4 Stone Hearth #19

July 19, 2007

Prehistory and archaeology fans will want to check out the latest archeaology carnival from the 4 Stone Hearth series — Number 19 is up at Sherd Nerd.

Texans may want to pay particular attention to the links to John Hawks’s blog, where he talks about the coming display of Lucy, in Houston, with further links.  Hawks notes controversy among the U.S. community of Ethiopians; Texans may worry more about complaints from Texas creationists.

Either way, you need to check it out.  You can link back here, to my post on stories and history, too (thanks, Sherd Nerd!).

3 Comments | Archaeology, Evolution, Natural history, Prehistory, TEKS, Texas, Texas history | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Use the work of local photographers

July 19, 2007

The Dallas Morning News offers a column by a mensch named Steve Blow two or three times a week. Most good daily papers in America have something like it — a column by a reporter or former reporter, or sometimes just someone in the community who can write, that covers the beat of being alive in This Town, wherever this town is.

About half the time the columns stake out positions on issues that make a few people angry enough to write letters demanding the column be burned and the author be dangled by the toes from the flagpole jutting out of the third story window of the newspaper building. The rest of the time, to careful readers, these columnists tell stories of the city, or talk about people you ought to know.

On July 12, Steve Blow wrote about a guy who takes pictures of birds at Dallas’ White Rock Lake. Texas has three major bird migration flyways coursing through it, offering opportunities for Texans to see hundreds of different species through the year.  J R Compton takes advantage of this, photographing birds and then posting the photos at his website.

Egret, from J. R. Compton

These are great photos for use in geography, biology and environmental science classes.  Heck, a Texas history course ought to note Texas’ great bird viewing, too, since it’s an important industry (if somewhat smaller than oil or auto customizing).

Most kids I see in school know almost nothing about birds.  Following bird migration routes is a fun and sneaky way to get kids thinking about geography, about paths of commerce for economics and history, and just to get them looking around their world to see what’s going on.

Particularly for Dallas and North Texas, these photos offer kids a chance to see what they should be looking for, literally in their own backyards.

Black-crowned night heron at White Rock Dam

Compton’s photos can also be found at his websites, such as J R’s Birds, and Addlepated Birder.  His chief site is www.jrcompton.com.

Especially with digital cameras so common, it is likely someone in your town is recording natural events, or pictures of the city that you can use in your classroom, too.  Be sure to credit them, to set an example for your students.

  • Photo of egret in flight and night crowned heron both taken at White Rock Lake in Dallas, Texas, photos copyright by J R Compton.
  • Update, April 19, 2010:  Mr. Compton wishes to be contacted before you use his photos (see his note in comments); if you’re using these in a classroom PowerPoint, drop him a note.  Students can probably claim fair use for papers, but you should encourage them to ask, too.

2 Comments | Geography - Physical, Natural history, Texas, Texas history | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Lady Bird Johnson, 94

July 12, 2007

Did I mention that we considered Lady Bird Johnson to be a family friend?

Ladybird Johnson among wildflowers

  • Ladybird Johnson in a field of Texas wildflowers, gaillardia and probably coriopsis, 2001; photo by Frank Wolfe, MacNeil/Lehrer Productions and KLRU-TV production, “Lady Bird”

We didn’t know her that well, really. But for the two years prior to our move to Texas, when I staffed the President’s Commission on Americans Outdoors, she was a solid presence. A passionate advocate of wildflowers, she was well aware of the possibilities that the commission might make recommendations regarding gardening and walking and hiking, and preserving natural beauty. She had already convered Tennessee Gov. Lamar Alexander to the cause — he issued an executive order that Tennessee should not cut down wildflowers along roadsides, saving the state a bunch of money on mowing and adding to the beauty of the state’s roads all at once. Alexander chaired the commission.

