Teachers have a pretty good summer story

If teachers had to write a “what-I-did-this-summer” essay, one thing is for certain: Jason Rude and Michelle Nystel would have a great story to tell.The two teachers — Rude teaches social studies at New Hampton Middle School and Nystel does the same at Turkey Valley — spent a week this summer going “back to school,” if you will.They took part in the annual White House History Teacher Institute that is co-sponsored by the White House Historical Association and the presidential libraries.This year, the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library was the co-sponsor, which made the trip to D.C. especially noteworthy for the two Iowa teachers.“It was a life-changing experience for me as a teacher,” Nystel said. “To have a chance to work with the archives, the primary sources, to have a chance to really explore the White House, I learned so much.”Rude certainly wasn’t going to disagree.“The stuff we can use in our own classrooms is just amazing,” he said. “It was an amazing experience for both of us.”And the funny thing is that even they knew each other before their trip and even though they teach a mere 16 miles apart, they had no idea they had both been selected to attend the institute.“I was talking to Lisa, [Jason Rude’s wife] this spring, and I told her I was going to Washington,” Nystel said, “and she said, ‘Hey, so is Jason.’ It worked out great.”Picking out a favorite part of the Institute, though, was a challenge for them.They loved the tour of the White House they received from a curator.“We got a little bit more — OK, probably a lot more — than the normal person gets,” Rude said, “and that was pretty cool.”But they also loved the fact that they were able to dive into primary sources at the National Archives.“To be able to really study documents and papers, we kind of just got lost in that,” Nystel said. “As a teacher, as someone who loves history, it was like finding a pot of gold.”They also appreciated the fact that they were able to meet and talk with 30-plus fellow teachers from across the country.“Just being able to discuss what they’re doing, what’s worked, what hasn’t ... that would have made the trip worth it right there,” Nystel said. “I know I’m going to take some of the ideas I got there back into my classroom this year.”And both teachers said the White House History Teacher Institute is just a beginning.“I used to think that they didn’t have a lot of these opportunities for teachers in my field,” he said. “One thing I learned is that I was wrong. Going to things like this I know will make me a better teacher, and I certainly don’t want to stop with just this one.”