San Jacinto Museum of History to Pay Tuition for 10 Teachers at the San Jacinto Symposium

The San Jacinto Museum of History is offering ten $55 scholarships to the San Jacinto Symposium to educators teaching 4th and 7th grade Texas history, announced Museum president Larry Spasic, a former school teacher himself.  Teachers in public and private schools in Texas are eligible.

"Winning the Battle of San Jacinto on April 21, 1836, was critical to creating the Republic of Texas and led to the expansion of the United States to the Pacific Ocean," Spasic said.  "This significant battle happened right here in Harris County.  We want our Texas history teachers to be excited about this history-changing event, and to hear the latest research and pass it along to their students."

"The scholarships are a perfect fit for our current program," said David D. Brittain, chairman of the San Jacinto Symposium planning committee and a director of the sponsoring Friends of the San Jacinto Battleground.  "The Friends is approved as a Certified Professional Educator and issues six (CPE) hours for teachers attending the Symposium."

The Symposium is a day-long forum to promote public awareness of the events of the Texas Revolution.  The 2011 session will be held on Sat., Apr. 16, at the Hilton Hotel & Converence Center, University of Houston. 

In recognition of the 175th Anniversary of the Battle of San Jacinto, this year's theme is The Legacy of San Jacinto.  Four outstanding speakers will discuss the impact of the battle and the Texas Revolution on the United States, Mexico, Texas, and culture through its depiction in artwork.

The speakers will be: Daniel Walker Howe, winner of the 2008 Pulitzer Prize in History for his book, What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848, is professor of history emeritus at Oxford and UCLA.  Romeo Ricardo Flores Caballero, Mexican politician and diplomat, is a noted authority on the American-Mexican frontier and director of the state archives of Nuevo León in Monterrey, Mexico.   Ty Cashion, professor of history at Sam Houston State University, is working on a book-length study that challenges the "Myth of Texceptionalism."  Sam Deshong Ratcliffe, head of the Bywaters Special Collections at the Hamon Arts Library at SMU, is curator of art and teacher of history and literature of Texas and the American West.

James E. Crisp, associate professor of history, North Carolina State University, will be the moderator.

Additional information and scholarship applications are available on-line at www.friendsofsanjacinto.org or www.sanjacinto-museum.org.  For information, call (281) 479-2421 or email library@sanjacinto-museum.org.

Completed scholarship applications must be received at the Museum by Fri. Apr. 1.  Winners will be selected in random drawings on Tues. Apr. 5.