By Nate Jones

Staff Writer 

This summer 27-year-old South Portland resident and Scarborough High School History Teacher Sarah Welch-Bailey will leave her new husband at home while she travels to Springfield, Ill. for an all-expenses-paid, five-day excursion. While Springfield may not be the most popular vacation spot for a young newlywed, Welch-Bailey said she is excited to visit Abraham Lincoln’s hometown with history teachers from across the country.

“I watch the History Channel a lot,” she said. 

Last week the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (ALPLM) and the Horace Mann Insurance Company, who will pay for Welch-Bailey’s expenses, pronounced her the 2008 Abraham Lincoln Fellow for Maine. Welch-Bailey said she submitted two different essays on methods used in her classroom to qualify for the conference.

“I focus on the different doors [Lincoln] opened during the Civil War and what he did for African American slaves during his lifetime,” Welch-Bailey said.

Welch-Bailey said she often includes Lincoln’s connections with “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” author Harriet Beecher Stowe in her lessons.

“When they met, [Lincoln] shook [Stowe’s] hand and said ‘So you’re the one who started this war,” Welch-Bailey said. “It’s interesting he would blame such a pro-anti-slavery, humble person for starting a war.”

A Connecticut native, Welch-Bailey said she has adjusted to life in northern New England since attending Colby-Sawyer College in New London, N.H.

“It’s been a big change,” she said. “It’s a little slower pace than I’m used to, but everyone is so nice about it.”

Welch-Bailey enrolled in both general history and education courses at Colby-Sawyer and spent seven months in Ireland as part of a study abroad program during her undergraduate studies. During her stay there she had the opportunity to study medieval history.  

“It was the best experience I’ve ever had,” she said. “It was nice to get out there and take a look at something different.”

After graduating, Welch-Bailey attended classes at the University of Connecticut where she focused on studying American history. She said she particularly enjoys learning about political figures.

“I am a fan of [Franklin D. Roosevelt] and Truman, but Lincoln was really the people’s favorite president,” she said. 

Now Welch-Bailey teaches Scarborough High School freshmen, sophomores and juniors. History lessons range from general world studies to early American history and current events, she said. 

Although the Abraham Lincoln Fellowship is open to kindergarten through grade 12 educators, Welch-Bailey said she specifically hopes to connect with other high school teachers as she has no future plans to instruct different age groups. 

“I love the level of interaction and maturity [high school] students have,” she said. “It’s so great when they can just let loose during debates and share their thoughts with each other.”

One of the most challenging aspects of teaching can be getting students to relate to historical figures, Welch-Bailey said; incorporating visual aids and small factual details help students bridge the gap. 

“It’s important to make connections to [students’] everyday lives,” she said. 

Welch-Bailey also encourages students to compare history to current events. 

“We look at what constitutes a civil war, what other countries have had them and why,” she said. “Sometimes students find similarities to the American Civil War the Vietnam War, and we consider what’s going on in Iraq too.”

Welch-Bailey said she notices traces of historical figures in modern politicians. Although Lincoln died nearly 150 years ago, aspects of his political strategies are still noticeable in many modern day politicians, she said.

“We’re in a very different situation now, but you could pretty much roll all the different aspects of [modern day politicians] together into [Lincoln],” she said. “They let us get the inside scoop.”

Museum Communications Director David Blanchette said the program invites 50 participants, one from each state, for the past three years. The 50 Abraham Lincoln Fellows are divided into two groups, 25 travel to the museum in June and the other half in July. 

Blanchette said in addition to attending lectures from “the world’s top Lincoln historians,” Abraham Lincoln fellows will visit a variety of historical sites in the area including Lincoln’s New Salem, a historically rebuilt log cabin village, the Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices where he worked as an attorney for 12 years, the Old State Capitol Historic Site, Lincoln’s original Springfield homestead and the tomb where he is buried. 

“This is where he actually lived, his actual house,” Blanchard said of the Springfield homestead. “All the sites have been historically restored to the way it would have looked in Lincoln’s day.”

Nearly half a million people visit the museum every year, but the Abraham Lincoln Fellows have a chance to explore the entire Lincoln landscape, he said

“Most people that come to the museum do it on their own, with their own time schedule,” Blanchette said. “These people are getting an in depth look at the life of Lincoln and why, nearly 150 years later, his presence is still felt.”

During the fellowship, Welch-Bailey and other K-12 history teachers will use the primary resources and lectures to develop an effective lesson plan for their respective classrooms. 

“We give them homework,” Blanchette said.

Welch-Bailey said she had been thinking about applying for a Fulbright scholarship to visit historical locations outside the U.S. after her trip to Illinois. 

“I’d really like to go to Japan for three weeks,” she said. 

In a time when school budgets are being continually downsized by town and city officials throughout the state, Welch-Bailey said it’s important for educators to think beyond the classroom.

“Get out there, know what your resources are, find the grants and the programs to further your experience,” she said.