But she went to work on the vice chair, too — Gil Grosvenor, the president of the National Geographic Society. And she worked on the commission director, Victor Ashe, who had recently lost a U.S. Senate campaign to Al Gore and would go on to be mayor of Knoxville and chairman of the National Conference of Mayors. Lady Bird did not want to let any potential ally go unpersuaded. She had the phone numbers, and she made the calls, especially the late-in-the-day-catch-the-big-fish-without-a-secretary calls. Some of the people who go out of channels that way are very obnoxious. Lady Bird always produced smiles.

She persuaded them and the other commissioners to her cause, the commission staff, and probably anyone who ever bothered to read the reports of the commission or who attended any of the several public hearings where the joys and value of wildflowers was discussed.

And then we moved to Texas, and in the spring time we could see what Lady Bird’s passion was all about. It helped that Kathryn decided to chase her own passion for horticulture, and fell in with a great bunch of landscape designers and nursery people who emphasized Texas native plants. We joined the wildflower center Lady Bird set up in Austin, and actually met her on a couple of occasions. Kathryn and I both worked in the U.S. Senate, and we know stuffy people. Lady Bird was not stuffy, but always a woman of infinite charm and grace.

Most recently, when our son James earned his Eagle rank in Scouting, Lady Bird’s name was on the list of those public figures who would be gracious enough to drop a note of congratulations if asked. We know how to recognize the letters signed by machines, and we know how to recognize letters written by software that mimics handwriting. So it was a pleasant surprise to get a hand-addressed note from Austin, and see that the handwriting on the note matched the envelope. That’s the way a lady does it.

In Texas now, in the spring time there are bluebonnet watches, maps in newspapers showing a path to drive to see the best blooms, festivals, and trinkets galore. An entire industry of photographers revolves around getting families to sit among the flowers at the side of the road for a portrait. The flowers, other than the bluebonnets, show brilliantly to incoming airplanes. A flight from Houston or Austin to Dallas gives a passenger a floral sendoff and a floral welcome at the other end.

You can read the stories. Lady Bird was the financial manager of the Lyndon Johnson family fortune. She was also the peacemaker, the one who got LBJ calmed down from his frequent flights of passion, calm enough that he could be the best legislator our nation ever had, including James Madison, and a great legislative master even as president, as no president before or since.

Steel magnolias have nothing on Lady Bird Johnson, who understood the power of a blanket of flowers, the importance of roots and family, and how much grace can mean to those who get it.

Teachers in Texas should hit the newstands today and get the papers with the special features — the Dallas Morning News front page and front section are full of good stories. Teachers should get to the news websites and get the stories that will disappear in a week downloaded for later use. U.S. history teachers would do well to do the same, to get the information about the American environmental movement, and to pick up additional history on Lyndon Johnson, Vietnam, the successes of the civil rights movement, and the amazing decade of the 1960s.

America is better because of Lady Bird Johnson. She worked to be, and was, a family friend to the entire nation.

Here are sources you can check from contemporary news:

Dallas Morning News coverage

 

Former first lady dies at 94

LBJ trusted Lady Bird with his true self, warts and all

Lady Bird cultivated natural beauty from Western wilderness to inner cities

Journalist remembers her friend

Remembering Lady Bird

Editorial: She showed world grace, gentleness

Timeline: Her life and times

Services planned for Lady Bird Johnson

Statement from President George W. Bush

Statement from former President Bill Clinton and Sen. Hillary Clinton

Submit: Sign the online guestbook

Photos: The life of Lady Bird Johnson

Video:
• Remembering Lady Bird Johnson (WFAA-TV)
• Kay Bailey Hutchison on Lady Bird Johnson (WFAA-TV)
• John Cornyn on Lady Bird Johnson (WFAA-TV)
• Mrs. Johnson’s impact on Central Texas (KVUE-TV)
• Lady Bird Johnson’s Legacy (KVUE-TV)
• Family friend and spokesman Neal Spelce shares his memories of Mrs. Johnson (KVUE-TV)
• Reaction from the LBJ Library and Museum staff (KVUE-TV)

Links
• Lady Bird Johnson Final Tribute
• Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
• Lady Bird Johnson biography
• Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum

Tip of the old scrub brush to O’Folks.

