Things They Don't Teach You in Teacher School: #7-10

7. Very little actual planning occurs during pre-planning. For the most part, pre-planning is designed to be such a rigorous, time-consuming week of meeting after meeting that it is a relief when the students finally show up for class.
8. Administrators will discover new and wonderful tasks for you to do each year to enhance the student experience. These tasks will be required and involve either paperwork or e-work. Administrators have all summer to think up these educational enhancements and only forty hours of pre-planning to explain them all.
9. Administrators will never discover that some tasks no longer need to be done anymore because it turns out that the tasks were wasteful and of little worth.
10. Pray for your administrator. There is a reason that there is a high rate of turnover in school administrators. They are required to juggle the competing demands of parents, teachers, the school board, and students. Teachers are typically the first ball to be dropped by administrators under pressure. Don't take it personally.

#1-3 of this list appear here.
#4-6 of this list appear here.

Peace
..._

Monday Miscellany: Pennies, Epics, and Partisan Teachers

I left school a little early on Friday so I could cash in the high school's Pennies for Patients coins. I fed coins into the CoinStar machine at Kroger for an hour. By the time I was done, my back was aching, my fingers were blackened from many filthy lucres, at least four other CoinStar customers had turned away upon seeing my haul, and $1,320 worth of coins had been donated to Pennies for Patients.

One day, after the 117th time of claiming to be bored, my eldest son was instructed to write a story by his mother. The story concerned an epic underwater battle between a chicken and a spidershark. The sentence construction of the second sentence made me laugh out loud. Here is the entire story for you enjoyment with original spelling and grammar preserved:

1 Day a chicken went under water and rose and sew a spidershark and aimd at the spidershark and hott [hit] the spidershark and the spidershark ate the speer! And back and forth it was. The SS [spidershark] shoot it from it's moth [mouth] soon the SS was dead chicken got a gold metel. The End.

When I first started teaching government I decided to teach the subject as neutrally as possible while attempting to challenge the beliefs of my students. I did not think it would be enlightening to merely parrot those students who agreed with me, nor did I think it would be fair to only attack the beliefs of those students with whom I disagreed. My stance on this generally drives my students crazy. They want to know. Earlier this year a student tried to draw me out by claiming, "You're a liberal. All teachers are liberal, right?" Certainly the most vocal of the teachers at my new school are strong partisan democrats, but I refused to fall into his trap. Early this semester a student asked me why so many people hate Hillary Clinton. I spent about twenty minutes discussing partisanship, politics in America, the history of the Clinton family, and the importance of judging people and issues for yourself. That night she left this comment on the class blog:

I just wanted to say that our discussion today in class gave me a whole new perspective on politicians. Thanks Mr. C!
Last spring, I enthusiastically supported Clinton for president (because I really wanted a woman president) however when I shared my enthusiasm with some of my fellow students and teachers, they showed an immense dislike and maybe even hatred towards the woman. Therefore, I began to falter and came to really dislike her too. I had no idea why I disliked her, but just because everyone seemed to, I did too. They said she was a witch and other bad stuff and so I thought so too, which is pretty shallow. But then again, I only supported her in the beginning because she was a woman.
But after today, I stopped 'conforming' and decided to actually think about some of my beliefs and decisions. Instead of listening to other people's opinions about the person, I've actually started to look into the different policies and beliefs the candidates supported and etc. Hmm, I kind of feel smarter now. :P
Thanks again~

Peace
..._

Monday Miscellany:

Is there any better time for teaching high school government than right now? I didn't think so.

On the first day back from the break I surveyed my honors and college prep government classes. Of the thirty students, five were planning on voting for Ron Paul. No other candidate received more than one commitment. Paul has had a surprising resonance with the young. Part of it has been powerful grass roots involvement of his supporters on the internet. I will not dare to speculate on other reasons for his followers among the young.

I have been busy working on a blog that I created for my honors government class. You can go and check it out here if you wish. It is the first time I have attempted a class blog; my previous school blocked any and all blogs and well as most of the rest of the internet. Now that I have access and a subject that lends itself to the immediacy of the internet, I couldn't help but give it a try. My students are required to read it weekly and to post a comment to any post that begins with "For Discussion." So far it has been a useful tool.

While working on my government blog, I looked up the term "blowback" to determine its exact etymology and connotation. I came across this definition at Dictionary.com (emphasis mine):
Webster's New Millennium™ Dictionary of English
Main Entry: blowback
Part of Speech: n
Definition: an unintended adverse reaction or effect from an action or cause, especially political
Example: The blowback of Bush's ill-made decisions will last for many years.
Etymology: 1968
Usage: also written blow-back
Webster's New Millennium™ Dictionary of English, Preview Edition (v 0.9.7)Copyright © 2003-2008 Lexico Publishing Group, LLC

The example given by the editors at Webster's New Millennium Dictionary of English provided my class with a nice example of the prevalence of bias. Whether accurate or not, the example is a politically charged one and has no place in dictionary.


During a lecture today on the Spanish-American War, I exclaimed, "Butcher Weyler didn't get sent to Cuba to sell rump-roasts to the locals; he came with a mandate to put the Cubans in line." I don't know why I said it, but I did. My students gave me hard time about it and were convinced that I spent some time thinking about and planning the line. I didn't, but I made a note of it for next year.


