Bachmann, Palin and American History

It is disturbing that our leading political figures make mistakes when they make statements concerning history then refuse to publicly correct them selves.  Senator Bachmann, John Quincy Adams is not a founding father, even if he was born in the revolutionary era.  JQ Adams greatest rival, Andrew Jackson, participated in the revolution in a small way and we do not consider him a founding father.  Admit your error and move on!  The same applies to you Gov. Palin, please make the correction and go on instead of steadfastly holding on to erroneous  statements and setting such a poor example for others.

Too Late to Apologize

I know that  is seems I am getting all of my posts in at once.  I do not have medicine head to day so it is just pouring out.  There is a video on YouTube that any secondary history teacher should view.  It is a modified version of the song listed in the title of this post.  Search for "too late to apologize declaration" and it will pop up.  The video is a little over three minutes.  It is awesome!

What Would the Founding Fathers Do?

I recently came across a blog which theorized on what the founding fathers would think about the problems facing the American people today.  Without a lot of study and reading everything a particular founding father wrote, then maybe, a person may have enough of a framework to even guess as to their thoughts on a particular modern subject.  Most of the those talking on pundit programs have no clue whatsoever. This really disturbs me.  With all of the biographical reading and primary source exploration I would hesitate to even make a guess.

Education Study

I wanted to start a study at my school last year but constructing lecture notes and powerpoints for my sections at TCC took that time.  I am trying to narrow the focus of the topic that I chose, which will be something like "Do Scores tell the Story? AYP Stigma and its Effects on School Climate and Performance, A Two Year Study".  I am constructing surveys and gathering the information for the study.  It is still in the formulative stage.  I am anxious to see if a school reputation among the parents and community spreads into the school and effects climate and therefore the performance of the students. I certainly knows it effects the performance of the teachers.  That will be another survey.  If anyone does view this blog and has any ideas,please leave me a comment.   

The Choice of Martin Van Buren

I chose MartinVan Buren due to his relative obscurity with most Americans.  I like the look of his desk so.... the title is strange enough to be cool, to me.  I hope that the blog is unusual enough to create some interest.   

Polk the Empty Nester

While still young James Polk  had a risky surgery for urinary stones.  This could have had him sterile.  If  urinary stones are the 19th century description of kidney stones then the surgery may have been a last alternative to the enormously debilitating pain from stones (I have had them).  It would have been worth it if they were a constant condition.