BEYOND THE CLASSROOM

How a passion for lifelong learning inspired two CSG teachers to dig deeper

It was two very timely topics—civil rights and climate change— that inspired CSG faculty members Lynn Sweeney and Lisa Gullett to pack their bags for two very different adventures.

The recipients of CSG’s faculty grants, Lynn and Lisa made trips this past year to the southern states of the U.S. and the Caribbean, respectively. Their experiences and what they’ve been able to bring back to their students are important examples of why CSG’s commitment to ongoing faculty development is so vital.

After reading a book in her classroom called One Crazy Summer, a historical fiction novel chronicling the lives of three sisters during the summer of 1968, Lynn, a history and English faculty member, was motivated to learn more about the Civil Rights Movement.

“I wanted to increase the cultural responsiveness of my curriculum,” she said.

So in the summer of 2021, Lynn and her husband—fellow CSG faculty member Kevin Sweeney—and their three children visited places that were home to important Civil Rights-era events. Over the course of three weeks, they visited Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Tennessee.

Lynn returned home with a profound feeling of excitement for the accomplishments of the Civil Rights Movement, and a heightened sense of the enormous opposition that people faced in their daily lives and that still linger today. Reflecting on stories helped her learn about the extraordinary changes made during that time—changes that often were influenced by people whose names didn’t land in history textbooks.

Lynn’s travel experience affirmed some of the changes she had already begun making to her classroom curriculum while researching and planning the trip. Her English students practice their interviewing skills by talking to someone who lived during the 1960s and draft what they learn into essays. Her history students research various events, leaders, and

Lynn Sweeney Lisa Gullett

artists who were active in the Civil Rights Movement. Since the trip, Lynn has further expanded these projects.

Studying history, Lynn said, helps us understand who we are now. Opening students’ minds to some of the struggles that occurred in the 1960s gives her students context as they begin to understand the constructs of a society and the complexities of democracy.

While Lynn stayed stateside for her exploration of a famous chapter in U.S. history, Lisa’s trip took her out of the country.

For Lisa, a science faculty member, the visit to the Caribbean island of Curaçao for a week during March of 2021 was an invaluable opportunity to see firsthand the effects of climate change. During her trip, Lisa snorkeled along the island coast, and took an eco tour to view the coral reefs that suffered from climate change and an invasive species of lionfish. She also learned about the impact of an oil refinery located on the island and visited a research aquarium.

Seeing the island in person, Lisa said, helped her better understand just how real the danger is to coral reefs like those found in Curaçao. She also saw the plight from the perspective of those who live there.

“It’s part of their local environment, and it’s something that we don’t experience here,” Lisa said.

Since returning from her trip, Lisa has brought what she saw and heard in Curaçao to her students learning about ecology. She’s also shared her accounts of the effects of climate change on reefs with students interested in doing independent study courses in environmental science. The trip will also help her facilitate the creation of an environmental science class in the future.

Experiential learning, Lisa said, is so important, and CSG’s opportunity for faculty travel is truly unique.

“I can see the difference in the educators who have taken advantage of this,” she said.