My eldest son turned seven this past weekend. Happy Birthday son. Here he is firing off the new Nerf-type Bazooka he got for Christmas.



Peace
..._

Monday Miscellany: Diamonds or Pearls Before Swine

My six-year-old boy got into trouble at school the other day (he's been doing that a lot lately). After talking to the teacher, his mother asked him, "Did you hit a little girl on the rear end with a ruler?" His reply, "No, she's the tallest girl in class."


Every year I give a test on which I assess student learning concerning the 1820's-1850's. Every year my students jumble the events of the Mexican War and the Texas War for Independence into an incomprehensible mash of historical nonsense. Every year I try teaching it different. I finished grading this year's test last night. It was no different. Also, note to self: make sure to explain to high school juniors that the Underground Railroad was not "like a subway."


The CNN presidential debates have been awful. It makes me embarrassed to teach US Government. I could understand MTV asking "Boxers or Briefs", but "Pearls or Diamonds?" At least we have had some good discussion topics. Most of my students recognize how inappropriate many of the questions have been. I think the YouTube debate format was insipid, but YouTube has become one of my favorite teaching tools. Need a video to demonstrate Ben Franklin's Glass Armonica?...here it is! Need Pearls or Diamonds question and answer?...here it is! Need James K. Polk by They Might be Giants?...here it is!


Peace
..._

Christmas Door Decorating Contest! Veterans' Day Edition

I have had an abnormally large number of "hits" from people googling some variation of "Christmas Door Decorating Contest." Those hits have taken people to my post from last year entitled "Door Into Winter" in which I describe my first foray into decorating my classroom door. I lost that year and the next but won some kind of prize for every year after that.

In hopes that someone will find this information helpful, here are the other doors I have done.

One year a student brought in a stuffed and mounted buck's head. We put a red nose on it, mounted it on the door, and posted a statement, "1st Period US History: Doing
our part to restore the true meaning of Christmas." There was also a "hit" list of reindeer names with Rudolph's name checked off and a picture of Santa with a "no" sign through it. It was in incredibly poor taste but won for most creative. Read more about it here.

My favorite door was the last one we did (I posted about it here). It was very simple but very heartfelt and meaningful. We cut out a large, Christmas tree from green construction paper. We then hotglued (can that be used as a verb?) red and green spice drops on to the paper as ornaments. Then we stuck a toothpick in each spice drop. From each toothpick we hung a simple white ornament with a yellow ribbon tied around it and the name of a foreign country written upon it. We then posted a statement saying:

Tie a Yellow Ribbon ‘Round the Christmas Tree

This year, as hundreds of thousands of US troops are deployed around the world, it is our hope that you will take a moment to pause and reflect on the sacrifices made by these brave men and women. Many of them will be putting their lives in danger throughout the Christmas season. All of them would prefer to be home with their families. Few of them will have a Silent Night. Some of them will die.

We ask that you would take one of these ornaments for your own tree at home. Each one has the name of a country where US troops are presently deployed. The yellow ribbon has not only become a symbol of the desire for all of our troops to return home safely, but will also draw the eye to this uncharacteristic color for a Christmas tree. When you see this ornament, we ask that you say a short prayer for the safety of our troops, the protection of their families, and peace to all.

We also ask that you take the time to read a sampling of letters from troops away from their homes at Christmas during the American Civil War.
Finally, we ask for a renewed dedication to the preservation of our civil liberties and our unique American heritage so that these sacrifices shall not have been in vain.

I was saddened to discover that that was to be the last year that we had a contest. I was planning on doing the same thing every year. I wish I could still do it. If you wish to use this idea, please do and let me know. I would be thrilled to see this become a tradition somewhere.

Peace

..._

We've Got Spirit, How 'Bout You?

As student government sponsor, I have the privilege of planning the homecoming dance for our school, so for the past few weeks I have been swamped with preparations for the dance. The dance was held last Saturday, went very well, and now I have my life back. I don't get paid any extra for this part of my job though I will be asking for more next year.

Two Fridays ago was our game against our arch-rivals, my former school. I was obligated to go and took the two eldest children. It was a beautiful evening, but my former school was too much for my new one. By halftime the game was becoming a blowout. Just before halftime some of my former students found their way over to our sidelines and said hello. This was met by icy stares from my current students.

One of my former students asked me if I had seen the sign. "What sign?" I asked. The one that some of my former students were holding up saying, "Give us Mr. Chintzibobs back!" I laughed and told them to get back to their side of the field before they got me into trouble.

They left, but others showed up. That's when I heard a cheer I had never heard before and shall probably never hear again. Our cheerleaders were shouting out as loud as they could, "We've got Chintzibobs...We've got Chintzibobs." The student section picked it up and joined in. Then they tried to get me to come down to the sideline to show me off like some kind of trophy. Luckily for me, I the two kids with me and couldn't leave them behind.

When I got home and told my wife about it, she laughed at me and said, "I'll bet you never thought that cheerleaders would be chanting your name."

I guess all of your best moments don't necessarily happen in high school.