5 Comments | Heroes, History, History and art, Natural history, Presidents, Public education, Texas, Texas history | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Texas Education Agency: Trouble at the top

July 4, 2007

Steve Schafersman dutifully follows events at the Texas Education Agency, particularly with regard to textbook selection, and particularly with regard to biology textbooks. As head and chief instigator and chief bottle washer for the Texas Citizens for Science, he still gets little notoriety for the good work he does — all volunteer.

Shafersman says important stuff to know. So, when he sends along an editorial from the Fort-Worth Star-Telegram pointing out ethical and legal lapses at the agency which appear to be the work of the chief lawyer of the agency, one should read it. That lawyer, by the way, is probably in line to be the next head of the agency.

TEA has suffered from politicized leadership the last few years. Since Mike Moses left the agency, Texas education has drifted, and lack of leadership from TEA has not helped. Controversies over silly things are almost invited; serious issues, like cheating on the state’s graduation test, go unstudied and unremedied. I take the liberty of publishing the full editorial, below the fold — please read it, especially if you’re in Texas. Since Texas influences education so heavily, especially in textbook selection, everybody who has a kid in U.S. schools, who did have a kid in U.S. schools, who was educated in U.S. schools, or lives in a state that has schools, has a dog in this fight. Read the rest of this entry »

Leave a Comment » | Creationism, Darwin, Education, Education quality, Education reform, Education spending, Texas, Texas Freedom Network, Texas Lege, Textbook Selection | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Blue Bell’s 100th; ice cream at the Farmers Museum

July 1, 2007

It looks like even the Farmers Museum in Cooperstown, New York, wants to get in on Blue Bell Ice Cream’s 100th anniversary, with a display on ice cream in America.

Good Humor Ice Cream Truck, NYC c 1926; Unilever 1999, via Farmers Museum, Cooperstown

 

But it’s only coincidence: Cooperstown is outside the Blue Bell distribution area.

Nice idea, though.

See my original post on Blue Bell’s 100th here.

Leave a Comment » | Food history, Museums, Texas, Texas history, Travel | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Maps of lost worlds: Caddoland

June 29, 2007

Caddoland collage, UT-Austin, Texas Beyond History (Click on thumbnail for a larger view of this Caddoland Collage)

Caddos, Anadarkoes, Tawaconies, Southern Delawares — so many Native American tribes disappear from U.S. history books, and from U.S. history. These histories should be better preserved and better taught.

Texas history texts mention the Caddo Tribe, but largely ignore what must have been a significant cultural empire, if not an empire that left large stone monuments. Teaching this material in Texas history classes frustrates me, and probably others. Student projects on the Caddos are frequently limited in what they cover, generally come up with the same three or four factoids and illustrations.

The Caddo Tribe lived in an area spanning five modern states, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and eventually Missouri. Here is an interactive map that offers more information and useful photos of Caddoland than I have found in any other source: The Caddo Map Tool.

Basic map of Caddoland

This is just an image of the tool — click on the image above and it will link to the actual site. One of the things that excites me about this map is its interactive features, especially the map that carries links to photos that show just what the local environment looks like.

Read the rest of this entry »

2 Comments | Archaeology, Geography - Economic, Geography - Physical, Geography - Political, History, Lesson plans, Maps, On-line education, On-line learning, Place Names, Prehistory, Student projects, Teaching, Technology in the classroom, Texas, Texas history, Travel | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Going native, going green

June 19, 2007

Vicki Thaxton all by herself has saved more water usage in the Dallas area than can be contained in one of our Army Corps of Engineers water projects — say, Joe Pool Lake (yes, it really is named “Joe Pool Lake” — named after Congressman Joe Pool).

Butterfly on a salvia, from interview with Vicki Thaxton

How did she do it?  How did she save so much water?

Vicki advises Texans on planting their gardens, and for the 20 years or so we’ve known her, she’s been spreading the word, and sometimes spreading the mulch and fertilizer, about xeriscaping with native plants. “Xeriscaping” means landscaping that relies on natural water, rain and dew, instead of irrigation from a hose.

