Engaging Distracted Students (VIDEO)
If you’re a teacher you know the distraction I’m talking about here. Even if you’re not a teacher, you’re probably aware of how difficult it is to compete with the allure of technology. Using their phones gives your students a hit of dopamine, so it’s no wonder they resist putting them away. We love what technology has brought….Read more
Another Runaway Slave Named Harriet (VIDEO)
Most Americans have heard of Harriet Tubman, the iron-willed “conductor” on the Underground Railroad who made hundreds of trips into the South before the Civil War to rescue escaped slaves. Tubman was so dangerous to slaveholders that they put a price on her head. But we know rather little of Tubman because she gave us no….Read more
Presidents’ Day Quiz: Answers about Washington and Lincoln
In case you took our deep dive last week into the lives of presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, we owe you the answer key. Was it George or Abe? As president, he once held an ax with his arm fully extended outward to the amazement of the troops he was visiting, none of whom could emulate him despite….Read more
Gimme Shelter: Sanctuaries, Runaway Slaves and Trump’s Orders
The fascinating story of Anthony Burns, runaway slave who was championed by Massachusetts abolitionists, has parallels with today’s immigration reform debate. Sanctuary cities and states refuse to help enforce federal laws they disagree with. Abolitionists did the same. With some differences. Burns, born a Virginia slave in 1834, escaped in 1853, in the tense years just before the Civil War. He fled to….Read more
Presidents’ Day: How Well Do You Know George and Abe?
In honor of Presidents’ Day, instead of selling you a mattress or car insurance, the History Dr. has what we hope will be an interesting challenge. While Presidents’ Day was originally dedicated to President George Washington, who was born on February 22, it’s now celebrated for all U.S. presidents. We include our favorite, Abraham Lincoln, here with Washington. Both Abraham….Read more
Defeating ISIS: Does History Teach Anything?
If America was able to annihilate both Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, whose armies numbered in the millions, why can we not defeat the Islamic State (ISIS) whose force is less than 50,000? ISIS is the most vicious jihadist army in the world that’s hunkered down in parts of Syria and Iraq. It came to control sections of both….Read more
Why Merit Pay Is a Merit-less Idea
It sounds so logical: Run teaching as if a school were a business. Use merit pay to get better performance out of the nation’s teachers. Why should automatic salary increases be part of any profession? Why not dangle a $20,000 bonus out there within a school faculty? So, the very best teacher gets the extra dough. And….Read more
(VIDEO) Executive Dis-Orders Create Questions
Executive orders by a president aren’t exactly laws. But they can create sweeping changes in society. In theory, we have separation of powers and checks and balances. In reality, a tug of war between institutions of government is inevitable. The president isn’t supposed make laws. Congress does. President Obama, and others before him, made executive orders. President Donald….Read more
Tricky But Not Sticky: Campaign Finance Reform Keeps Failing
Right before Nixon’s re-election in 1972, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sued the New York Times for refusing to print an ad. It was called “An Open Letter to President Richard M. Nixon in Opposition to His Stand on School Segregation.” Why wouldn’t the Times print it? Because the Federal Election Campaign Act required groups such as the ACLU to submit….Read more
Why Grade Inflation Affects All of Us
We recently posed the hypothetical question of a high school senior who earned a 78% at report card time in late October. “Kevin C” requested another chance to get his average to 85 or greater so he could qualify for an Early Action decision from his first-choice college. He wants spend the weekend writing a research paper to boost his grade. It’s….Read more