Peace
..._

Things They Don't Teach You in Teacher School: #4-6

4. Someone will always ask for the answer of a question that you just answered. At any given time you will be lucky if one-third of the students are actually listening.
Example:
Teacher: Chapter one will be on the test. Any questions?
Student: Will chapter one be on the test?

5. Many students can send a text-message without ever taking their phone out of their pocket.

6. There are 180 days on the calendar. You might get to actually use about 160 of them. You will lose days for: the day before a major holiday (just forget about it), altered schedules, half-days, field days, field trips, early dismissals for sports, special "assemblies", testing, festivals, retreats, and many other creative ways that schools have of counting something as a school day without any actual instruction going on.

Peace
..._

Things They Don't Teach You In Teacher School: #1-3

In no particular order:

#1 On many days, you are the only one in your class that wants to be there. For all of the rest of the days, even you don't want to be there.

#2 Some students have an endless supply of grandparents; they tend to die or get rushed to the hospital around major tests and projects.

#3 Biology 101: Students trying to put on muscle consume a lot of protein. Over-consumption of protein can create digestive distress. There will be parts of your classroom that you will learn to avoid. Many students are not nearly as embarrassed by their exhaust fumes as they should be; to some it is an immense source of pride.

Peace
..._

Monday Miscellany: Reading, Lechery, and Treason

My eldest son (now six) needed speech therapy when he was younger. We worried about his lack of vocabulary, trouble with pronunciation, and difficulty constructing sentences. The county agreed with us. Like most parents, we fretted about our first child's lack of communication skills. After a year of preschool speech therapy, he had improved immensely (though he rarely talked with his tutor). After last year's kindergarten, he had made great strides and had learned to read. To our great joy he has become a lover of reading. At open house this year, his teacher suggested downloading the first grade sight words and making flashcards out of them. So I did. He knew them all. So I downloaded the 2nd grade sight words. He knew them all. So I downloaded the 3rd grade sight words. He knew them all. He wants me to download the 4th grade sight words, but there aren't any. I had a nightmare last night that he was almost as tall as his momma. I guess he can slow down a little.

Here is some of his folk art from last year. I laugh each time I notice the belt. Now I just worry that there is lead in these toys.



Last week was my new school's open house. Parents come and go through their child's schedule; each class lasts ten minutes. The teachers are supposed to introduce themselves and hit the highlights of their courses. I have now done a lot of these events. They are long and exhausting (coming at the end of a normal school day--I was at school on that day from 6:30am to 9:30pm). I have also perfected a few of my punch lines (it puts the both the parents and me at ease). One relates to my alma mater. I graduated from Georgia Southern University I tell them. And no, it is not true that the transcript includes a place for B.A.C. instead of G.P.A.

I have never felt that I can just say where I graduated from and leave it at that. I have to acknowledge that elephant in the room: GSU has a reputation as a major party school. Students who don't make it into UGA often end up at GSU. I teach at a Christian school and don't want the parents to assume that I am one of "those." So I usually go on to explain that all colleges are party schools and that students will find whatever they are looking for in college. Every college (even the tiniest of Christian colleges hidden away in the mountains) has those who double major in drunkenness and debauchery. College is frequently one of the first extended character tests that young people face. I typically teach juniors and seniors, and these observations seem to both worry and reassure the parents. They are reassured that their child's teacher was not a partier, but they worry that their child will soon become one.


A political note on the Iraq war: At one point the Democratic talking point was simply, "Bush lied; people died." The Republican talking point was simply, "Dems want to cut and run." There was and continues to be no substantive debate concerning the war. The political discourse is currently more of a quagmire than Iraq is. The problem with both of these slogans is that both are merely attacks on the opposition as opposed to plans for a way forward. Both sides claim that attacking one's patriotism is verboten, but I say that any politician that puts political gain before country is acting in an unseemly and unpatriotic manner.

Peace
..._

Monday Miscellany: In with the New!

The ancient Greeks would look to nature for signs before the beginning of an enterprise great or small. The flight of a bird could portend greatness or warn of coming disaster. Before dawn on the morning of the first day at my new school, I opened the front door of my house to begin my commute. I felt something bump into my shoulder and then into my head as I began to step out through the door. I jumped back to see a plump arachnid spinning only inches from my eyes. This was the very worst of omens, if not for the ancient Greeks at least for this modern American. You can read about my earlier experiences with what I term "Spiderfall" here.


Later that day I introduced myself to my classes. My new school is the main rival of my old school, and I knew I had to get the fact that I was coming from their cross-town rival out and over with as quickly as possible. I revealed my dark secret in different ways to my five different classes. In one class I said, "For the past six years I have been teaching at another local private school," when a girl exclaimed, "As long as it isn't [the name of my old school]."


In truth, it was a pretty good week. While my move to a new school has been mostly a horizontal move, there is much more vertical potential, and the leadership is much more gifted in, well, leadership. I also get a new benefit: free hot lunches. I was, at first, skeptical of the value of this benefit, but the first week's menu has me excited to go to work everyday if not for the students at least for the food. There is always a salad bar, sandwich bar, hot soup, choice of Mayfield frozen treats, and two entrees. By Tuesday's Blackened Flounder with Rice Pilaf, I was happy I made my move. I think this a job in which I can really grow.


