January 5, 2007
Just a reminder that Millard Fillmore’s 207th birthday anniversary is Sunday, January 7, 2007.
How do you plan to celebrate?
Did he really say that? “May God save the country, for it is evident that the people will not.” (attributed to Fillmore)
Update, January 6, 2007: Elektratig tried to source the quote, but cannot — posts that the line does not sound like Fillmore. At the end of the day, January 5, neither the New York State Library nor the good people at the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society could confirm the quote. We may have to add this line to the list of Bathtub debunkings; but there are many sources yet to check.
Image: State Library of New York
Spread the word; friends don't allow friends to repeat history.
13 Comments | 
Good Quotes, History, Millard Fillmore, Public education | 
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Posted by Ed Darrell
January 5, 2007
One of its architects, Seymour Papert, lies in a Boston hospital (but out of intensive care) recovering from a head injury suffered in a collision with a motorbike in Hanoi in early December, but the idea of equipping tens of millions of students around the world with inexpensive, wireless-ready laptop computers continues to roll towards implementation.
The Christian Science Monitor carries an editorial more full of hope than opinion, on January 5, 2007, about the computer project. The laptops have been dubbed “XO.”
For billions of parents who earn only a few dollars a day, paying for a child’s education – books, etc. – often gets neglected. Many simple solutions that break that cycle of poverty have been tried and have failed. Now another one is on the horizon: a “$100 laptop.”
While noting past errors in sending technology to the third world, the Monitor cites some numbers from implementation that are quite dramatic, if accurate: Read the rest of this entry »
Spread the word; friends don't allow friends to repeat history.
2 Comments | Classroom technology, Education, On-line education, On-line learning, Public education, Teaching, Technology, Technology in the classroom, XO laptops | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
January 4, 2007
[I hear from teachers who want lesson plans dealing with Gerald Ford. Here’s one I came across from the National Archives.]
Vice President Spiro Agnew was forced to resign in late 1973 in lieu of being prosecuted for bribery. The 25th Amendment allows a president to nominate a new vice president in the event of a vacancy. It was passed after the assassination of President Kennedy, when heart-attack victim Lyondon Johnson held office for over a year with no vice president, but it had never been used. With more than two years to go on his second term, Nixon was encouraged to fill the office.
Eventually Nixon picked Gerald Ford, putting Ford in line to become the first U.S. president to hold the office without ever having been elected to either the presidency or vice presidency, though that was unknown in the fall of 1973. What Nixon needed was someone who could pass the “advice and consent” test of the U.S. Senate. He got a letter from the Republican leader in the House, Gerald Ford, a long-time Michigan congressman, who named several others.
Whose names did Ford suggest to Nixon?
That letter is the focus of a lesson plan suitable for high school U.S. history or government classes, which comes with images of the letter and suggested activities from the National Archives.
The National Archives has lesson plans for all eras of U.S. history.
Spread the word; friends don't allow friends to repeat history.
1 Comment | 25th Amendment, Gerald Ford, History, Lesson plans, Presidents, U.S. Constitution, U.S. Senate, Watergate scandal | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
January 4, 2007
Not in years — but the 100th Carnival of Education is up over at Teaching in the Twenty-first Century.
What is that in scientific notation? In binary?
- The Howard School, a one-room schoolhouse in Oregon’s Ochocos Mountains area, about 30 miles east of Prineville, Oregon. The school appears to be abandoned, an Oregon Ghost. Photo by Bruce Johnson, who holds the copyright. Used by permission. (More great photos of Oregon available at http://www.OregonPhotos.com).
Spread the word; friends don't allow friends to repeat history.
1 Comment | Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), Education, Education blogs, Education reform, No Child Left Behind Act, Teaching | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
January 3, 2007
Step right up — not even one thin dime, not even one-tenth of a dollar!
The 29th Carnival of the Liberals is up over at Daylight Atheism.
And one of my blog posts is included, the one where I take Roy Moore to task for his uncharitable, anti-American views on having a Moslem in Congress. And while this is a blog of history, events have overtaken that post on the day the Carnival set up its tents — Rep. Ellison creatively pointed out the value of religious freedom and tied it to the founders (go see how.)
Go see the Carnival of the Liberals — there are a lot of posts noted there that are worthy of your attention.
Spread the word; friends don't allow friends to repeat history.
1 Comment | Current History, First Amendment, Politics, Religious Freedom | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
January 3, 2007
The good news is that Russian high school biology textbooks talk about Darwin, at long last, after the 74-year rule of the Communists decimated the corps of teachers who taught Darwinian evolution, partly because Darwin was ‘too bourgeois.’