Vicki has been at the same place for all that time, but the establishment’s name has changed — the nursery in Cedar Hill where you find her and get advice is Petal Pushers, on Old Straus Road. (No promotional consideration, by the way.)

Plus, Vicki’s a nice lady. It’s good to see her getting a wider audience for her flower indoctrinations, even if just for a few minutes, on our local NBC affiliate, KXAS-TV, Channel 5. For at least a short while you can view this piece with KXAS’s weatherman, David Finfrock.

Leave a Comment » | Conservation, Education, Environmental protection, Natural history, Texas, Texas history, Video and film | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

What’s the difference between school and prison?

June 5, 2007

Kevin Siers of the Charlotte Observer, in the Star-Courier, Highlands-Crosby, Texas, March 11, 2004

Give up?

Yeah, often the students give up, too. If you don’t know the answer, your school may resemble a prison.

Gary Stager’s post with jarring comparisons is here, at District Administration’s Pulse! blog. [District Administration purges its archives about every three years, it turns out; here is a copy of Mr. Stager’s column courtesy the Wayback Machine – Internet Archive.]

When the elder Fillmore’s Bathtub son attended intermediate school, he complained of the discipline. So did a lot of other good kids. We got a call from a parent asking if we’d join in a meeting with the new principal, and hoping to learn things were really hunky dory and offer assurances to our son, we went.

Read the rest of this entry »

17 Comments | Brain development, Brain learning, Education, Education quality, Education reform, Education success, Ethics, Pedagogy, Public education, School discipline, TAKS, Teaching, TEKS, Testing, Texas | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Carnival’s coming . . .

June 3, 2007

A little business interference, but it’s coming shortly.  Stay tuned.

Leave a Comment » | Fiesta de Tejas!, Texas, Texas history, Texas Music, Weblogs | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Just for the Texas State Board of Education: Biology texts

June 1, 2007

This is a little test of reading comprehension for the Texas State Board of Education.

So if you’re not one of those people, you can click to the next post.  Of course, if you’re reading this, it’s unlikely that you are a board member, but a Texas parent can dream, can’t he?

Here’s the point:  When you review biology texts for adoption next time, someone will testify that the books you review have errors in them because they carry copies of Ernst Haeckel’s drawings of embryoes, and those drawings are “known to be fakes.”

But that’s not exactly accurate:  Not since 1923 has any book carried the Haeckel drawings, except to point out that they are fakes.

P. Z. Myers at Pharyngula has a post today that lays out the details, “Return of the Son of the Bride of Haeckel,” as he Fisks another Chicken-Little-sky-is-falling press release from the Discovery Institute.

So, in short:  When that first person testifies to you, saying the Haeckel drawings are in some book, ask that person if they’ve read Dr. Pat Frank’s account of searching for that book, and whether they can explain why they think the Texas State Board of Education would be so stupid as to buy that claim, since it hasn’t been accurate in 84 years, since 1923 (older than all of the members of the SBOE, at least).

Then politely thank the witness for their concern, go to the next witness, and don’t ever, ever, ever claim that you think the current textbook publishers need to “get their act together” or whatever language you want to use, to get rid of the Haeckel drawings.

The drawings are gone, long gone, and you know better.

Back to our regular programming:  Did you know that it’s not true that Millard Fillmore put the first bathtub in the White House?

1 Comment | Accuracy, Evolution, Natural history, State school boards, Texas, Texas Freedom Network, Textbook Selection, Textbooks, Voodoo science | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Call for posts, for 3rd Fiesta de Tejas!

May 28, 2007

The 3rd Fiesta de Tejas! will arrive on June 2, five days from today.

If you blog about Texas, or if you read blogs about Texas, please submit the best posts you wrote or the best posts you read, to share with others.   The best way to submit is through the Blog Carnival entry form:  http://blogcarnival.com/bc/submit_1298.html.