We went to a local mega-church Sunday. My wife and kids have been before, but today was my first day. It is a huge institution. It takes some time to get everyone where they belong. Everyone was very nice and the twenty-minute Sunday school lesson was good. But on the way out, I realized that we had spent at least twice as much time walking around, signing the kids into things, and picking the kids up from things than we did learning about the Word of God. I have trouble getting past the fact that there is valet parking for pre-school.


My son just came downstairs to let me know that he had just finished reading the Bible. He has been working on a Toddler Bible for the past three days. It has a picture and one or two sentences per page. There are over 400 pages.


Peace
..._

Pre-Planning Miscellany

School starts on August 13 at my new school. Since I am new there, I have to report on August 2 for two days of new faculty orientation. I have a lot to do between now and then so, naturally, I am going to the beach for a few days. I received my preliminary class rosters today, and if things stay the same, I will only have 47 students in my five classes (public school teachers typically have between 100-150). I can live with that grading load, but my Civil War class only has two students and my AP US history class has only five. I find that anything less than twelve makes for a challenging dynamic. Students tend to either get way too self-conscious or too comfortable in a small class. Our pre-planning schedule looks to be quite rigorous. My main complaint with my pre-planning experiences of late is that they mostly involve sitting for hours listening to someone else talk (a lot like what our students have to go through everyday) and very little "planning." In the past few years I have noticed that teachers (myself included) are the massive whiners and complainers. We also tend to be obnoxious know-it-alls (myself included). I have committed to being more positive this year.


I got my AP scores a few weeks ago: My AP US class got seven 5's (the highest possible score) out of sixteen students (44%). I am very pleased with that. One of my students sent me a postcard from Scotland where he is attending a Scottish history program at St Andrews to thank me (he got a five). Technically, he wrote, "I got a 5 woo-hoo." In light of my new commitment to positivity, I would rather not discuss the results of my AP European class.


We are going to Pensacola tomorrow so there will probably be no posts until Wednesday. I have three books I need to read by Thursday.


Peace
..._

Kennesaw Mountain, GA, continued

Yesterday, I reported some ads from the April 27, 1861 edition of Harper's Weekly. The ads were of some basic categories: healing balms, offers for selling agents, pianos, clothing, and a couple of items that reflected the national crisis: an illustrated guide to national leaders and some military/tactical handbooks. Today I give you some ads from the July 23, 1864 edition of Harper's Weekly. By the way, copies of all editions of Harper's Weekly can be acquired through the Alexander Street Press and Harpweek.com has a number of online themed selections.

Notice that while many ads are similar to the 1861 ads, there is a distinct change in content of the advertising. Only two of the twenty-eight ads in 1861 edition have any connection to the crisis of Union, while nineteen of fifty-five of the ads in the 1864 edition can be connected to the Civil War. The significant jump in number of ads is also of interest. My comment are in italics.


FISK & HATCH,
Bankers and Dealers in Government Securities.
No. 38 Wall Street, New York.

There a two other ads similar to this. Most of the war was paid for by through government borrowing, creating a vast market for government securities. However, borrowing was not enough and the 1862 Revenue Act created our first income tax and the Office of Internal Revenue.

PRESIDENTIAL
Campaign Medals.
Of every description now read in Pin and Medal. Trade orders solicited and promptly filled at Factory prices. Wholesale Depot Campaign Medal Co., 436 Broadway, N.Y.

Several similar ads including one for Fremont medals: Free Speech, Free Press, Fremont. 1864 was a presidential election year. Fremont was a radical Republican who considered as a challenger for the Republican nomination in 1864. Sherman's capture of Atlanta will play a key role in Lincoln's re-election against his former general, the Democratic George B. McClellan. This edition of Harper's Weekly contains a short piece on the assault on Kennesaw Mountain, one of many battles in the long Atlanta campaign.

Good News for the Army.
Hereafter we will send, post-paid, any of our PHOTOGRAPHIC ALBUMS ordered by soldiers for themselves or friends, giving an Album of the full money of the money sent.
Our Albums have the reputation of being superior to all others in beauty and durability, and range in price from 50 cts. to $50.
Our catalogue of CARD PHOTOGRAPHS now embraces about 5000 officers, army and navy, statesmen, actors, copies of works of art, &c. Catalogue sent on receipt of stamps.
Stereoscopes and Stereoscopic Views.
Our assortment of these is very extensive, including a great variety of views of the present war.
Catalogue sent on receipt of stamp.
E.&H. T. ANTONY & Co,
501 Broadway, New York.
Manufacturers of Photographic Materials.

Photography was a booming business during the Civil War, and the war was our first to be photographed. Soldiers would frequently pose for a formal photograph before reporting for duty. Cards of leaders were also quite popular. Stereoscopic images created a three-dimensional effect when used with a viewer. I have a few reproductions that I show my students.

Metallic Artificial Legs.
Weight only Four Pounds.
A fit guaranteed. It makes no noise. It does not get out of order. The measure can be sent, and the leg returned by express. If you are not satisfied after six months' trial, I will return the money less twenty-five dollars.
Price $75 to $100. Send for a circular.
Office and Salesroom 491 Broadway, New York.
J.W. WESTON
E. WESTON, 21 West 4th Street, Cincinnati, Ohio.

