Category: Education

Lack of history in schools gets some mainstream coverage

It isn’t really news to those of us in the history field that schools today are cutting back on history lessons in favor of the math and reading skills that appear on standardized tests. But I was happy to see this issue get some national mainstream exposure on CNN’s “Perry’s Principles” in an article called “Subject Matters: Why students fall behind on history“. (more…)

Very few Americans can pass a test on the American Revolution – can you?

Scary numbers of people know very little about the events surrounding the American Revolution. For those of us in the history world, this probably does not come as a huge shock. But in light of the cuts being made to history and social studies programs across the nation in favor of subjects on the standardized tests, this information is starling and worth discussing. (more…)

Things that go BOO

Well, it’s that time of year, when ghosts and goblins roam the streets. Thanks to hit television shows like Ghost Hunters and Ghost Adventures, ghosts are enjoying extreme popularity these days. As Halloween nears, many historic sites and towns offer ghost tours. I took a ghost walk around Historic Annapolis last Saturday night, and my companion and I both felt it was a wonderful way to learn the history of that historic town. (more…)

Who wrote your child’s history text?

I am taking history courses right now to earn a second bachelor’s degree in history, and even in the 100 level classes, they are having us do history research online. We have had to find sites that are acceptable for collegiate research and sites that are not acceptable. (more…)

Tell your visitors a story

Hello history fans! I took a break from blogging over the summer, due to several vacations and the fact that I decided to go back to school and pick up a degree in history. It was been wonderfully exciting to read my text books and discuss history with my classmates – all online! I figured I spent all my free time reading history books anyway, so I may as well get credit for it! (more…)

Interactive Website: The HerStory Scrapbook

Here is an example of an online exhibit based around one specific concept that works very well. The HerStory Scrapboook catalogues articles from The New York Times’ coverage of the women’s suffrage movement of the early twentieth century. The site provides summaries and links to the articles about the movement, divided by years (1917, 1918, 1919, and 1920) as well as providing both a prologue and epilogue with additional links. (more…)

Texas pols debate history curriculum – but should they be making the decisions?

So I admit that I am not the most qualified person to voice an opinion on this, which is why I’d love to hear your opinions. This New York Times article from last month talks about the Texas Board of Education and their vote to make their history curriculum standards much more conservative. This affects not just the children of Texas, but the children of the nation, as Texas is a large state and a large purchaser of textbooks. This means that textbook companies will tailor their book content to Texas’s standards. (more…)

A future historian

I worked as a docent at Homewood Museum last weekend and had the opportunity to interact with what I hope is a future historian. A little girl came to the house museum with her father, and I approached them to see if they had any questions.

“Yes,” the little girl said earnestly, “I do. How old is this house?”

“How old do you think it is?” I asked her.

“Really really old,” she replied. (more…)