The staff of The Delta Center for Culture and Learning at Delta State recently presented at the National Association of Social Studies Teachers’ annual meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana. The presentation, “Transforming Classrooms Through Experiences in the Mississippi Delta,” highlighted The Delta Center’s National Endowment for the Humanities workshop “The Most Southern Place on Earth, the Music, Culture and History of the Mississippi Delta.”
The conference was attended by social studies teachers from across the country. The presentation was organized and planned by two former “Most Southern” workshop participants Heidi Imhof and Kelly Scallion, both high school history teachers from Fairbanks, Alaska. The duo participated in the 2010 workshop.
“We wanted this presentation to serve as a way to repay The Delta Center for all that was shared with us and to document how that information continues to be shared with our students and communities all across the United States,” said Imhof.
“We cannot begin to tell you how much the Delta means to us,” added Scallion. “This was the least we could do to show our appreciation for opening a new chapter in each of our lives.”
Imhof and Scallion served as moderators for the presentation. In addition to an overview of the workshop provided by TDC staff, the presentation featured 10 additional former workshop participants from Buffalo, New York, Phoenix, Arizona, Columbus, Ohio, Tennessee, as well as two Mississippi teachers from Jackson and Columbus. These presenters discussed Delta cultural heritage educational topics used in their classrooms, including Emmett Till, Freedom Summer and blues music.
Presentation attendees were treated to Delta Blues music selections, as well as tastes of hot tamales and koolickles, which are celebrated Delta food delicacies. The moderators also gave special thanks to members of TDC staff who facilitated the 2010 workshop, including Dr. Luther Brown, Dr. Henry Outlaw, Lee Aylward and Heather Miller.
TDC is preparing to host its seventh year of the workshop in the summer of 2016. Applications are currently being accepted for the 2016 workshop. For more information, visit http://deltacenterdsu.com/mostsouthern/.
The mission of The Delta Center is to promote greater understanding of Mississippi Delta culture and history and its significance to the world through education, partnerships and community engagement. The center serves as the management entity of the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area and is the home of the National Endowment for the Humanities “Most Southern Place on Earth” workshop and the International Delta Blues Project. For more information, visit http://www.deltastate.edu/academics/delta-center-for-culture-and-learning/.