Sadly, ads like these became increasingly common during the war. The high number of battlefield amputations led to a booming business the manufacture and sale of prosthetics.

AGENTS WANTED.--$50 per month guaranteed. For terms and specimens, address, with stamp, L.L. TODD & CO., New York.

GUN-POWDER
SMITH & RAND, Manufactures of ORANGE RIFLE and ORANGE LIGHTNING Powder, of superior strength and cleanness.
Office, 170 Broadway, New York.

Soldiers, especially officers, often times purchased their own battlefield supplies. Many times the products ended up being worthless and were cast aside during long marches.

DIARRHOEA.
DYSENTARY, CHOLERA, CHOLERA
MORBUS, &c.--Certain and immediate cure. HEGEMAN & CO.'s celebrated Diarrhoea Remedy has been used with unfailing success since the Cholera season of 1832. A single dose will usually check the diarrhoea in a few hours. Prepared only by HEGEMAN & CO., Chemists and Druggists, New York. Sold by all the principal Druggists in the United States.

Disease killed more soldiers during the Civil War than did battle inflicted wounds. This was standard for wars before the 20th century. The drug claims to heal three of the most common of deadly camp diseases.

Remington's
ARMY AND NAVY
REVOLVER.
Approved by the Government.
Warranted superior to any other Pistol of the kind. Also Pocket and Belt Revolvers. Sold by the Trade generally.
E. REMINGTON & SONS,
Ilion, N.Y.

Officers were expected to purchase their own sidearms and swords.

U.S. Gov. Artificial Leg Depots,
658 Broadway, N.Y., Rochester, N.Y. Chicago, Ill., Cincinnati, O., and St. Louis, Mo., where the Government furnishes the U.S. Army and Navy Leg to Soldiers gratis, or its value applied on the Anatomical Ball and Socket-Jointed Leg, which has lateral motion at the ankle like the natural one.
DOUGLAS BLY, M.D., U.S. Commissioner. For instructions address DR. Bly, at nearest Depot.

The demand must be quite high for the government to create five depots.

DO YOU WANT LUXURIANT
WHISKERS OR MUSTACHES?--My Onguent will force them to grow heavily in six weeks (upon the smoothest face) without stain or injury the skin. Price $1--sent by mail, post free, to any address, on receipt of an order.
R.G. GRAHAM, No. 109 Nassau Street, N.Y.

There are at least three more along the same lines.

SOMETHING NEW
IN PLAYING CARDS.
LOVE SCENES.
DESIGNS from FRENCH ARTISTS.
The above new Card has fifty-two beautiful pictures, of elegant design, and they can also be used the same as ordinary playing cards, thus combining pleasure with amusement. Enclose 50 cents and two red stamps, and send for sample pack. $5 per dozen. Liberal discount by gross to dealers. H.A. CASWELL, 60 Nassau St., New York.

One of my favorite ads. It speaks for itself.


I could teach much of the Civil War through these ads.
I saw a lot more wildlife at Kennesaw Mountain than I expected. I took all of the following from the trail.

These butterflies were everywhere, but they wouldn't sit still for a good shot.

I saw at least five deer. All of them seem quite used to humans.
While trying to take a picture of one of the butterflies, I heard something in the leaves behind me. Wondering what it was, I watched for over a minute as something seemed to be trying to push itself up from the leaves. This little guy popped up and quickly retreated. I used to be fast enough to catch these lizards with my bare hands.

One of the joys of Disney World is finding the Secret Mickeys. I found this one on top of Little Kennesaw Mountain. These cactii are numerous across the crest of Big and Little Kennesaw Mountain.

Peace

..._

Kennesaw Mountain, GA

I took a long hike at Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park on Wednesday (from the visitor center over Big and Little Kennesaw Mountain down to Burnt Hickory Grove and back to the visitor center around the base of the mountain). If you live in/near Atlanta and haven't been there, you must take a half of a day to explore it. I snuck away by telling my wife that I am teaching a Civil War class and need to scout locations (visions of field trips are dancing in my head). I have written about a previous visit to KM here.

While there I couldn't help but buy a couple of things in the bookstore. Many of the items can be found at virtually any local historical site. I got two reproductions of Harper's Weekly: A Journal of Civilization ($2.00 each). One is dated April 27, 1861 and the other July 23, 1864. I didn't get them for their articles or illustrations but for the ads on the last two pages. I will be working them into lessons on advertising, primary sources, and the Civil War. In some ways, the ads reveal that little has changed: get rich quick schemes, balding prevention, magical medicines, new technologies, testimonials, etc. The change in ad content from 1861 (the very beginning of the Civil War) to July of 1864 (when war weariness was beginning to weigh on the coming presidential election) is also very suggestive.

What follows is a selection of the 1861 Harper's Weekly ads. Others I left out include pianos, muslin shirts, paper ties, horse medicine, a patent baby-tender, a ladies' fashion book, and other similar items (my comments in italics):

Premature Loss of the Hair,
Which is so common now-a-days, may be entirely prevented by the use of Burnett's Cocoaine. It has been used in thousands of cases where the hair was coming out in handfuls, and has never failed to arrest its decay, and to promote a healthy and vigorous growth. It is, at the same time, unrivaled as a dressing for the hair. A single application will render it soft and glossy for several days.
For several days? Does this mean they didn't wash their hair for...several days? Even if users continue to lose hair, I am sure they feel much better about themselves after using Burnett's Cocoaine.

