Benson named Minnesota’s American History Teacher of the Year

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LUVERNE — Do you have Abe Lincoln in a can? How about in a box? How about in a boxed set?

Jerry Benson does.

Benson, an eighth-grade American History teacher at Luverne Middle School, was named as Minnesota’s American History Teacher of the Year by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.

As part of the award, the institute donated $500 worth of educational materials to the Luverne Middle/High School Library, including books about Abraham Lincoln, George Washington and Frederick Douglas, CDs, DVDs — even an Abraham Lincoln History in a Box Set.

“The selection is truly amazing,” said Librarian Kim Schmidt. “(The materials) will benefit the students.”

“It’s a collage of the materials used at the (Gilder) summer institute in New York,” Benson said of the books, some of which are filled with copies of historical documents. “That’s what (the institute) focuses on, using primary documents to bring history back to life.”

It’s a concept that is not lost on Benson, a Civil War re-enactor who has spent 39 years as a history teacher — 29 in the Magnolia (and later Luverne) school district.

“I love it all,” he answered when asked about his favorite historical period. Benson has served on numerous boards, including working with the Department of Education Planning Committee for High School Geography Class and the Minnesota Council for the Social Studies. One of his lesson plans was used at a national conference on social studies.

Of special interest to him, though, is the Lewis and Clark Expedition. He was selected in 2001 by the National Geographic Society to travel to the University of Montana and work on the Bicentennial Institute for Lewis and Clark.

There he drew on his historical geography background to work on “Lewis and Clark: Great Journey West,” an IMAX movie about the expedition, among other tasks.

With his mentor, South Dakota State University Professor Fritz Gritzner, he led summer graduate tours of the Lewis and Clark trail. Later, he would adapt his knowledge for a younger crowd, teaching an elective course on the expedition to middle school students.

“They do a power point (presentation) on one tribe that Lewis and Clark came in contact with. They do a lot of work with Native Americans, ’cause without Native Americans Lewis and Clark would not have made it,” he explained.

As Minnesota’s representative for the award, Benson has the opportunity to travel to the Gilder Foundation in New York this summer and spend several weeks attending breakout sessions.

But he may have prior commitments. Not one to rest on his laurels, Benson is already scheduled to work as a grader of AP Geography exams and teach a summer course at SDSU.

He said he tailors his teaching to meet his audience’s needs.

“I try to bring a wide variety,” he said. “I might have four sections of American History, but I don’t teach it the same way hour to hour.”

He tries to incorporate online activities, art and music into his lessons as well.

“The history of the United States is a great drama with various acts and stages,” he said. “My philosophy of history is that history is about people, not dates.”

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