Last November I applied for a Lilly Endowment Teacher Creativity Grant. This is a grant that is awarded annuallyto 120 Indiana teachers, counselors, or principals. (If you would like to learn more about the grant, visit http://www.lillyendowment.org/ and click on "Education.")
Fast forward to February. On Thursday, February 17th, I arrived home to find a large envelope waiting for me. As I opened up the envelope, I realized that I had become one of the lucky 120 grant recipients for 2011. My grant proposal was based on the life of Phineas Gage. (If you are not familiar with Gage, see the italicized paragraph below.) I was awarded my grant to create a Phineas Gage documentary. For this documentary I will interview Gage experts, film where his accident occurred, drive the stagecoach route he drove for 7 years, see his grave, and much more. I am excited about this unique opportunity! This blog is part of my grant as well; I hope to keep my students and all others informed about my travels--most of which will take place this summer.
Phineas Gage was a man who had a horrible accident on September 13, 1848; Gage was blasting through the mountains of Vermont when an accidental explosion occurred and a 3 1/2 foot tamping iron shot through his head. Despite this horrific accident, Gage did not lose consciousness, and he was still able to walk and talk--he even documented his accident in his notebook shortly thereafter! The story of his life only gets more intriguing as doctors save him and document his recovery progress (though, as my students could tell you, he never fully recovered).
