One benefit of substitute teaching is I can follow students throughout their academic careers. I saw a young lady with anger-management issues successfully complete high school. Students I first met as fifth graders are now finishing eighth grade. It’s a very rewarding feeling. On the other hand… I especially remember one young man I worked
I see Forbes magazine has published its billionaires list again. http://www.forbes.com/billionaires/list/ What would it be like to have that much money? I have no idea myself. But twice in my life I’ve gotten a glimpse of wealthy lifestyles. It’s like some careless person has left the door ajar, and I got to peek inside. The first
I was reminded again today that there are two sides to every story. In this case it was whimsical, but the point is valid nonetheless. I had taken one of my infrequent substitute-teaching jobs in elementary and noticed a book in the classroom, The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by A. Wolf. Did
If you could travel through time, would you? Which way would you go, forward or backward? What if you went forward and the world no longer existed when you arrived? If you went backward, why? Right a wrong? Warn of an impending disaster? Fix a relationship? Change history? Make yourself wealthy? Today I was catching
Intellectual property is near and dear to my heart. The sad fact is if you have a really good idea, someone will try to steal it. I remember when I lived in Southern California, I took a one-day course on how to set up a business (more out of boredom at that time). A woman
I was trying to think of something clever to write about today when something fell into my lap. USA Today’s website has a post on “five history lessons on products you use every day” — — The Surprising History of Toilet Paper (Have you ever wondered how the Greeks and Romans got by without paper?)
Teaching today has put me in the mood to post something historical — Railroads and the Civil War Some consider the American Civil War to be the first modern conflict. For example, it saw the first battle between ironclad warships, the first successful use of the submarine, warfare directed toward the civilian population (Sherman’s March
I rarely do crossword puzzles myself, but I know they’re a very popular pastime. They were even the storyline of an episode on The Simpsons. I mention this to share one of the most diabolical crossword-puzzle clues I’ve ever found. I’m fond of using it in the classroom when I substitute teach and things get dull.
Despite a 20-year career in the Air Force, I find at this stage of my life I loathe violence. It could be because I have been to war myself (Vietnam). It could be that there is just too much violence in our culture, from fiction (TV and movies) to fact ( the nightly news). Or
I never got to be a full-time social studies teacher. But if I’d had, I would’ve used quotes to help put things in perspective. Here are some of my favorites — “History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon.” — Napoleon Bonaparte “History will be kind to me for