It’s not that we don’t contend with distractions. Or notice occasional eyerolls. Or witness practiced adolescent indifference.
Overwhelmingly, though, the hundreds of young people we welcome each year are attentive, inquisitive, and composed. They come to us as members of Scout troops, for our Keeler Kids summer sessions, by the classroom or busload, and — for three days in May — as the entire seventh grade from East Ridge Middle School, the pilot participants in our expanded Education Initiative.
We’ve learned through experience that certain artifacts will catch eyes, and command attention (and the occasional giggle): the cannonball, of course, and the encrusted flintlock muskets with their fearsome bayonets, not to mention the chamber pots. What is more rewarding is how youngsters can be immersed in the drama (and human comedy) of history brought to life, and identify with the stories of the people here — how they lived every day, the crises they faced, the choices they made — and how that heritage resonates in the present day.
We hope our young visitors will take away those lessons in citizenship and culture as the most lasting memories of their visit. As they do, we have even more reason to believe that the kids will be alright — even if grammarians have their reservations.
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