffin Foundation. The massive snowstorm a few weeks ago forced some scrambling and rescheduling, but in the end, the teachers were able to complete the program, in which, together with Peter Carroll, James D. Fernández, Fraser Ottanelli, Carlos Ramos and Aaron Retish, they explored ways of incorporating the Spanish Civil War into their curricula. The participants teach in a range of disciplines, including American History, European History, Language Arts, and Spanish.
The culmination of the program was the final session held at Tamiment Library, where Director Tim Johnson greeted the group, and introduced them to the wonders of the ALBA collection. From handling the scrapbook compiled by Bernard Danchik, a would-be participant in the 1936 People’s Olympiad in Barcelona, to examining the booklet of drawings done during the war by Spanish children to honor the fallen American aviator and journalist, Ben Leider, this new group of teachers saw history come alive before their very eyes.