"Matrimony made Easy."--A new work, showing how either sex may be suitably married, irrespective of age or appearance, which can not fail--free for 25 cents. Address T. Williams & Co., Publishers, Box 2300, Philad.
I love it: free for 25 cents! The rest of this ad speaks for itself.

$5,000 REWARD--TO ANY SOBER energetic man who fails to make $2,000 a year. Business easy, honest and at home. For full particulars, inclose a stamp for return, and address
A.D.F., Box 78, P.O., Wellsburg, Va.
I wonder if it involves stuffing envelopes?

6000 AGENTS wanted, to sell SIX NEW INVENTIONS--two very recent, and of great value to families; all pay great profit to Agents. Send four stamps and get 80 pages particulars. EPHRAIM BROWN, Lowell, Mass.
What do you think: Amway or Tupperware?

SANDS' SARSPARILLA--The best Spring Alternative. It will purify the blood, promote a vigorous circulation and thoroughly renovate the system. For sale by A.B. & D. SANDS, 100 Fulton St., N.Y.

Wheeler & Wilson's Sewing Machings At reduced prices, with Glass Cloth Presser, Improved Loop-Check, New Style Hammer, Binder, Corder, etc. Office No. 595 Broadway, New York.
"This Machine makes the 'LOCK STITCH,' and ranks highest, on account of the elasticity, permanence, beauty, and general desirableness of the stitching when done, and the wide range of its application." [Report of the American Institute, New York.

5,000 Men Wanted To Sell LLOYD'S NEW POLITCAL CHART FOR THE TIMES, containing large, new, colored Portraits of PRESIDENT LINCOLN AND HIS CABINET, GEN. SCOTT, GEN. WOOL, MAJ. ANDERSON, AND LIEUT. SLEMMER, with a sketch of the life of each. A MAP OF OUR COUNTRY, showing, in different colors, the FREE STATES, BORDER SLAVE STATES, SECEDED STATES, and TERRITORIES.
Also, accurate Election and Census Returns for 1860, with much other valuable information.
Finely colored on excellent paper, 28X36 inches in size.
Mailed, pre-paid, for 25 cents. (Stamps received.)
A RARE CHANCE FOR AGENTS.
Published by H.H. LLOYD & CO'S,
Agents' General Depot for BOOKS, MAPS, AND STATIONARY PACKAGES, No. 25 Howard Street, New York.
Capitalism always finds a way to make good on national crises.

General Scott's Infantry Tactics; or, Rules for the Exercise and Maneuvres of the United States Infantry. 3 vols. 24mo, Muslin, #2 50. Published by Authority.
United States Army Regulations. Approved by the President of the United States, and Printed under the directions of the Secretary of War. 12 mo, Muslin, $1 50.
Published by HARPER & BROTHERS, Franklin Square, New York.

I shall post the ads from 1864 tomorrow. Until then, some pictures:



One of the few monuments at Kennesaw (compared, say, to Chickamauga). The inscription reads:
We sleep here in obedience to law:
When duty called, we came,
When country called, we died.

How may students will see in this inscription an echo of the Spartan memorial at Thermopylae: Go, stranger, and tell the Spartans that we lie here in obedience to their laws.


View from the top looking north to the North Georgia Mountains.


View from the top looking south to the Atlanta hazeline. Usually one can see Stone Mountain but the haze was too bad.


Gun emplacements at Fort McBride on top of Little Kennesaw Mountain.

Peace
..._

Tour of my New Classroom

Four preps. I found out today that I will have four preps this fall. Four preps and five classes. For those of you not sure what a "prep" is, the term is short for "preparation." It refers to the number of different classes for which a teacher must prepare. The more preps one has, the more work one has. I have had as many as six and as few as two. Most teachers consider three to be challenging, but it is quite common in small and mid-sized private schools (less pay and more work--go figure). Four is unusual and is usually reserved for rookie teachers (because of the demands of seniority, rookie teachers, the ones least prepared for it, always get the worst schedules).



My class load:

Two sections of US History

One section of US Government

One section of AP US History

One section of US Civil War



The last one is quite exciting. I have had the privilege of teaching the Civil War one other time and look forward to it.



Here are some views of my new classroom (taken very amateurishly with my new Canon A710is):



From the door (25 total desks):





From the front of the room (look at all of the storage in the back!)






From one of my two windows:





From the other of my two windows:





A key piece of equipment (an LCD projector--very exciting):

Not pictured: My Smart Board which is being installed this week or next.

Overall, the room is smaller than my last one, but it has more storage, better desks, an LCD projector and Smart Board, and an industrial sized dispenser of antibacterial solution mounted on the wall. The view is not quite as beautiful as my last room's (three pine trees loom out of one of the windows), but I still overlook trees.

Peace

..._

Mid-Week Miscellany: The Wiggles and Pirates, Too!

