The Sudbury, Assabet and Concord Wild and Scenic River Stewardship Council and The Old Manse celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the passage of the Wild and Scenic Rivers act with a discussion about teaching and learning on the Concord River lead by Michael Goodwin. Congress designated 29 miles of the Concord, Sudbury and Assabet Rivers as Wild and Scenic in 1999, noting the Concord River’s significance for both literature and history. Goodwin will share his experience developing the “Rivers and Revolutions” program at Concord Carlisle High School and lead attendees in a discussion about how close investigation of the river helps us think deeply about both teaching and learning. Through the discussion we’ll consider how the river helps us understand ourselves and our communities, the ability of the river to offer important lessons in multiple subject areas, and how experiences outside the classrooms bring about new discoveries about the past and present.

Michael Goodwin began his career in education as a teacher of English at the Groton School. Following Groton, he settled in Vermont, where he worked intensively with students who had been expelled from the public school system. In the summer of 2010, he opened The Concord River School, offering a tuition-free interdisciplinary academic experience to high school students between Leominster and Boston, entitled: Rivers and Revolutions. This program has since been incorporated into Concord-Carlisle High School as a “school-within-a-school.” Currently, Michael is in the early stages of creating the Concord River Institute—an instructional laboratory set to open in the not too distant future. Michael holds a BA in Fine Arts from Amherst College and a M. Ed in School Leadership from Harvard University.