1 Golden Bomber Dr.
Ilion, NY 13357
Phone: 315.894.9934
Fax: 315.894.2716
Superintendent
Bringing Mark Twain to life
Who
was Mark Twain (real name Samuel Clemens)? Why did he write “Huck
Finn” and what did he want to say to his readers in the book The
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn?
Students in Lyn Cipriano’s English classes will soon discover this and more thanks to a unique five-day workshop Mrs. Cipriano attended over the summer.
Mrs. Cipriano received a prestigious National Endowment for the Humanities grant to attend the Summer Teacher Workshop “Huck, Jim, & Jim Crow” at the Mark Twain House and Museum in Hartford, Conn. She and 40 other teachers from across the country met with a panel of experts to learn about Twain, his writing, and his perspectives on major issues of his day including racism and post-Civil War life in the South.
“I will be using what I learned at the seminar in all of my classes this year,” she said.
In the past, students might have read a Mark Twain book, discussed it, written a paper, then moved on to the next book. That changes this year as New York moves to a new national standard known as the Common Core Curriculum. Under the new standard, students will do more than simply read a book; students will look more closely at the author, historical events and other writing in hopes of gaining a better understanding of the work.
Mrs. Cipriano plans to use copies of some of the letters, journal entries and newspaper articles she saw at the museum to shed light on Twain and his work as one of America's greatest writers.
Interestingly, her summer experience also provided supporting information for another required ninth grade book, the autobiography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. Twain’s wife Livy Clemens knew Douglass because Livy’s family had been abolitionists and members of the Underground Railroad that helped smuggle escaped slaves to freedom. Both Twain and Douglass strongly supported the advancement of freed slaves.
Mrs. Cipriano believes what she learned will help students connect English to real life. In fact, she plans to use one of Twain's humorous newspaper articles challenging the idea that English is dry and boring.
On a personal level, she speaks with awe of the many things she saw and did over her five days in Hartford. She toured the Mark Twain House and the nearby Harriet Beecher Stowe House. Stowe, another abolitionist, described the life of a slave in the book Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Mrs. Cipriano enjoyed unlimited access to the museum collection, which included letters, journals, personal possessions, and many other materials. She listened to a reading of one of Twain’s recently discovered unpublished works.
“I can honestly say that this was the greatest learning experience of my teaching career, and I expect to use this material in my classroom this year,” said Mrs. Cipriano.
