Tuskegee Airmen medal ceremony set for March 29

March 23, 2007

Tuskegee Airmen in Europe, Library of Congress photo

Congress voted to award the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor to the Tuskegee Airmen as a group. The ceremony is set for Washington, D.C., in the Capitol Rotunda, for March 29, 2007.

This is another great story of Americans, otherwise held down in their daily life, who rise to meet a monstrous challenge. They not only met the challenge but achieved a degree of triumph beyond what anyone had hoped. The story is a natural segue to the post World War II civil rights movement, and it fits nicely into studies of the war or studies of civil rights. News items around the time of the ceremony should update the history of the Tuskegee Airmen and provide good photos for classroom presentations.

“It’s sort of an open validation of the Tuskegee Airmen, that we fought stereotypes, overcame them and prevailed,” said Roscoe Brown, an 85-year-old Riverdale, N.Y., resident who graduated from the Tuskegee program in 1944. “This is the ultimate when your nation recognizes you.”

The gold medal, equivalent to the Presidential Medal of Freedom, is awarded to individuals or groups for singular acts of exceptional service and for lifetime achievement. The Tuskegee fliers will join a distinguished group of recipients that includes George Washington, Winston Churchill, Rosa Parks, the Wright brothers and former Secretary of State Colin Powell.

Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., and Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., introduced identical bills in the House of Representatives and the Senate in 2005 to give the airmen the congressional medal. The Senate bill passed in October 2005 and the House followed in February 2006. President Bush signed the bill into law last April.

It is also a story of racism and bureaucratic bungling delaying appropriate recognition to heroes for 60 years.

Lee Archer, 87, of New Rochelle, is America’s first black flying ace.

“It shows the country is trying to right an old wrong,” Archer said. “I never thought we would get it, but we would have done it without any recognition … . My family is very excited. I am, too.”

Of the 994 black aviators who got their training at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama beginning in 1942, fewer than 385 are still alive. On March 4, Edgar L. Bolden, 85, who trained at Tuskegee and flew P-47s, died in Portland, Ore.

More information:

Tip of the old scrub brush to Resist Racism.

Leave a Comment » | Civil Rights, Current History, Curricula, Freedom - Political, Heroes, History, Leadership, Patriotism, War, World War II | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Teacher and student history resources, from the Feds

March 13, 2007

Federal Resources for Educational Excellence (FREE) is a great idea. Federal agencies are loaded with information useful to teachers and students, formerly available in print if one could find the appropriate phone number or get lucky with a mail sweepstakes. Now a lot of the information is compiled specifically for education, and the U.S. Department of Education has compiled a user-congenial site to help educators find the stuff.

FREE image from home page

Under “U.S. History and Topics” you may find a good deal of support for most social studies disciplines. The Women’s History Month focus highlights two topics from the Library of Congress and two from the National Endowment for the Humanities.   Read the rest of this entry »

1 Comment | Classroom technology, Curricula, Economics, Education, Freedom of Information, Geography - Physical, Government, History, History video sources, Justice, Law, Lesson plans, Presidents, Public education, Teaching, Technology in the classroom | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Correction: Georgia also has a state pledge of allegiance

January 9, 2007

David Parker at Another History Blog updates and corrects our information on state pledges of allegiance:  Texas is not alone, Georgia also has a state pledge.

Georgia does not require students to say the pledge daily, however.

These provisions are often hidden away in state laws that do not index well at the legal sites I use, Findlaw.com and the Cornell University Law Library’s Legal Information Institute.  Consequently, it’s quite possible I have missed other state pledges.  If you know of any others, please let me know.

And, in the meantime, go check out Prof. Parker’s post.  The details make the story, as always.

2 Comments | Current History, Curricula, Flag etiquette, Law, Patriotism | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Kearny, NJ, supports voodoo history

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? 

5 Comments | Accuracy, Bogus history, Civil Rights, Curricula, Voodoo history | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Discussing faith and religion, not yelling

December 21, 2006

Williams College Prof. Mark Taylor has another facet to the question of whether we teach about religion in schools, in an opposite-editorial page article in the December 21 New York Times titled “The Devoted Student” (subscription required after December 28, 2006). Taylor wrote:

Today, professors invite harassment or worse by including “unacceptable” books on their syllabuses or by studying religious ideas and practices in ways deemed improper by religiously correct students.

Distinguished scholars at several major universities in the United States have been condemned, even subjected to death threats, for proposing psychological, sociological or anthropological interpretations of religious texts in their classes and published writings. In the most egregious cases, defenders of the faith insist that only true believers are qualified to teach their religious tradition.

This contrasts interestingly, and vexingly, with trends like the Texas high schools who teach the Bible as history, many of whom probably cross the line into advocacy for religion according to one study.

