Spies and The Intelligence Community

On Saturday, November 19th, AHTC teachers gathered at Urbana Middle School to learn about Spies and The Intelligence Community from 3 former spies!

Tony and Jonna Mendez, former CIA Chiefs of Disguise, began the day with a keynote titled, Espionage 101. Not only did they share personal stories and tricks of the trade, but they also brought in gadgets and artifacts used during their past CIA experiences. Some of my favorites were a lipstick camera, a fake nose, and a dead rat with a hidden compartment (okay, they didn't actually bring the rat to the workshop, but it was something they once used to relay messages to other spies)! Tony also shared the story of how he orchestrated a plan that resulted in the rescuing of six US diplomats from Tehran during the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis. Ben Affleck is staring as Tony Mendez in the upcoming 2012 film about this event titled, Argo. Very cool!

During breakout sessions, Tony and Jonna were able to show AHTC teachers how to wear disguises (and even dressed up some participants), as well as describe how illusion and magic influenced their careers.

Dr. H. Keith Melton, an intelligence historian and specialist in clandestine technology and espionage technology, began our afternoon with a keynote titled, Covert Technology and the Attack on Mumbai, which provided our teachers with an in-depth look at how the events of November 26, 2008 unfolded. Dr. Melton described how the terrorists used integrated tactics, superior weaponry, covert communications, and everyday technologies to carry out their attack. One of our AHTC teachers commented, "I felt like I was at a real CIA briefing!"

During breakout sessions, Dr. Melton discussed the 12 most recent US spy cases of American traitors and revealed how they were caught by the CIA, as well as presented a history of espionage over the past 100 years.

What an awesome workshop!

For more information related to this topic, visit the Web Resources page on the AHTC website.

Carnegie, Rockefeller, Morgan, & Ford: Shaping a Nation through Capitalism

On Saturday, September 17^th, the AHTC gathered at the Hilton Garden Inn in Champaign to spend some time with the history of American capitalism. H.W. Brands started the day with an amazing keynote about Carnegie, Rockefeller, Morgan, and Ford and had wonderful discussions in both of his breakout sessions. He was also extremely gracious to sign everyone’s copy of American Colossus. Not only is Dr. Brands an incredibly intelligent and engaging speaker, but he is also one of the kindest & down-to-earth person I have ever met. Everyone had nothing but nice and positive words to say about him. In fact, one of my favorite expressions was, “He’s like a Rock Star for teachers!"

Dr. Mark Leff from the University of Illlinois, and Dr. Andrew Hartman from Illinois State University, ended the day sharing ways to incorporate classic films such as The Wizard of Oz and Modern Times into our instruction of this topic.

For more information on Dr. Leff’s presentation of The Wizard of Oz as an allegory for the political and economic events of the Gilded Age, please check out the following links:

http://www.usagold.com/gildedopinion/oz.html, http://en.wikipedia.org

/wiki/Political_interpretations_of_The_Wonderful_Wizard_of_Oz

To view the factory scene from Modern Times that Dr. Hartman shared with us, check out this YouTube clip.

Overall, the day was a great success!

Wartime Innovation Focus Workshop

On December 5th the American History Teachers' Collaborative hosted a focus workshop on Wartime Innovation at the Hilton Garden Inn in Champaign. Taking a break from our typical format, the workshop was set up as a conference day where teachers chose from 18 different presentations during seven sessions. From the response of our teachers, it seems as if all of the sessions were amazing!

Thanks to WILL, we were able to find some fantastic veterans who were willing to speak to us about their experiences. They included Phil Dzuik, a World War II Navy veteran who served on the USS Ajax (and still fits into his 1944 Navy uniform!) and Jesse Dowell, who served in the U.S. Navy Air Corps during World War II and practiced night bombing with the new, secret technology--radar.

Pictured L to R: Jesse Dowell, Phil Dziuk, and Ralph Dady (UHS)

Our third veteran, Jill Knappenberger, was one of three women serving on the front lines during the Battle of the Bulge. As a "clubmobile" driver for the Red Cross (serving dounuts, coffee, and cigarettes to soldiers), she was trapped for eight days during the battle.
In addition to hearing from veterans, we were also able to have Hal Loebach from Chanute Air Museum speak to us about the black Army Air Corps squadrons that trained at Chanute Air Base during World War II, including the famed Tuskegee Airmen. Mr. Loebach also brought with his colleague, Jim Eldridge, who shared aviation resources available to teachers through the museum.

While we had many presentations about World War II, it was not the only war represented that day. Eugene Bencomo and Russel Foster, reenactors from the Illiana Civil War Historical Society, gave very enthusiastic presentations showcasing weapons, medical gear, and military equipment from the Civil War.

From L to R: Karen Easton (Edison), Peggy Christensen (Edison), Russel Foster, Todd Searing (UMS)

Representatives from the American Red Cross also presented to teachers focusing on the history of the American Red Cross during wartime.

Although we enjoy having speakers from the community, we were delighted to have five AHTC teachers present to their colleagues on units they created during past AHTC summer institutes and fellowships. Matt Buckles and Matt Goerss, both from Urbana High School, spoke to teachers about resources available to teachers through the Champaign County Historical Archives, including primary documents regarding penicillin, radar, walkie talkies, and weather forecasting.
Karen Klebbe of Centennial High School discussed military's technology's impact on civilian life, including how the development of disposable bandages during World War I revolutionized the feminine hygiene industry.
Natalee Steffen from Urbana Middle School presented a series of lessons examining the history of the United States' use of Agent Orange in Southeast Asia during the time of the Vietnam conflict.
Our final AHTC presenter was Jesse Guzman of Edison Middle School who shared with teachers his unit on the dropping of the atomic bombs during World War II.

Throughout the day teachers were able to explore exhibits in the ballroom for information and resources that could be used in their classrooms. Exhibitors included the American Red Cross, Chanute Air Museum, the Champaign County Historical Archives, The Champaign County Historical Museum at the Cattle Bank, the Early American Museum, and the Great Lakes Regional Depositor of the National Archives Records Administration. (Please see the sidebar to the left for links to many of these organizations:)

What a fantastic day! We would love to hear from you, teachers. What was your favorite part of the day? Is there anything that you have used in your classroom from that day or anything that you are thinking about using in the future? Leave us a comment and let us know!