The NEH needs your help! Links to pictures, too...

Monterey at night as seen from Stanford University's Hopkins Marine Station

Now safely back home (my wife and daughter flew to Monterey after the institute wrapped up on  August 2nd and spent a week in Central and Northern California with me before we jointly headed home) in Virginia and anxiously anticipating the kickoff of yet another year, I'm compiling notes, and starting the inevitable process of sharing stories, songs, and photos from the 2013 Steinbeck Institute with parents, friends, and colleagues.

Returning for a moment to what initially brought me to the program (beyond my amazing wife's support and motivational tactics...), I really am indebted to a good friend who spotted the program posting on the NEH summer scholar program boards... without the "heads up," I most certainly would have never applied to the program, simply because I did not know it existed (so thanks, Sarah!). For those of you who are high school teachers or college professors, the NEH has fabulous summer educational programs available for those who apply and are selected. Click HERE to visit the NEH's website with a listing of this past year's programs.

Sadly, the NEH, for those of you who do not know, is now being threatened by a massive 49% funding cutback by the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee ($71 million dollars) which would surely devastate funding for these valuable programs... the reduction was up for vote in early August and the cut was debated but ultimately the committee adjourned for recess until the September session for a final determination. A pittance (approx 3%) of the fiscal budget is allocated to education as is...

I implore all of you to visit this site (National Humanities Alliance) and write your local representatives (the website extrapolates your location and representative data and even drafts a generic "don't cut" email to be sent... although you do have the option of revising the content and tailoring it to your liking): CLICK HERE TO HELP THE NEH!!!

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The Steinbeck Institute was a game-changer for me in many ways... this was an excerpt from the letter I sent to Senators Warner and Kaine in support of maintaining the NEH funding:

As a high school teacher in a small Northern Virginia city system, I am faced daily with students from extremely diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds who challenge me to make English literature both meaningful and relevant to their 21st century lives as Americans. While I have had great success teaching Steinbeck's shorter works (Of Mice and Men, The Red Pony, The Pearl) in the past, I have long grappled with the notion of teaching Steinbeck's more challenging (and ultimately more meaningful) books to my diverse student body in a general education context. Throughout the course of the NEH-funded institute I attended, I was equipped with the pedagogical skills needed to approach Steinbeck's greater and more complex works (The Grapes of Wrath, East of Eden, the Sea of Cortez, and Cannery Row) with confidence, clarity, and meaningfulness as a teacher. The opportunity to have round table brainstorming, activities, and trips to locations throughout "Steinbeck country" with the penultimate Steinbeck scholars in the literary scene today was beyond inspiring. I have been absolutely galvanized by this experience and I am ready, willing, and able to tackle these powerful and life altering works of great American literature with my students in the upcoming school year. I am ready to change lives with the help of Steinbeck...

How many of you have been inspired or challenged to become a better person by a teacher? The NEH's programs are designed to keep churning out THAT sort of pedagogue... show your support and write to your representative!!!

FINALLY, I have uploaded the pictures from our trip to a photobucket site... you should be able to view these as a slide show or download any/all of them for your classes, lectures, or personal use. Enjoy! Stay tuned for a few videos and my "book list" accumulated from discussions with other scholars and professors... 

Click Here: Dan's Steinbeck Institute Photobucket Site

Deep thoughts at the Hopkins Marine Station Fisher Building...