This month, Teaching Cleveland caught up with Connie Miller, an educator extraordinaire at Birchwood School of Hawken. Connie began teaching at Birchwood School in 1998 and she teaches 5th – 8th grade Social Studies. She directs the school’s participation in the National History Day (NHD) competition and under her guidance, 175 students have qualified for the national level of the competition and 60 students have placed in the finals. She received the David Van Tassel Award in 2007 for outstanding contributions to History Day and was also awarded the District 3 Teacher of Merit award from the Ohio Humanities Council and the Ohio Historical Society in 2010. She and her husband live in the West Park neighborhood on Cleveland’s west side.
Connie participated in the Teaching Cleveland Institute (TCI) during the 2011-2012 school year.
“As a life-long Clevelander, I’ve always loved the city but I also realized I didn’t know enough about its history.”
She wanted her students to understand the important role Cleveland has played in America’s story, from the settling of the old Northwest territory to the rise of industry, from the Progressive reformers to its impact on politics.
“My students tend to have a very suburban view of the world and I want them to understand the urban perspective which allowed the suburbs to grow,” she said.
In addition, to her interest in Cleveland history, the school was a long-time participant in the NHD competition, which began in Cleveland at Case Western Reserve University in 1974. This stellar competition requires students to do a deep dive into research on an historical topic, develop an historical argument, and present their research and conclusions in the form of a paper, website, documentary, exhibit or performance.
“I have always encouraged students to choose a local topic related to Cleveland’s history or the history of the Western Reserve, and I found that my participation in the TCI increased the scope of topic ideas I could present to my students,” she said.
Connie said she particularly enjoyed the variety of speakers that the TCI brought in who either spoke about Cleveland’s history or talked about the wealth of resources that are available for both student and adult historians. Her students have used the Cleveland History Connection, the Dittrick Medical Museum, Case Western Reserve Archives, the Maltz Museum, and others to do their research.
Each year, Connie takes her students on the rapid — which many students have never ridden — to the Cleveland Public Library downtown to seek out and find the wealth of resources there.
“Our 7th and 8th graders learn to use microfilm and how to load it correctly. After donning white gloves, they handle photographs from the million-plus photograph collection,” she said. According to Connie, they have found many “treasures” in CPL’s deep collection as they research their NHD topic.
Connie also spoke about another aspect of the TCI that had a lasting impact on her.
“I really enjoyed the sense of hope for our city that was instilled in me after listening to speakers who are engaging with the community on a daily basis. These people are committed to improving opportunities for young people and life-long Clevelanders alike, and it made me love Cleveland even more,” she said.