So, on one hand we get religious fanatics who want the Bible taught as a faith document in high schools. On the other hand, the students at whom those classes are aimed want it taught only one way, their way, when they get it. There is no thought of actually learning beyond what the fanatics want to learn.

Alan Bloom was wrong: THIS is the closing of the American mind.

Taylor ends his piece with a warning:

Until recently, many influential analysts argued that religion, a vestige of an earlier stage of human development, would wither away as people became more sophisticated and rational. Obviously, things have not turned out that way. Indeed, the 21st century will be dominated by religion in ways that were inconceivable just a few years ago. Religious conflict will be less a matter of struggles between belief and unbelief than of clashes between believers who make room for doubt and those who do not.

The warning signs are clear: unless we establish a genuine dialogue within and among all kinds of belief, ranging from religious fundamentalism to secular dogmatism, the conflicts of the future will probably be even more deadly.

Case in point:  This discussion at Pharyngula.

5 Comments | Curricula, First Amendment, Religious Freedom, Texas, Texas Freedom Network | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

“Revolutionary call for education reform”

December 18, 2006

Reaction to the report of the Skills Commission is most interesting.  Is it just because it’s the end of the year, and politicians think few people are watching?  Reaction is completely on the positive side. One bellwether:  U.S. News and World Report, usually the more conservative of the three big news magazines, calls it a “revolutionary call for education reform” in the headline of a mostly positive piece.

Potential for controversy remains, though.  That article highlights what is probably the most vociferous complaint about the report so far.

The revolutionary calls from a decidedly establishment group. Funded in part by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce includes two former education secretaries, two former labor secretaries, and education officials from Massachusetts, New York City, and California. Nevertheless, opposition surfaced as soon as the report was issued.The American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association, and the National School Boards Association rushed out statements lambasting key ideas–like, for instance, the way the report “basically blows up the governance structure,” explains Antonia Cortese, AFT’s executive vice president.

Leave a Comment » | Curricula, Education, Education reform, Education spending, Public education, School vouchers | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Finn of Fordham: Read the commission report

December 16, 2006

I’m a bit surprised.  Chester Finn, president of the Fordham Foundation, recommends we read and take seriously the recommendations of the New Commission on Skills of the American Workforce.  I had thought he’d be a lot more skeptical a lot earlier.

Which means a couple of things:  One, we ought to read and take seriously the report, as Finn urges; two, Finn continues to think originally about problems of education, and can’t be pigeon-holed into positions that he personally finds difficult to defend on the evidence, or into positions that others “think” he ought to have.

Leave a Comment » | Books, Curricula, Education, Education blogs, Education reform, Education spending, History, Teacher Pay, Teaching | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

School reform over: Try something new

December 15, 2006

If we continue to get education wrong, a new report argues, America’s decline will follow.  So, the report urges radical changes in U.S. education.

The report of the New Commission on Skills of the American Workforce departs from other recent reports in a number of interesting ways, including advocating a national system of teachers, with higher pay.  It urges abandoning requirements for four years of high school, moving instead to a more European model where students may leave after 10 years for junior college.  It is titled Tough Choices or Tough Times, published by Jossey-Bass for $19.95.

An earlier commission in 1990 issued a report titled  High Skills or Low Wages.  The new report continues in that vein, warning that international competition and automation threaten all low skill jobs in the U.S.

This commission was assembled with funding from the Gates Foundation and other sources.

Some details are available in The New York Times.   A longer, much different view in in the Chicago Tribune.  From the Tribune’s summary of how testing would allow 10th graders to get out of high school early:

How the testing would work

PASS

In 10th grade, students would take a rigorous test.

With a passing grade, the student and parents would choose between two options:

OPTION 1: Stay in high school for junior and senior years to prepare for elite 4-year university or to enter state university with college credit.

OPTION 2: Enroll at community college with possibility of moving on to 4-year university.

FAIL

If the student fails, he or she would stay in high school to take remedial courses and retake test until he/she passes it.

The executive summary is available here in 28 pages.  The report is the cover story for the December 18 edition of Time magazine.  You’ll probably see it in your local newspaper today.

More to come, surely.

3 Comments | Curricula, Education, Education reform, Education spending, Teacher Pay, Technology, Technology in the classroom | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Nominations for top history books

November 20, 2006

Gift-giving time beckons. Hanukkah, Christmas, Ramadan, Samhain, New Year’s Day — with a few exceptions, we will find ourselves looking for gifts for people we know and love, or people we know and work with, over the next few weeks. If you were to give a rather timeless gift, a book of history for the ages, what would it be?

I’m stealing ideas again, this time from Discover, the magazine that recently published its list of the 25 greatest science books of all time (that is a link to the introduction, written by Nobelist Kary Mullis; here is the list itself). (Tip of the old scrub brush to Larry Moran at Sandwalk, too.)