On Sunday we went to my sister's for my niece's birthday party. Since my niece finds Orlando Bloom's work in the Pirates movies to be that of a deeply talented actor, the party was pirate themed, and each child attendee received a cup of pirate loot. My six-year-old son and four-year-old had great fun with the eye patches and pirate bouncy balls. At one point my son came up with the idea of using the bouncy ball as his fake eye. He ran into the room and queried, "Do you want to see my peg eye?"


Earlier at that same party he was eating at a table full of older girls. Somehow, his elbow got wedged into the back of the chair, and he couldn't get it out. Not wanting to lose face in front of the ladies, he played it cool until his uncle walked by chair. He quietly asked if his uncle could help him because his elbow was stuck in the chair. His uncle helped him out, and the girls were never the wiser.


The twins just passed their ten month birthday. Yesterday I caught the eldest standing on his on-all-fours brother's back in an attempt to crawl onto the couch. He is becoming an accomplished escape artist, but has yet to learn that his actions have often painful consequences.

Did you see this Washinton Post piece: Va. School's No-Contact Rule Is a Touchy Subject? A couple of snippets:

All touching -- not only fighting or inappropriate touching -- is against the rules at Kilmer Middle School in Vienna. Hand-holding, handshakes and high-fives? Banned. The rule has been conveyed to students this way: "NO PHYSICAL CONTACT!!!!!"

School officials say the rule helps keep crowded hallways and lunchrooms safe and orderly, and ensures that all students are comfortable. But Hal, 13, and his parents think the school's hands-off approach goes too far, and they are lobbying for a change.

...

Deborah Hernandez, Kilmer's principal, said the rule makes sense in a school that was built for 850 students but houses 1,100. She said that students should have their personal space protected and that many lack the maturity to understand what is acceptable or welcome.

"You get into shades of gray," Hernandez said. "The kids say, 'If he can high-five, then I can do this.' "

She has seen a poke escalate into a fight and a handshake that is a gang sign. Some students -- and these are friends -- play "bloody knuckles," which involves slamming their knuckles together as hard as they can. Counselors have heard from girls who are uncomfortable hugging boys but embarrassed to tell anyone. And in a culturally diverse school, officials say, families might have different views of what is appropriate.

It isn't as if hug police patrol the Kilmer hallways, Hernandez said. Usually an askance look from a teacher or a reminder to move along is enough to stop girls who are holding hands and giggling in a huddle or a boy who pats a buddy on the back. Students won't get busted if they high-five in class after answering a difficult math problem.

Typically, she said, only repeat offenders or those breaking other rules are reprimanded. "You have to have an absolute rule with students, and wiggle room and good judgment on behalf of the staff," Hernandez said.

Schools exist to educate. Besides subject area teaching, the social education of children is one of the most important functions of schools. Children must learn to function in groups in appropriate and constructive ways. They must learn how to appropriately talk to, listen to, and, yes, touch others. Teachers and administrators must serve the central place in this development and must ensure that children to do not come to serious harm.

Frankly, this policy is a cop-out and is lazy educating. In a misguided attempt to keep students from any harm, the school has abandoned all responsibility for the development of the vital social skill of appropriate touching and has instead opted to teach that touching is wrong without considering the harm that might to done to a child who is deprived the gift of friendly touch: "Usually an askance look from a teacher or a reminder to move along is enough to stop ... a boy who pats a buddy on the back." While it is important to stop the malicious plague of boys who pat their buddies on their backs, isn't it more important to engage students in the "shades of gray" that Principal Hernandez is so loath to consider? She argues that, "You have to have an absolute rule with students," but one wonders exactly how can an absolute rule have "wiggle room" and still be absolute. Perhaps students are free to wiggle all they wish as long as they don't touch during "wiggle-time." Besides, that wiggling will most certainly be eliminated as soon as the Ritalin is added to the school water-fountains. I agree with her that "good judgment on behalf of the staff" is necessary; let us hope that the staff of Kilmer Middle School shall one day demonstrate that good judgment. Until then there will be a lot of teachers looking askance at the giggling girls and at the boys patting boys on the back.


Peace
..._

Jury Duty vs Post-Planning

This week is teacher post-planning. In theory, teachers are supposed to meet to review what went right and wrong during the past year and to begin planning for the next year. In practice, it means a few short days of cleaning your room, tying up loose ends, and long lunches. I have missed most of this years' post-planning due to jury duty. I have mixed feelings about this. I am thrilled to have jury duty (I teach government and now I can speak from direct experience about jury service), and I actually got on a jury today (guilty on both counts), but this is my last year at this school. I have been there since January 2001, and I hoped to spend this week saying goodbye. While my jury (yes, my jury--I was foreman) debate how many flails of the arm constitutes resisting arrest, the faculty was putting on a farewell luncheon for the three teachers leaving. I missed my own farewell lunch.

Tomorrow is the last day of post-planning, and I will be at school. The administration will give us a free lunch (the one thing they are truly good at), and then I will move on. I expect it to be a very anti-climatic ending to a very difficult year.

I hate change.

Peace

..._

Seeing Stars

Last week my three-year-old daughter got hold of a sheet of small, silver star stickers (say that ten times fast). I know this not because I saw her with the stickers but because of the sudden appearance of silver stars all over the house. They showed up on each of the four screws on a double light switch cover. There is currently one nicely centered on the mouse I am using. I thought she was done.

