Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence sends Dickson teacher to Colonial Williamsburg

DICKSON, Okla. (KXII) - School starts next week for Dickson students, and one teacher has been preparing for the new academic year by taking a trip across the country.

“it gave me chill bumps just to see things that have actually happened,” Thelesa Taylor said. “It is so serene and so quiet in the place they have.”

Taylor has taught history for several years now, but after taking a trip to Colonial Williamsburg. She said she’ll be able to present her students with new perspectives on old battles, treaties, and long-dead historical figures.

The Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence, which works to improve education in the state, gave more than thirty teachers a chance to visit the living history museum.

Taylor said seeing the places she teaches students about was eye opening.

“We were able to see what was called Surrender Lane, where the British walked down and gave their weapons to the colonists, it was really amazing,” Taylor said.

Another highlight, seeing the home of Thomas Nelson, a wealthy man who asked George Washington to bomb his home after the british took over and began using it as headquarters.

“And in the sides of the home there were cannonballs where the holes had gone through,” Taylor said. “And they just put them back in where you could see.”

Taylor said she’s excited to share what she learned with her students this year.

“I’m hoping through everything I can learn this year, things that I can bring in,” Taylor said. “It’s a whole lot easier when you can bring them something factual in their hands that they can actually look at or a project that comes from what we did that they can actually be a part of.”

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