Kentucky Association of Teachers of History

I really enjoyed attending the KATH Conference last Saturday, and I hope you are feeling pleased with how it turned out.  As always, one could wish for more attendance, but as was the case with my colleagues (with a departmental picnic scheduled for the same day), any September weekend is bound to have lots of time conflicts for many who might otherwise attend.

I thought George Herring did a terrific job presenting a thought-provoking treatment of the War of 1812, and I was very engaged in the break-out session on Native Americans with how John Bowes got the attendees discussing all kinds of important issues.  The catered lunch was excellent, and while consuming it I made the interesting acquantance of a woman facing a lot of challenges teaching history in a juvenile detention site in Paducah and met the [KATH] president-elect from Spaulding and learned a lot about that institution I didn’t know before.  Young Chautauqua performer Harry Smith was certainly accomplished once he got going, and I think he charmed us all with his sincerity and commitment, even if some of his slants on the war were at odds with George’s and John’s perspectives from earlier in the day.

So, you [all] are to be congratulated in putting this conference together, and I hope you feel positively about it.

Thanks, and a big Well Done for the KATH Conference! Best regards, Jeff