If you were to pick from a list of the greatest history books ever written, what would those books be? I hope you’ll share nominations for the top history books in the comments. Enlighten us to your reasons for picking the book, too.

Thinking out loud here: There would be a mix of old and new. Some books might be very short, some would be thousands of pages, perhaps in several volumes. I think a long-enough list would include some of these:

Well, any list I assemble solo would be a bit quirky.

What sort of criteria should be used to judge the books? Must they all be well-written? Should their effects on history and policy makers be considered? Should they be lyrical? I wonder, for example, about something like Homer’s Iliad. If effect on policy makers is a criterion, does the Bible qualify for a spot? Caesar’s diaries of the campaign in Gaul are famous, but who reads them any more? Do some books, or sets, make the list on the legs of the massive sales they racked up, partly because of a book club promotion (think Will and Ariel Durant)?

Make a nomination, please.

18 Comments | Books, Curricula, History | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Hard Work (and cheating)

October 7, 2006

Good and careful consideration of cheating in school, especially with regard to different disciplines in college, in a post at Aude Sapere*. That post is well written, very thought provoking, and well worth the time one might spend on it. The figures are depressing, generally, but reflect a general view we hear from students too often — in an era when top government officials cheat to get what they want (think: why did we invade Iraq?), students often test to see whether we can detect their cheating, and to see what we’ll do about it.

The grand mystery to me is this: It’s generally more time consuming, and more difficult, to try to cheat, than it would be to learn the material well enough to pass my exams; why bother to cheat? The day that light dawns on a student is always a good day.

I am hopeful that part of the rise in confessed cheating is due to an increased sense of just what cheating is. Borrowing quote cards from a debate colleague is considered required sharing; using those same quote cards to put together a paper for another class — is that over the line? (I don’t regard it as cheating, but I’d be interested in hearing if you do.) Do today’s students consider that forbidden? Are today’s students more moral?

Short essays are a good way to get around most cheating, but short essays create grading nightmares that grow exponentially with the number of students.

What’s the solution?

Another blog takes a look at Florida legislation which, to me, is part of the cheating problem. Tony Whitson at AAACS Matters! calls for action against the Florida law which aims to avoid “interpretation” in teaching history, but which also dabbles in changing the facts of nature for biology study, and generally tends to politicize public school curriculum.

It seems to me that the Florida legislature is doing the same thing high school cheaters hope to do — when the facts are difficult or troubling, change them. High school kids can’t change certain facts of history that they do not want to bother to learn, but legislatures, with a great finger in the eye of history, learning and democracy, can try.

And, if presidents and state legislators can play fast and loose with the facts, why shouldn’t a high school student at least try to do the same? If our kids watch what we do, and not what we say, we may be in for several years of increased cheating.

    . .

* Aude sapere is Latin, a line from Kant; it means “dare to know.” I posted it over my classroom door for three years; only a few students ever asked about it. Each of them subsequently took up Kant’s challenge, either continuing their quest for knowledge in history or economics, or more often, taking up such a quest for the first time.

3 Comments | Accuracy, Current History, Curricula, Education, Ethics, Pedagogy, Plagiarism | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Teaching writing and persuasion

September 19, 2006

I’m biased. I debated in high school, and spent four years debating at the University of Utah under Jack Rhodes, and then I coached debate for a year under Tim Browning at the University of Arizona. That training got me through journalism school, into law school and through it, and did me yeoman service in politics. The ability to survive and thrive in the heat of public policy discussion is . . . fun.

Over at The Reflective Teacher, we get a great argument for using debate to teach 8th grade English, especially the persuasive writing paper and the research paper. Looks good to me.

3 Comments | Curricula, Education, Lesson plans, Pedagogy, Teaching | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Constitution Day, September 18

September 17, 2006

 

First page of the Constitution of the United States of America, image from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).

On September 17, 1787, delegates to the Philadelphia convention met at Independence Hall to sign the document they had labored all summer to produce, to send it to the Continental Congress to be sent to the states for ratification. Ultimately 39 of the delegates would sign it.

We celebrate Constitution Day annually on September 17 in honor of this event (September 18 this year, because the 17th is a Sunday).

Texas requires all students to get a dose of Constitution (and Declaration of Independence) in social studies classes, each year — Freedom Week*. For that matter, there is a federal requirement, too (it would be fun to analyze whether such a requirement runs afoul of the law that requires the federal government to stay out of curricula, sometime). Where to find materials?

The Bill of Rights Institute has wonderful stuff — posters, videos, lesson plans. Much of what a teacher needs for Constitution Day is available for free on their website page for Constitution Day. I had the great good fortune to attend a week-long institute put together by this group, at Mt. Vernon, Virginia. Their scholarship is top notch; their materials are well researched, keyed well to the various age groups, and packaged to make their use easy. The Bill of Rights on Demand feature is good for quick lesson plans, too.

