Piedmont
professor Dr. Hilton Smith is coordinator of the Foxfire Outreach program
for teachers. |
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Piedmont selected to offer
Foxfire teacher training programs
(1/27/04) Piedmont College has been selected by the Foxfire
Fund to administer its Teacher Outreach program, which trains teachers at
all grade levels in how to implement the Foxfire approach to classroom instruction.
Dr. Hilton Smith, coordinator of the outreach program for Piedmont, said
the first training sessions will be held this summer at the Foxfire Center
in Mountain City, Ga. The two-week, intensive sessions will be offered June
7-18 and again June 22-July 2. The Foxfire Center is a 120-acre site on Blackrock
Mountain. It includes more than 20 authentic mountain buildings and authentic
replicas where participants will live and study during the outreach sessions.
The cost of each session is $1,170 and includes lodging and two meals each
day.
Smith, who directed a similar outreach program while working at Foxfire
for 11 years, said the training is designed to teach the 11 core practices
of the Foxfire approach to education. These include giving students choices
in how to do their schoolwork, emphasizing creativity and critical thinking,
and making connections with the surrounding community.
"Foxfire is not just about cultural journalism," Smith said. "It applies
to all grade levels and all subjects. Even in the education specialist program
here at Piedmont it has been used very effectively for college level courses."
Each of the initial programs will be limited to 15 participants, and Smith
said the June 7 program is reserved for teachers in the northeast Georgia
area, with a preference for teams from the same school. The June 22 program
will be open to teachers from all areas. Teachers enrolled in a master's degree
or education specialist program, Smith said, can use the courses for credit.
While two classes are planned for this summer, Smith said Piedmont and Foxfire
hope to expand the Foxfire Outreach program, which in the past has included
a network of 22 sites around the U.S. and several publications about the Foxfire
approach to instruction.
Piedmont President Ray Cleere said the partnership with Foxfire "is a good
move for us and for Foxfire. I think we are well placed to take on their programs
for teachers, plus it has the prospect of giving Piedmont some national visibility."
Foxfire President Ann Moore also said that she and the Foxfire board "are
excited about the partnership with Piedmont to provide teacher training. We
are also pleased to be working again with Hilton Smith to broaden the dissemination
of the approach and ensure its integrity." Moore said Foxfire board member
Dr. Lew Allen, professor of education at the University of Georgia, will
serve as a special liaison for the project.
The Foxfire approach grew out of Eliot Wigginton's work in cultural journalism
at Rabun County High School. Many people are familiar with the Foxfire books,
now up to 12 volumes, but many do not realize that each book is an anthology
of articles written by high school students in the Foxfire magazine classes
at RCHS. Wigginton's work
developed into an overall approach to instruction applicable to all subject
areas and all grade levels, including special education. That approach, defined
by the 11 Foxfire Core Practices, provides the substance of the course for
teachers that Piedmont will provide.
For more information about the teacher outreach program, visit the Foxfire
website at www.foxfire.org, or contact
Smith at hsmith@piedmont.edu or by
phone at (706) 778-8500, extension 1297.
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