Article about High School Historic Preservation Program

[JNA]

http://www.courierpostonline.com/app...15/1004/LIVING

HIGHLIGHTS:

The program, founded in 2000, is believed to be the first and only preservation arts program in the country. It aims to prepare students for future jobs in restoration crafts or in related fields such as conservation and architecture. Students learn about engineering and city planning and take part in hands-on classes and internships in stone masonry, stained-glass restoration and timber framing.

Teachers also plan their lessons collaboratively: When history teacher Mark Watson teaches his social studies students about the significance of Grand Central Terminal, a math teacher covers the geometry of the building and an Earth Science instructor gives an astronomy lesson based on the constellations in the ceiling.

For principal Finley, this is the true value of the program, teaching students to be good stewards of their communities, especially the historic sites and structures that they will inherit from previous generations.

"Ultimately, it's about civic duty," Finley said. "That's what this program teaches."

What if you had a chance to do HS all over again would you attended such a program ?
I can see such a program in other large cities.
I think it is pretty cool.

[nrschmid]

I took an honors history class my sophomore year in high school where he had to enroll in the history fair. The teacher stressed a lot of historic preservation and discussed the process for the national register of historic landmarks. I decided to do an inventory of all of the prairie style residential/non-residential structures in Oak Park (both Frank Lloyd Wright and Walter Burley Griffin). It's somewhere in my parent's attic, but I think the inventory was about 40-50 structures. Lucky for me my father is an urban historian, so he had several books around the house that identified the more obscure buildings in that suburb.

I think it would be great to have historic preservation classes taught in the school (what about planning classes in general?).

[Planderella]

The construction industry is fairly huge right now due to post-disaster renovation, reconstruction, etc. While the plentiful jobs have attracted many day-laborers and contractors from out-of-state, and even the country, very little has been done to reserve such jobs for the locals. However, the Priestly School of Architecture and Construction in New Orleans was chartered not too long after Katrina to prepare high school students for careers in the construction-related industry. I think it's a great idea and hope that they eventually incorporate some planning classes into the curriculum.