New Canaan Experiment Class Holds 40th
Reunion
Norfolk, Va.—Norfolk
State University will host the 40th reunion
celebration for the New Canaan Experiment participants
November 20-22 in various locations on the campus. In
the fall of 1969, ten students from Norfolk State
College began their student teaching in New Canaan,
Connecticut. The town of New Canaan welcomed the
students, all seniors, planning special social
activities and providing housing with local families.
The project was designed to examine the impact of
“directed teaching experiences” on the prospective
teachers in a cultural and social setting outside of
their own community.
The 1969 New
Canaan Experiment project cost just $3,040, which
included the students’ airfare, $10 a week for each
student for personal expenses, a $60 stipend to each of
the cooperating local teachers and a $540 reimbursement
for college supervisors to observe and evaluate the
program. The investment produced a crop of teachers who
spent a lifetime teaching and mentoring students all
over the country.
As
participants in the New Canaan Experiment project,
scores of Norfolk State students were given a rare
opportunity to become trailblazers in the field of
education between 1969 and 1977. One of the highlights
of the reunion celebration is a symposium, organized by
NSU’s School of Education that will address the topic
Culture, Race, Class and Student Teaching: A Reflective
Dialogue with New Canaan Experiment Participants. The
New Canaan Experiment participants will also take campus
tours, attend a reunion dinner and dance and attend the
NSU vs. Winston Salem State football game on November 21
as guests of NSU President Carolyn W. Meyers.
For more information, call the NSU Office of
Communications and Marketing at 757-823-8373.
