The area surrounding Cooperstown is just gorgeous: rolling tree-covered hills, open meadows, beautiful flowers and a picturesque lake. The Baseball Hall of Fame was put here because someone came up with a very convincing story of how baseball started there; that has since been disproven.
I had never really considered that the evolution of baseball mirrors what was going on in American history. I am looking forward to more closely examining the lesson plans we were told about. Sports hook many kids, so this may be an effective way to real in students initially, and connect the parallels to our social history: race relations, labor movement, women’s rights. It’s all right there.
I enjoyed learning more about Babe Ruth. I had read a biography about him when I was a kid, but now I respect him
even more. Besides being an extremely gifted athlete, he also had a heart of gold when it came to kids. He encouraged them to keep following their dreams and always took time to sign autographs and talk to them. True heroes leave a legacy worth mimicking.
Fenimore Art Museum was a nice surprise. I especially enjoyed looking at the fashions and their reflection of what was going on at the time. I had never seen dresses that were designed to include reference to the Civil War. The details exhibited sleeves, shoulders, and waistlines that resembled military uniforms. Quite interesting!
The Magnum Photographs collection was spectacular and so moving. The photos were all black and white, which added to their ability to capture an audience. I realize now that black and white images are able to show contrast more obviously. Perhaps they capture the human condition more accurately as we are not distracted by various colors and they are more raw and realistic in that form. Wow!
We all rode a carousel at Farmer’s Museum which was great fun! I got as far as the pharmacy in the village. I was captivated watching the pharmacist make ginger pills that were most commonly used for upset stomachs. The process was very interesting to watch, and the pharmacist showed us the tools he had made himself. He used directions from a book that was published in the 1840s as his guide.
Much of what I learned today could be used in the classroom: parallels to history through baseball, the raw power of black and white photos, and how medicine has evolved over time. Today was awesome and one I didn’t expect.
