The New
Great Chapter Of Dighton Rock
!
By
Manuel Luciano da Silva, MD
April 14 2005
Mr.
John Arruda, the dynamic teacher of the Portuguese classes at the Portsmouth
High School, was able to include, for the past two years, in
the curriculum of his school, an
annual lecture on the History of Dighton Rock and also a trip
to the Dighton Rock Museum with all his students together with students
from the classes of the European History taught
by Mr. Tim Ryan.
So on Tuesday, March 8th, 2005,
at 8 am, I went to Portsmouth High School
to give to the above
described
students my lecture number 395th
with color slides describing the history of Dighton Rock inscriptions.
Then, on Friday, April 8th, 2005, two
school buses took the same group of
students to see the Dighton Rock
Museum in Berkley, MA, which
is only 20 miles from the Portsmouth
High School.
74
students from the Portsmouth
High School,
in RI, with
the four teachers in a kneeling position.
I
had the great pleasure of
being their guide. First I explained to all the students the panels and
the maritime artifacts, and then we divide the
students in four groups so I could explain
to them, in front of the rock, how to read the inscriptions on the face
of the rock, by using diagrams with
the Portuguese national symbols and comparing them with the inscriptions
engraved on the face of the rock for all the students to verify. I
also put off all the lights inside the
pavilion where the rock is now preserved in a large octagonal
glass enclosure, and using a flash light, sideways, I demonstrated to
the students that the best way to see or photograph
any inscriptions is at midnight, not at
high noon!
Some
students even touched the rock in a
symbolic gesture!
At
the end I took a historical
photograph of all the students with
their teachers in front of the Museum.
They
were accompanied by Mr. John Arruda, teacher of Portuguese classes, Mr. Tim Rayn,
teacher of European History, by Mr. Mike Lunney,
Athletic Director, and
by Ms. Susan Small, Librarian of the
Portsmouth
High School
.
From the
Dighton
Rock
State Park
we went
to “Soares Restaurant” in
Fall River
for a delicious lunch with a
variety of typical Portuguese foods.
Mr.
Cândido Almeida
, from Taunton, who was for many years president of the Portuguese official
School of Taunton, was invited by
Mr. John Arruda to join the group and I went also to eat and to take many photos
of this young and enthusiastic group of American
born students.
My
greatest
pleasure
I
was very pleased with this visit because of
several reasons:
(1)
First I am most grateful to Mr. John Arruda
for
including the study of
Dighton
Rock and a visit to the
Museum as part of
the
Annual
School
Curriculum
of the Portsmouth
High School.
(2)
To bring also the students of European History to see and study
and
appreciate this American monument.
(3)
To give an example to other teachers of Portuguese in the High Schools of this
region for them to include also in their curriculum an annual study of
Dighton Rock
and a visit to the Museum.
(4)
To give an opportunity to ALL the students,
including students of other ethnicities,
--
as ALL Americans, because
Dighton Rock
is an American Monument, not a Portuguese one -- to learn of
the importance of studying
and appreciating the historical sites and monuments of
this region.
(5) And also to give an example to the Portuguese community and their
descendents for them to be
proud of the Portuguese historical
meaning of
Dighton Rock inscriptions.
I want also to thank Mr. John Roberts, General Manager of
the
Dighton
Rock
State Park
, to
open the Museum for this
special visit by the students from the
Portsmouth
High School.
I made a set of color photographs of the visit and of the students
eating at “Soares Restaurant”
and gave them to Mr. John Arruda and
also a copy of my book “Os
Pioneiros Portugueses e a Pedra de Dighton”
(sold out many years ago) for
their Library and I was pleased to learn that
all the students enjoyed very much the
visit to Dighton Rock.
This week, Mr.
John Arruda is going to Lisbon, Portugal, with a group of his students. I advised them to pay
a visit to the Replica of Dighton
Rock made of fiberglass, which
has been standing at the entrance of the Maritime Museum in Lisbon, since
1983, as a gift from the Portuguese-Americans of New England
to the Portuguese People.
|
Click on each photo for a larger view |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Mr. Tim Ryann
with his class of European History
|
Even the Portsmouth
Band came to see the Dighton Rock |
Portuguese
American Restaurant,
in Fall River
|
John
Arruda, Teacher of Portuguese |
Mike
Lunney, Athletic Director
|
