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Most Massachusetts students only study their own backyard when they read about the American Revolution and perhaps one or two other events or services tied tightly to the Commonwealth. For people like Mass Studies Project Dir. Barbara Robinson it's unfortunate that a state with the history and resources of Massachusetts doesn't do a better job linking classroom learning with hometown reality. "Take a class studying the civil war. The text book might be boring to the kids, but if you find out down the road is a civil war memorial that has the names of people from the town that died in the war, then maybe it's not as boring to the kids," she explains. But how do you put that information in the hands of the teachers? A major piece of the Mass. Studies Project is world-wide-web accessible database of resources. A teacher goes to the Mass Studies site, seraches for particular topics and can then use that information to build a very tangible lesson plan for the students. "As far as we know we are the only organization in the state trying to promote these resources," says Robinson. Even in its startup, the Mass. Studies Project has more than 800 resources in its database, plus more than 500 organizations for teachers to turn to for more information, and about 80 primary sources &emdash; scans of documents and images that teachers and students can download. Still Robinson sees greater potential on the horizon, but to realize that potential will take getting the word out to teachers and building support among them and educational leaders in the state. The Mass. Studies Project is an avenue for students of all ages to learn more about their communities while also building a greater, localized, understanding of many subjects &emdash; something that can't be done with generic text books and teachers who increasingly come from outside a community and even the state. "Every town has a story to tell but for most of them it hasn't been told yet," says Robinson. The Mass. Studies Web Site is found
at the following address:
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