Tuesday, October 10, 2006

I am an Archivist

That's what I do. If you have visited this blog, you have noticed two of the links that I have placed under the links section. The first is a link to the Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference, a regional professional organization of approximately 1000 members stretching from New York to Virginia. The second link is for the Society of American Archivists, the national professional organization of which I am a member.

This is Archives Week in the USA. Today to commemorate Archives Week in New York City, members of the Archivists Roundtable of New York got to ring the Opening Bell on the Stock Exchange. Tomorrow, here in Washington, DC, the 10th Annual Washington, DC Archives Fair will be held at the National Archives.

Archives are great things. I used to be a Social Studies teacher and when I was in college, I had a professor who offered us a cryptic piece of advice. He told us (a group of students learning how to be teachers), "As a teacher, you must decide whether to teach history to students or teach students history." He didn't elaborate on his words, only to give us the caveat to decide which way we wanted to teach. When we figured out the right way, we would be successful. I have often thought of those words as I taught, deciding the right way was to teach history to students by involving them in the process.

There is no greater joy for a teacher than when a student "gets it." As an archivist, I have "it" and there are lots of people out there "looking for it." The best part of my job now is when I have the opportunity to share the knowledge of history with those who seek it.

In a few weeks, I will attend the Fall meeting of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference in Morristown, New Jersey. I will be sure to let everyone know about the meeting, because what I do is fun and everyone should have a fun job.

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