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Joe Kobylka, Political Science, participated as a distinguished scholar in a history conference for public school teachers in Houston

Your Houston News

Originally Posted: August 3, 2016

Two Spring ISD teachers were selected to attend “America from Jefferson to Jackson,” a professional development institute sponsored by Humanities Texas and the University of Houston.

Robert Mallory, who teaches U.S. History at Dekaney High School, and Crystal Parliament, who teachers U.S. History at Bailey Middle School, were among of 54 Texas public school teachers invited to attend the Houston institute, which took place from June 6-9.

The program consisted of three days of dynamic presentations and small-group seminars, studying central topics in early American history, including the development of political parties; Thomas Jefferson’s, James Madison’s, and Andrew Jackson’s presidencies; the Marshall court; slavery; the American economy in the 1820s and 1830s; the Monroe Doctrine; the displacement of Native Americans and the rise of sectionalism.

Daniel Walker Howe, the Pulitzer Prize-winning historian emeritus of the University of California, Los Angeles, delivered the institute’s keynote presentation on economic issues of the 1820s.

Other faculty included Denver Brunsman of George Washington University; Jesus de la Teja of Texas State University; Daniel Feller of the University of Tennessee; Todd Kerstetter of Texas Christian University; Angela Pully Hudson of Texas A&M University; Joseph F. Kobylka of Southern Methodist University; Nikki Taylor of Texas Southern University; Jennifer Weber of the University of Kansas and Jeremy Bailey, Matthew Clavin, and Eric Walther of the University of Houston.

“I wanted to gain a deeper understanding of life in the early nineteenth century through the office of the President. The valuable information I gained will be passed to my students and colleagues,” said Parliament.

Mallory stated that he will “use the information learned at the institute to go past just the TEKS” with his students, which will “help them have a true understanding of history.”

“Humanities Texas was pleased to cosponsor ‘America from Jefferson to Jackson,’” said Executive Director Michael L. Gillette. “Giving talented teachers the opportunity to interact with their peers and leading scholars will enable them to engage students with exciting new perspectives on our nation’s history.”

“America from Jefferson to Jackson” was made possible with support from the State of Texas and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Howe’s lecture was supported by a generous grant from the Pulitzer Centennial Campfire Initiatives.

Humanities Texas is the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Its mission is to advance education through programs that improve the quality of classroom teaching, support libraries and museums and create opportunities for lifelong learning for all Texans.

For more information about Humanities Texas, visit www.humanitiestexas.org. For information about the University of Houston, visit www.uh.edu.