The carnival still needs a logo, and we can use some great art (with permission to publish).  Mostly, we need your contributions.

Texas history, Texas music, Texas culture, Texas geography, Texas food — send it along.

(Please feel free to copy this post and put it on your blog.  The more the merrier.)


Blog Carnival submission form - fiesta de tejas!


Leave a Comment » | Education, Education blogs, Fiesta de Tejas!, Food history, History, History blogs, Texas, Texas history, Texas Lege, Texas Music, Weblogs | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

American Civil War in 4 minutes

May 23, 2007

Citations get lost on the internet. Not only do people send copies of e-mails to everyone on their list, not only is there spam beyond all measure, but good stuff gets stripped of attribution. Someone sends you a good poem, or a genuinely funny story — and if you want more of the same, you’re completely at sea about where to look. Author? That information got stripped away several forwardings earlier.

“Must be Lincoln, Einstein, or Jefferson,” some wag says, and the piece is misattributed ever after.

A fellow posted this interesting film on YouTube — The Civil War in Four Minutes. One second of the film equals one week of the war. It’s a fascinating pictorial map presentation, with a lot of information packed into 240 seconds.

Who did it? Are there others like it? How do we get the rights for classroom use?

YouTube can be likened to grave robbers who invade Egyptian royal tombs — they bring important material to light, but the context is lost, and perhaps the meaning.

Can you help track down the creator of this film? This film was created for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois. (Now — how can we get legal copies?)

Update, June 15, 2007: Every YouTube version of the video has been pulled — probably a copyright thing. In the interim, I’ve checked with the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum to see if it is available. One person said there is discussion for making it available in the next two years. Ain’t that the way? Why not strike while the iron is hot and sell it now? Somebody, please wake me if it’s ever released.

Update, October 4, 2007: ABLPLM explains the creation of the movie. Nice shot of the screen, still not available for classrooms. Alas.

Update December 20, 2007: If that one doesn’t work, try this one for a while:

Vodpod videos no longer available. from www.idkwtf.com posted with vodpod

5 Comments | Abraham Lincoln, Civil War, Geography - Physical, Geography - Political, History, History museums, History video sources, Juneteenth, Presidents, Technology in the classroom, Texas, War | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Quote of the moment: Wisdom from a Texas blogger

May 19, 2007

Point numero three-oh: The phrase “ill-informed blog” is redundant.
o Panhandle Truth Squad contributor R. Spacedark

Leave a Comment » | Famous quotes, Quotes, Texas, Weblogs | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Honor the Texas flag . . .

May 18, 2007

. . . by flying it correctly.

SPPDFT logo

What other state flag has a website dedicated to its proper display? S.P.P.D.F.T. is one more indication of the unique nature of Texas, and Texans.

The California flag, for example, is virtually impossible to get wrong. Where’s the fun in that?

Leave a Comment » | Flag etiquette, Texas | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Baylor’s Beckwith returns to the Catholic Church

May 7, 2007

Dr. Francis Beckwith, the Baylor University professor whose writings formed much of the justification for claims that intelligent design could be taught as science in public schools (prior to the Dover decision), announced he is returning to the Catholic Church and resigning as president of the Evangelical Theological Society.

Beckwith explains his faith switch at Right Reason. Contrast comments there with the snarky, uncharitable posts from the “evangelical” side, with Constructive Curmudgeon as an example. If this is the way ID advocates (such as Doug Groothuis) treat someone who merely changes sect, what would they do to someone who became rational on science?

Beckwith’s road at Baylor has not been a smooth one. One wishes him well when brickbats are already flying his direction, for silly reasons.

Educators and scientists, including especially those of faith traditions, may wish he had left the church of intelligent design instead. Perhaps he has, or will, if the attacks from fundamentalists keep up — similar to the way such attacks on Charles Darwin encouraged him to distance himself from the church.

How does this alter the Texas biology textbook fight discussion?

4 Comments | Intelligent Design, Law, Politics, Religious Freedom, Science and faith, Texas, Textbook Selection | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

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