Marbury v Madison for the Masses!!!

Sloan and McKean have done an excellent job of outlining the momentous impact of a landmark Supreme Court case in The Great Decision, Jefferson, Adams, Marshall and The Battle of The Supreme Court. A general reader not only learns about the case but the internal working of the early Supreme Court. It seems unthinkable today that a Supreme Court justice would ride circuit for appeals, then hear a case they had ruled in before, at the Supreme Court bench. It only happens today in some appointments...Sotomayor perhaps. They also go into investigative detail of the parties involved in the case, the political battle between the first political parties and the tenuous first exchange of executive power between parties. Anyhow, well worth reading, highly recommended.

I Am Murdered by Bruce Chadwick

This was an excellent account of a total miscarriage of justice due to racism and its codification in American jurisprudence at the time. The horrific murder of the honorable George Wythe and the failure of the justice to which he dedicated his life to punish his killer, wow!!! There is also an interesting history of arsenic poisoning, racial relations in Richmond, period social life in Richmond and the pointed failure of the legal system one to two steps behind the times, as usual. Excellent summer read, investigative history, very readable.

Youth Leadership Intiative

I am setting up a mock election thorugh the Youth Leadership Intiative from the Virginia Center for Politics. I am still in the process of setting everything up but it seems to be easy and as involved as you want to be. I want the students to participate as a good civics lesson but I do not have a lot of instructional time to devote to it.

The Montefeltro Conspiracy, Read it!!!

I have just finished another book, but this one was not on the reading list. My wife picked it up as a whim in the bookstore and thought I might be interested in it. The Montfeltro Conspiracy by Marcello Simonetta was an excellent read on an interesting subject. For those well versed in Renaissance Italy, it may be a more worthwhile find. For me, it was a well-written account of a perilous time in Italian history complete with murder, conspiracy, civil unrest, political survival and church corruption. Ah, Italia!!! I highly recommend this volume of history. I honestly loved everything about the book, including the paper, the binding, how refreshing after The House.

Crestfallen, The House by Robert Remini

I was very disappointed in this work from such a respected historian. Remini is the historian of the Jacksonian era. I loved his biography of Andrew Jackson and have read multi other biographies and other volumes that have flowed from Professor Remini's impressive scholarship. The House was a monumental disappointment. It is definitely aimed at a general readership with little background in American history. It felt that over half of the work was general scholarship to give the reader a background for what little discussion over the personalities and the events that shaped the modern House of Representatives. I was expecting memorable anecdotes and biographical sketches, legislative history and details of events that stemmed from the House that shaped this nation. There was too little of the actual history of the House. It read as if Remini had not formulated an approach to such a huge undertaking, and never did concoct one as he wrote. It is a great book for someone who has no general knowledge of the history of this great nation, for others....look elsewhere.

Church and State

The interaction of religion and government is currently a hot topic in both popular media and among historians. There is an ongoing discussion among historians (and some zealots) over the religious belief of the founders. The active participation of many Christians in the political processes today has raised the question of the concept separation of church and state in modern political structures. Pelosi's documentary focusing on the effect of Evangelists on the political process is interesting and worth viewing. Check the HBO schedule for documentaries!!!

Teaching the Civil War

Now, just how do you communicate to students the momentous impact of the war on our lives today? I plan to start with Ken Burns' The Civil War and give them some of the basic facts. It is time to try to get them to finish a worthwhile project, like a campaign ad for Lincoln's election in 1860? A video, powerpoint, poster, pamphlet, etc. Hhem, now I just need project guidelines. The biggest question is, how will the students do so close to the end of the year and after the state mandated test. Most think that the year is over...little do they know. Now, the real fun begins. If you happen to follow this blog, and know of any great projects or have any ideas....I designed a Civil War game for the students...but it is lengthy and cumbersome. Time to streamline.

State of History Education

After a comment on the American Revolution blog I feel that I must make a post on this subject. History education is wholefully underfunded and worse, undervalued as part of a modern curriculum. Relegated on many campuses as part of the humanities courses, history is often ignored and pushed aside since it does not make you richer or further your career or ambitious plans for material gain. But without out, we as a people are wholefully ignorant of who we are, were we have been and therefore where we are going. I can point to Iraq, the economic crisis, immigration and find dozens of examples in our history that speak to us. From Cicero to Franklin to Truman our sense of history grounds us and allows us to stand, think, consider, imagine and move forward building on the marvelous tapestry that the human experience...history...provides for us.

Realizations I had while teaching American history...the first six presidents were all from the two first powerhouse states, Virginia and Massachusetts....Manifest Destiny did not stop at the California coast...Henry Clay must have thought that becoming Secretary of State was the path to the presidency since Jefferson, Madison, Monroe and JQ Adams had all held the position.

Excellent Resource!!! Digital History Site

This site contains an amazing number of resources for teaching American history. The resources listed include everything from documents to movie trailers and flash videos...the total resources would be too lengthy to go into here. Kudos to the primary sponsor, University of Houston and their partners!!!

Check it out, www.digitalhistory.uh.edu

Virtual Charter Schools

After reading about the Texas Virtual Academy in the Fort Worth Star Telegram, I feel that I have to comment. If parents want to educate their children at home then they should home school. This charter school provides materials not available to students at public schools (laptop and other materials). The students are required to take the state exam and are scoring below their counterparts at public school. Charter schools in Texas also prosper under loose spending guidelines, lack of oversight and top heavy administrative staffs.

The answer? Put that money back where it belongs, your local public school. I feel that the biggest difference between a high performing and low performing campus, particularly for elementary and middle schools is parent volunteerism. PTA, parent tutors, parent at lunch duty, parents on campus before and after school, parent in the school office helping parents of new studnets, etc. The two most influential factors of the success of a school campus are principal leadership and parent volunteerism.