I have waited so long to visit this city and was so excited to be able to go there first hand. Boston has so much history and important events that happened there. I loved being able to walk around the city and see these important places. My favorite places that we saw on the Freedom Trail would have to be the Old North Church and the USS Constitution. I thought the Old North church was beautiful inside and I could just imagine them putting the lanterns in the tall steeple. I also loved seeing the USS Constitution and being able to take a tour of the old ship. It has so much history and has survived for so long. It it amazing that it never got sunk and survived through each of its 33 battles. Can you imagine how huge that ship would be dry-docked? I loved being able to stand in the same places as the Revolutionaries and in places that played such a role in history. I loved Boston and hope that I can go back there some day.
Boston was a blast. I loved the freedom trail because you really couldn't get lost!!! I think that the State House and South Church were my two favorites there. I didn't know much about South Church so it was neat to hear the history of that place. Also the Adams' houses were neat. I compared Adam's house to Monticello or Mt. Vernon and it gave me a perspective on the differences between the North and South. It was a completely different lifestyle yet all the colonies despite their differences were able to compromise and figure it out. I loved the library at Peacefield and am hoping since you all are free now this summer you come and help me build one in my back yard!! Love and miss you guys.
ReplyDeleteCourtney, I would love to help you build your library. I could even help you fill it. My husband would love it if I got rid of a couple of my piles of books!
ReplyDeleteI love Boston. First, it is a city I feel pretty safe in. So many important events occurred there that I felt totally immersed in pre-Revolution history. I have been to Boston before, but this time I went inside the Old State House. I learned quite a bit of history that I didn't know before. I am glad we took that time. I also loved the two Adams birthplaces and Peacefield. I struggled to get the book finished, but I think reading JOHN
ADAMS and coming to know him and Abigail so well, really made those places meaningful to me. I could visualize them in those rooms. I was really touched with the room upstairs where John's writing desk was. I could just see an elderly Adams at the desk writing letters to Benjamin Rush. It was a highlight of the trip for me. I look forward to keeping up with everyone! Hope you are enjoying being in one place for awhile, well, at least those of you who weren't leaving right away for your next adventure.
There is not enough time for me to detail how much my visit to Boston will enrich my teaching. The Old North Church, Paul Revere's ride (I learned a lot about this event), Bunker Hill, etc. I plan to have my students take chairs outside of our school (we have a huge hill behind my room) and allow them to place the chairs as a barricade up on the hill. I can give them a hands-on lesson on the advantages of holding the high ground in a battle and the risks of charging across open ground. I have to tell ya', one of my very favorite places in Boston was the Puritan graveyards. I love the insights those creepy headstones tell us about the culture of the early Puritans. I took a million pictures. The various graveyards were definitely some of my favorite places on this trip. Thank you, Larry Miller.
ReplyDeleteBoston was exciting for me. I am not a really lover of military history so sometimes the battles in the revolution though interesting don't excite me so much. However, intellectual thought and development does excite me. I love to see how ideas formed, changed, and impacted history. I have always been fascinated with the events that led to congress declaring war on Britain and the ideas that led to the declaration and the constitution. It was great to walk around Boston, and get a feel for what took place. It made their efforts and struggles seem more real. It was great. I am so grateful for this opportunity. Thanks to you all for being amazing teachers and people, for Gene, Val, and Cindy who spent so much time trying to make it was a great and educational experience, and to Steve Starks, Larry H Miller and Zions for making it all possible.
ReplyDeleteBoston was so exciting- It amazes me that so many prominent people were from Boston- it was such a hub of activity! I loved the freedom trail, but I also loved visiting the Adams' homes- especially Peacefield. It was a profound experience for me to see all of this after reading the book and watching the movie. I think this was the highlight for me here.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I struggled at times to finish all three books, standing in Boston and especially Peacefield made it all worth it. To me it brought to life the stories I had read. To be able to visit so many places along the Freedom Trail enriched my understanding of history in ways that I cannot begin to explain. Even walking up the 194 steps to the top of Bunker Hill was well worth it! What a view! I feel very privileged to have been chosen to participate in this seminar/trip. Thanks go to Gene, Val and Cindy for your expertise and knowledge. It won't be forgotten.
ReplyDeleteFrom beginning to end, my visit to Boston was like a dream come true! Twenty plus years of teaching about something I had never seen has been harder; most of my students will never see these places. So, it is even more wonderful that now I can say I have been there and have the pictures to prove it! Following the red bricks of the Freedom Trail introduced me to buildings where the revolutionaries met,worshipped, and plotted; where the initial battles took place; graveyards where some of them are buried; the USS Constitution; Paul Revere's home (which I recognized immediately from the pictures in my textbook!); Quincy Market where I ate honest to goodness New England clam chowder; and even the park where the ducklings lived. What an opportunity! Thanks for such an emjoyable time.
ReplyDeleteSharon N.