Public Relations

Honor students visit Little Rock

BENTONVILLE (Friday, April 11, 2008) - On Friday, April 4th, history instructor Greg Kiser and English instructor Angie Albright set out with 13 students at 6:30 a.m. for Little Rock. The group visited Little Rock Central High School and its Visitor Center as well as the Clinton Presidential Center.

Over the past two semesters Kiser and Albright have linked their honors U. S. history and composition classes to create a learning community. The same students are enrolled in both courses which meet back to back in the same classroom. Students read and write about the material being covered in the history class, which gives them a chance to delve more deeply into the history as well as giving them a better historical foundation for their writing.

The class is currently reading and writing about American civil rights movements, segregation, and issues of race and class. “Because we live in Arkansas and are reading about the various events of the Civil Rights Movement, a visit to Little Rock Central High School seemed essential,” says Albright. The site is now a National Park, and a guide from the Park Service gave the group a tour of the school building after they spent time in the Visitor Center which houses a moving exhibit on the Little Rock Nine as well as other aspects of civil rights in the United States.

Many of the students were familiar with the general outline of the Central High story, but learned much more of our state’s history by being there. Student Nikki Poquette comments, “What happened in Little Rock was very symbolic of that time in America’s history, and their story is remarkable.”

After lunch downtown, the group visited the Clinton Presidential Center and a special exhibit there entitled “The Long Struggle.” The exhibit is an overview of American presidents and their role in civil rights since the Civil War. Logan Thrailkill especially enjoyed this part of the day, noting that “there are many different pieces that form the puzzle of history. I enjoyed picking up many of those pieces, putting them together, and seeing the history of the United States in a new way.”

The group at the Central High School Visitors’ Center

Students Nikki Poquette and Amy Schumacher looking
over the timeline of the Civil Rights event at LRCHS

For questions/comments on this content, please Angie Albright..