Yesterday, midway through the last period of the day, I hear, "Uh, Mr. Chintzibobs, there's a star on your, er, backside." Indeed, neatly centered on one of my buttons was a silver star. This comes a week after a belt loop on the back of my pants popped off in the middle of the day and stuck out in a most distracting manner. It is never good when the entire class laughs every time you turn around. Remind me to tell you the story about the Arby's ketchup.


The two big kids were in timeout in their room for not cleaning up the cushions of the couch in a timely manner. They were busy blaming each other for their dilemma. I interrupted in hopes of discovering who originally removed the cushions. The five-year-old boy blamed it on the three-year-old girl. In an unexpected rhetorical turn, the three-year-old girl blamed it on momma. The boy immediately recognized the fallacy of her argument, "Why did you say that?" Giving her the benefit of the doubt, I checked with momma. When I came back with the truth, she blamed Jesus. Her brother was outraged and shouted while pointing vaguely up, "Jesus is invisible and He never does anything wrong!" She countered with a devout hand over her heart, "Jesus is in our hearts."


My wife just came down to inform me that there is a giant lady bug blocking the door to our room. That would be my five-year-old son, but that is another story for another day.


Peace

Genius Has No...

This week we were discussing the rise of the women's movement during the 19th century in my AP US History class. I mentioned writer Mary E. Bryan's argument that "Genius has no sex." One of my students made a knowing, "Uh huh" under his breath. Chuckles of a few followed. I immediately amended my lecture notes. They now read, "Genius has no gender." The rewriting of history goes on...

Peace

The Price of a College Education: Dumb and Dumber

Recently, the Intercollegiate Studies Institute issued a Civic Literacy Report titled, "The Coming Crisis in Citizenship. In it, the ISI claims that not only do students learn little about American history, economics, and government in college, in some cases they actually exhibit "negative learning." In other words, they knew more when they were admitted then when they graduated. Testing of incoming freshmen was compared with testing of graduating seniors; this testing showed a remarkable lack of progress. This held true for both Ivy League and "lesser" colleges (or "Elite" and "Non-elite" schools as the report calls them). Students at Yale scored 1.5% less as seniors than they did as freshmen!

Two days ago, CNN reported, "Harvard University, founded 370 years ago to train Puritan ministers, should again require all undergraduates to study religion, along with U.S. history and ethics, a faculty committee is recommending." The article went on to reveal that:

The State University of New York and George Mason University have adopted general education requirements that include mandatory American history.

In the Ivy League, Columbia University has a significant core curriculum with courses that include material on religion, and Dartmouth currently requires a course in the analysis of religion, though that will change next year, according to its Web site. But Harvard would be the only school in that group requiring students to take courses in both religion and U.S. history.

Public colleges in Colorado, along with Ohio University and Arizona State, are among the other universities currently reviewing general education requirements, said Anne Neal, president of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, a generally conservative academic group that has urged universities to toughen general education requirements.

SUNY and George Mason "have adopted general education requirements that include mandatory American history"--it wasn't required before? No wonder the ISI Report found what it did.

I have read with interest the response to the ISI Report. As a high school AP US history and government teacher, I have often noted the happy tragedy that occurs whenever one of my students does well on the AP US History exam. It validates my teaching and his or her learning, but it also means that they will not be taking US history at college. While it is true that many colleges do not accept AP credit, it is easy to see how an advanced student could take enough AP exams to avoid taking any college social science (history, economics, government).

I have always been secretly disappointed that my best students would not be talking a “real” college class in US history. I am not enough of a statistician to know how AP plays into the ISI Report, but it does not appear to my near-sighted eyes to have been addressed as a factor in the report. I think it could be a factor that merits study; until then, I will continue to prepare my students as though they will not be taught a thing in college. It is the prudent thing to do either way.

Today in the WSJ and fresh on the heels of the ISI report, Naomi Schaefer Riley asks, "Test Question: Why is high school the new college?" Her answer, they aren't learning anything useful in college, but the enforced rigor of test-based high school courses (especially AP courses) actually gives students useful knowledge and skills. In her words:

Why? Because college increasingly offers a crazed social experience at the expense of rigorous study. But high school does better: It is often the last time that students are forced to learn something. Parents make their kids show up at school. More than a few teachers convey basic skills and knowledge. After-school life centers on burnishing a college application, not binge drinking. AP courses, where they exist, exploit these structured years for maximum learning.

I'll try.


Peace

Key to Good Teaching: Variety

I had to go to a three-hour class this morning on the Christian philosophy of education. The class was delivered on videotape. The instructor was an esteemed professor of education. The content was quite good. The presentation left something to be desired. The professor elected to deliver his information sitting in a comfy chair next to a roaring fire. He then spent the next three hours making a number of points about education. One of his points was that Jesus taught using a variety of educational styles and that we should do likewise. So we should do as you say, not as you do? Sure he was on video, but couldn't he at least stand up?

I have noticed the same flaw in nearly every educational specialist who has ever lectured me about how to teach. They literally lecture. Their lecture advises us not to lecture as a primary means of instruction. So then, why do they lecture?


Peace