The bad news is that Russian creationists, with what appears to be the support of the Russian Orthodox Church, are suing to bring back the old Stalinist views that Darwin was wrong. The case is loaded with irony, not the least that Theodosius Dobzhansky, the famous biologist who noted that biology is only clear under the light of evolution theory, was devoutly Russian Orthodox.
This case appears to have gone on for some time, but details are only now coming to these shores. The Baltimore Sun had a story on the case today. And, as if one would not guess, it appears the case is brought by a public relations company — perhaps the Moscow branch of the Swift Boat Veterans?
Tip of the scrub brush to Panda’s Thumb, where there is guaranteed to be more discussion of the issue.
Spread the word; friends don't allow friends to repeat history.
Leave a Comment » | Bogus history, Cold War, Creationism, Darwin, Evolution, History, Religious Freedom, Science and faith, Voodoo history | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
January 3, 2007
U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., delivered a lesson to critics today on the value of knowing history.
First, Los Angeles conservative radio host Dennis Prager embarrassed himself by calling on Ellison to use a Christian Bible to put his left hand on while being sworn in as a Member of Congress, the first Moslem to be a Member. Ellison pointed out that in the swearing-in ceremony, no book is used, and noted that other religious texts have been used by people of other faiths during the photo session afterward, when members re-enact the swearing in with the Speaker of the House. Prager compounded his history sins by refusing to back down. Ellison correctly stood his ground.
Then Virginia’s U.S. Rep. Virgil Goode pushed it farther, warning that unless we control immigration, Ellison will be the beachhead for a Moslem take-over of Congress. Ellison, defending the Bill of Rights, stood his ground and refused to get into a name-calling discussion.
Then Roy Moore of Alabama, who was rejected by voters for governor after having made a spectacle of himself and the Alabama Supreme Court over his efforts to install his own religious shrine in the Supreme Court Building, called for Ellison to be denied his seat. Ellison coolly ignored Moore, defending the First Amendment instead.
Now Ellison has acted, and his action comprises a neat, clean and witty rebuttal to the critics.
Read the rest of this entry »
Spread the word; friends don't allow friends to repeat history.
4 Comments | First Amendment, History, Leadership, Politics, Religious Freedom, Thomas Jefferson, U.S. Constitution | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
January 2, 2007
Browsing at Positive Liberty today I first saw the news that the Rev. D. James Kennedy suffered a heart attack, and is hospitalized. Kennedy is the head of Coral Ridge Ministries in Florida, and a leader of the history revisionist movement to rewrite especially textbooks to argue that the U.S. should have a religiously-based government.
It appears the news didn’t get out quickly. The Miami Herald had a story just today, though Kennedy’s heart attack was last Thursday. Jonathan Rowe urges a speedy recovery, so Kennedy can continue to provide material for that blog. I think there’s enough material for this blog without Kennedy, but I wish him a complete recovery anyway.
Spread the word; friends don't allow friends to repeat history.
2 Comments | America's founding, Bad Quotes, Creationism, History, History Revisionism, Hoaxes, Intelligent Design, Science and faith, Voodoo history | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
January 2, 2007
Here’s one indicator that testing has gone way too far and is damaging children rather than improving their education: A bill in the Texas House of Representatives requires school districts to consider recess.
Like Dave Barry, we can’t make this stuff up. Rep. Mike Villareal, who represents part of Bexar County in District 123 (near San Antonio) has a bill in the hopper, H. B. 366, which requires districts to have advisory groups to stress the value of recess. (Text of the bill is below the fold.)
Would schools be so crazy as to cancel recess? Yes, that’s been our experience. Cancelling recess gives an elementary school an extra 30 minutes of class time every day. So, to impress administrators somewhere, some schools cancel recess. Despite studies showing that recess boosts learning and test scores, schools are cancelling recess.
Nuts. (Quick, what battle is that from?)
Read the rest of this entry »
Spread the word; friends don't allow friends to repeat history.
15 Comments | Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), Education, Education reform, No Child Left Behind Act, Public education | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
January 2, 2007
At Boston 1775, J. L. Bell discusses what is known about the accuracy of reports that Gen. George Washington had a vision of an angel while the Continental Army camped at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. I cannot improve on Mr. Bell’s telling of the story, so go read it there.
Spread the word; friends don't allow friends to repeat history.
