Five Lessons Learned Since the Korean War (VIDEO)
Daniel Boorstin, former librarian of Congress, observed that making decisions today without a knowledge of a problem’s history is like trying to plant cut flowers. It just doesn’t work. The North Korean leader has repeatedly experimented with nuclear weapons and missile systems and has threatened the US. Must we destroy North Korean nukes in a….Read more
Could Andrew Jackson Have Prevented The Civil War?
Could President Andrew Jackson have prevented the Civil War? President Trump made this claim in an interview last week. Trump himself has been compared to Jackson in this space and elsewhere. Both were fighting an entrenched Washington, DC elite. Here are the president’s words: “I mean had Andrew Jackson been a little later you wouldn’t have had the Civil War.….Read more
What’s the Road to True Freedom? (VIDEO)
Imagine yourself a high school counselor. One of your advisees approaches you and says, “Ms. C, I want to drop out of school. Why do I have to read Shakespeare sonnets anyway, or do geometry problems? They’re useless to me. I fix carburetors, and I want to start my own auto repair shop. Will you sign my withdrawal form?”….Read more
Who Owns The Schools?
Think of something as simple as a day at the beach. Drive along the Jersey Shore and you’ll see two kinds of beaches, public and private. You’ll see two extremes at each end. Private beaches, meaning members only, are well-maintained and uncrowded; they are exclusive to a few. On the other hand, the public beaches can have problems….Read more
VIDEO: 5 Defining Doctrines in Presidential History
It all started with the Monroe Doctrine in 1823, when the new American nation began to throw its weight around and flex some muscle in the world. The History Dr looks at five enormously influential foreign policy doctrines by five different presidents, to see how they have shaped world history. A doctrine is simply a statement of goals that America….Read more
Special Prosecutor or Independent Counsel?
Should Congress revive the Office of the Independent Counsel, that special cop who investigates executive branch wrongdoing? With allegations of collusion between Trump’s team and Kremlin election tampering, the debate has gotten a lot of ink (or pixels). But the History Doctor won’t speculate on the current situation. Let’s leave it to others to establish the facts. The….Read more
Immigration Debate (VIDEO)
Immigration is controversial today. And sanctuary cities are under attack from some citizens who feel they encourage lawlessness. But others say they help police focus on what they do best. We gathered at the Rumson Oceanic Library to hold a public debate on the status of immigration. It’s one of the central questions of our society. So, should America remain a….Read more
Useful Grading Rubric For a Mock Trial
Doing mock trials in humanities classes is one of the very best ways for students to experience real learning that lasts. Sending text messages back and forth will never improve their pubic speaking and critical thinking. But taking the witness chair in a murder trial and fending off hostile cross-examination in front of a room full of….Read more
A Simple Reform to Improve the School Day (VIDEO)
As teachers, we were hired to teach a curriculum, some field or discipline. Yet the schools are social institutions as well. Schools serve an important socializing function for young people. They should. We think that the problem arises when school as socializer undermines its other mission, imparting knowledge and skills that stick. Ask any teacher who has received an email….Read more
FISA: The Court That End Runs the Fourth Amendment
The government learned from a detainee in Guantanamo that terrorist Osama Bin Laden was doing business from his hiding places via couriers. The detainee supplied the code name and phone number of the courier, who turned out to be one of two brothers who lived with Bin Laden’s family and served as his personal bodyguards. Agents used electronic surveillance to….Read more