RCA students learn local history
Rhea County Academy students in Mrs. Karen Blakney’s 4th grade classroom recently visited the Rhea County Courthouse and Scopes Museum. Students sat in the jury box in the Scopes Trial Courtroom and heard how the actions of John Butler, The Dayton Coal and Iron Company, George Rappelyea and Mr. and Mrs. F.E. Robinson led to the Scopes Trial. They were told specific happenings of the trial and its verdict. The beginning of Bryan College as a memorial to William Jennings Bryan was discussed. Blakney expressed the importance of students learning local history, “When students learn about things that happened in their hometown, it connects them to the past. History isn't just something that happened long ago and far away; it happened right here and still has an effect on our lives today.”