7 Comments | 1776, Accuracy, America's founding, Bogus history, George Washington, History, History blogs, History Revisionism, Hoaxes | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
January 2, 2007
“When you have to kill a man it costs nothing to be polite.”
- Winston Churchill, The Second World War: Moral of the Work, vol. III, The Grand Alliance (1950)
- Sir Winston Churchill, 1946 portrait by Douglas Chandor, courtesy of Smithsonian Institution, National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C.
Spread the word; friends don't allow friends to repeat history.
Leave a Comment » | Accuracy, Good Quotes, History, Iraq, Winston Churchill | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
January 2, 2007
The White House Historical Association recently published a special feature on presidents’ funerals. Their website has an interactive display worth checking out. I predict the network anchors will have this site up on their computers while they talk — it carries details of several presidents’ funerals, and a nice photo display.
I found the link through an article in the Austin American-Statesman. It mentions the print version of the historical journal, but I cannot find a link to it, nor any other mention of it (if you go to the paper’s story, note that their link to the White House Historical Association site was incorrect as of early on January 2).
Some tidbits gleaned from Ms. Faulkner’s article: The official government name for pall bearers is “body bearers.” The official name for a rifle honor corps is “firing party.” On the day after the death of a president or ex-president, a gun is fired every half hour at Army installations from reveille to retreat. On the day of burial, those installations fire a 21-gun salute at noon and a 50-gun salute (one per state) at five-second intervals following the lowering of the flag.
The Army’s Military District of Washington has prime responsibility for presidential funerals, but ex-presidents and their families are involved in the planning.
“Like most men my age, I have given a thought or two to my funeral,” Ford said in a November 2005 eulogy for presidential historian Hugh Sidey. “As a former president, I’m almost required to since the military periodically updates its own plans and each presidential family is solicited for personal touches.”
Ford had originally asked retired Time Magazine correspondent Hugh Sidey to deliver the euology at the funeral, a tip of respect to journalists in general. Unfortunately, Sidey died last year. (I also cannot find Ford’s tribute to Sidey; if you find the link, please send it along.)
Spread the word; friends don't allow friends to repeat history.
Leave a Comment » | Current History, Gerald Ford, History, Presidents | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
January 2, 2007
Actions convey messages. Actions communicate. How one acts in regarding the U.S. flag, at different times when action is required, tells something about character — whether one was even paying attention when respect for the flag, and the ideals it portrays, was explained.
President Ford’s casket lies in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol. New York Times photo by Todd Heisler.
Here are a few things you may observe during the services for President Ford: Read the rest of this entry »
Spread the word; friends don't allow friends to repeat history.
7 Comments | Accuracy, Bogus history, Flag etiquette, Gerald Ford, Presidents | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
January 1, 2007
Last August I noted in this column the Dallas Morning News story about Everman, Texas, where the local school district not only allows paddling — corporal punishment — but appears to endorse it as a key part of education.
Now comes a new legislature, and Texas State Rep. Alma Allen has filed a bill to ban corporal punishment, H. B. 379. To assuage those who argue that corporal punishment is necessary to maintain classroom discipline, the bill authorizes teachers and other school employees to use physical restraint to protect students from injury, and to get contraband.
Of course, this is the similar to the bill Dr. Allen introduced in the last session. It went nowhere, and without a dramatic change in tone in the state, this bill is likely to die in committee, too. But watch that space anyway.
Allen is a life-long educator representing District 131 in Houston. She holds an M.Ed from Texas Southern, and a D.Ed. from Houston. She retired as an administrator in the Houston Independent School District.
The full text of the bill is below the fold.
Read the rest of this entry »
Spread the word; friends don't allow friends to repeat history.
23 Comments | Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), Corporal punishment, Education, Education reform, Paddling or spanking, School discipline | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
January 1, 2007
A brave kid in Kearny, New Jersey, recorded his high school history teacher doing what can be fairly described as preaching religion instead of teaching history. That should be good enough warning to good and careful history teachers to keep doing their jobs right.
Some citizens of Kearny, however, take a different view: On a city-run internet bulletin board the student gets little support, and his father gets threatened. Jim Lippard at the Lippard Blog has a summary of key details.
And you thought your class a tough room to work?
And a tip of the old scrub brush for tracking the story to Pharyngula.
Postscript: Does anyone know how to pronounce the name of that town? Like Kearns, Utah, or is it like Kearny, Nebraska?
Spread the word; friends don't allow friends to repeat history.
5 Comments | Accuracy, Bogus history, Civil Rights, Curricula, Voodoo history | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Millard Fillmore's Bathtub 