Christy Painting of Signing of the Constitution

Here is one of my favorite sources: Prof. Gordon Lloyd of Pepperdine University created an interactive version of Howard Chandler Christy’s famous painting of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention. If you can project from your computer, you can show students the history — roll your mouse across the painting, and you get the name of the delegate with a link to get more history on that man.

The National Archives has lesson plans for Constitution Day, to get students to study and understand the Constitution and other contemporary documents directly.

This site, Constitution Day, makes me nervous. Yes, they have Colin Powell leading the nation in the Preamble this year — but they also highlight former Alabama Judge Roy Moore, who has little understanding or respect for the Constitution and Bill of Rights, in my opinion. Still, I haven’t found much other stuff that is objectionable, though I have a sneaking suspicion it’s there somewhere (they have car flags for sale, for example — they display of which is a violation of the flag code — but I digress). The authors appear to be well-intentioned, if less informed than I prefer.

Texas’ Region XIII Education Service Center features several lesson plans and other materials, keyed more to Texas but probably suitable for use in other states, too. Read the rest of this entry »

1 Comment | 1789, Curricula, First Amendment, James Madison, Lesson plans, TAKS, U.S. Constitution | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Evangelism vs. scholarship: Bible study in public schools

September 15, 2006

Last year the Texas Freedom Network (TFN) published a revealing study showing that most curricula for Bible study in public schools promote Christian faith more than they study the Bible. The study was done by a witty and amusing professor of religion from Southern Methodist University, Dr. Mark Chancey.

This week they followed up that study with a detailed look at Bible studies courses in Texas public schools, as they are actually presented to students. It’s not pretty.

In their press release, TFN said:

Clergy, Parents Voice Concerns About Public School Bible Classes

New Report Reveals Poor Quality, Bias, Religious Agendas in Texas Courses

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 13, 2006

AUSTIN – Clergy and parents are voicing serious concerns that Bible classes in Texas public schools are of poor quality and promote religious views that discriminate against children from a variety of faith backgrounds.

“The study of the Bible deserves the same respect as the study of Huck Finn, Shakespeare and the Constitution,” said the Rev. Dr. Roger Paynter, pastor of First Baptist Church of Austin. “But in some public schools, Bible courses are being used to promote an agenda rather than to enrich the education of our schoolchildren.”

Dr. Chancey is a solid scholar of the Bible. His criticisms are detailed and often understated, in a business where criticism is generally more hyperbole than substance. Especially if you live in Texas, you should read the report.

In the original study, Chancey noted that some nationally-promoted curricula for Bible studies had plagiarized some of their most important materials, in one case including the entire section on honesty as defined by the Ten Commandments. Dr. Chancey does not write drily — he really does a great job turning words. Both studies are well worth the reading.

First Amendment charlatans are fond of quoting the Supreme Court’s decisions in school-and-religion cases since World War II, in which the Court urges critical studies of scripture, saying such studies are legal and good. Then the charlatans go on to advocate Bible studies that are devotional, confusing a Sunday school class-style of scripture study with the critical literature study the Court actually urged. These reports leave little room for squirming by those advocates.

Last time around, TFN held a meeting here in Dallas featuring Dr. Chancey talking about the report and the reaction to it from the religious right (they were stunned into saying many really stupid things). It was a fun night, and I hope TFN will do it again.

Other coverage of the report:

If you see a particularly good story on the study, will you please send me a link?

Patriots and Christians don’t let children take crappy Bible studies courses:

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81 Comments | Creationism, Curricula, Education, Education quality, First Amendment, Plagiarism, Public education, Religious Freedom, Texas, Texas Freedom Network, Textbook Selection | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Hot dog- and freak show-free: 84th Carnival of Education

September 14, 2006

Carnival of Education 84 is up at Current Events in Education, with great stuff, as usual. Colleagues in Irving ISD, in Irving, Texas: Be sure to catch the post on the value of computer use in education, from Steve Hargadon.

School is clearly back in for everyone. This is a fine collection of blog posts — high value.

1 Comment | Curricula, Education blogs, No Child Left Behind Act, Pedagogy, Public education, State school boards | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Today’s civil war in the U.S.: Homeschooling

September 9, 2006

Noting only that there is a vicious fight going on below the waterline at the moment, below the fold I offer two press releases about recent California legislation boosting pre-school programs for at-risk kids. Without my telling you, and without the numbers on the bills being the same, would you know these people are talking about the same bill?

Please, offer your own opinions in comments.
Read the rest of this entry »

5 Comments | Current History, Curricula, Education spending, First Amendment, Freedom - Political, Homeschooling, Public education, School vouchers | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

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