“The White House is one of those symbols everyone knows,” says Castle High School teacher Kelly Graber.
For such a long and storied history, though, many facts about the White House are unknown to the public. In fact, it was former President Theodore Roosevelt who named it “the White House,” when some had previously referred to the home and office of the U.S. President as the “executive mansion.”
That was one of the many fun facts Graber, an Advanced Placement U.S. History teacher with 15 years of experience, learned in 2023 when she first attended the White House History Teacher Institute in Washington, D.C. The experience led Graber – herself a William Henry Harrison High School graduate and collector of White House Christmas ornaments – to apply this year to be a master teacher for Week Two of the institute. She was one of seven accepted, including one of two from the Hoosier State.
The White House Historical Association hosts the institute, an immersive teacher professional development program featuring discussions with historians, site visits, learning activities, guest speakers, and networking opportunities. The program hosts two sessions over several weeks, with different participants and teachers for each session.
Her participation July 15-19 as a master teacher meant she had to present lessons for her fellow teachers, demonstrating how to teach the history of the White House to their students. This year, the WHHA hosted 60 participants and seven teachers. Participation in the program requires an application, including a letter of recommendation and a detailed description of how the program will enhance a teacher’s classroom.
Graber says the institute taught her to think about the human aspect of the White House.
“It’s also a home,” she says.
One of her lesson plans, called “In the Dining Room Where It Happens,” centered on food served at the White House during state dinners. She got the idea from an episode of the WHHA podcast “1600 Sessions” detailing the importance of dining and diplomacy.
“A meal at the White House is never just a meal,” Graber says, indicating that food choices during important events have been the key to diplomacy for centuries.
Her lesson covered the first state dinner at the White House, when President Ulysses Grant hosted King Kalakaua of Hawaii in December 1875. She also covered the story of James Hemings, Thomas Jefferson’s enslaved chef, who trained in Paris, France. Hemings cooked the “Compromise of 1790” dinner, which Jefferson, former President James Madison, and former Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton attended. (Graber’s lesson plan title winks at the dinner’s reference in the musical “Hamilton.”) That dinner established Washington, D.C., as the U.S. capital.
Graber then asked the teachers to present what they would serve at a state dinner to make the lesson more interactive. She says many participants chose to feature regional cuisines; Graber herself likely would feature some Hoosier staples, including pork tenderloin sandwiches and perhaps one of former President Abraham Lincoln’s favorite foods, corn cakes.
She also taught a lesson on Article 2, Section 2, of the U.S. Constitution, which outlines the powers and responsibilities of the president.
The week was not limited to teaching, though. It also focused on learning, which included panel discussions and visiting historic sites like the White House and Blair House, also known as the president’s guest house.
The curators of the White House took them on a tour through paintings and artifacts. Graber’s favorite part of the entire experience was collaborating with her fellow educators and engaging in moments of reflection.
Graber says the institute “makes history real and applicable” as well as “worthwhile and valuable to teachers.”
