More Summer Institutes

The Gilder Lehrman Institute has extended its deadline for applications for it summer teacher institutes. The seminars are impressive with the nation's leading historians teaching the course. I encourage qualified teachers to apply. I do not personally know anyone that has attended but the reputation of the seminars is impressive. www.gilderlehrman.org

Hamilton's Curse by Thomas DiLorenzo

Just do not buy it. Ridiculous interpretation of early American economic policy and partisan politics which supports a equally inane conclusion. His conclusions are only reached by analysis of selective facts. I may pass this around as a party favor at a department meeting so that we can all get the joke.

NEH, We the People Institute, California

While I am applying for this particular summer seminar I would like to get the information out there. This seminar takes up the majority of July and looks worthwhile. I have attached a link where an agenda, course outline and application are available.

Thomas Fleming and the Intimate Lives of the Founding Fathers

The Intimate Lives of the Founding Fathers by Thomas Fleming is an excellent read shedding some light on the personal lives and relationships of these mammoth American icons. It is well written and research and a must read for anyone seeking to gain a more personal understanding of the lives and relationships of the American icons. The vivacious Dolley Madison, the Sally Hemmings relationship to Jefferson and the indiscretion of Alexander Hamilton are all deftly handled and shown in a clear and factual light.

Final Exams

We have been preparing for the finals and dealing with reviews. We are right in the middle of learning about the Constitution. We are covering the goals and principles of the Constitution as well as the Constitutional Convention. There is an upcoming project for the Pre-AP classes and a whole new style of lesson plan for the academic classes.

Constitutional Convention

I have found the most useful book and website. It is sponsored by Ashland University. The website has everything from artwork (notarized with text boxes on the identification of the faces), an index to Madison's notes and much more. The link is http://www.teachingamericanhistory.org/convention/. Simply fantastic. The book has a brief bio of every member of the convention. I luckily found this jewel at Half-Price during the holiday break, Founding Fathers by M.E. Bradford.

Which Founder Are You?

The Constitution Center has a fun quiz where you answer a block of questions and it matches you to the founding father that you most resemble. It is fun, but why do most of the people that I know end up being so similar to James Madison?

James Monroe, The Last Founding Father by Unger

Monroe was perhaps the hardest working civil servant in our nation's history. He was a talented civic-minded, generous man seeking a legacy to match his betters, Washington, Jefferson and Madison. Monroe was just not a charismatic leader but he was gifted administrator. I respect Monroe and the sacrifices and devotion he held for this union. Saying that, this biography was well-written and delivered. While I do see Mr. Unger trying to elevate Monroe's legacy by overemphasizing Monroe's involvement in many events prior to his presidency, in the end, this is a good read. In many modern biographies I find a new rehash of the same facts any educated American historian already knows. Mr. Unger has a great writing style that maintains a flow in the narrative of Monroe's life and this book provided me with an increased respect for Monroe's devotion to his civic life.

Gifted and Talented

Just took the Texes test for GT certification and I was a little surprised by the amount of questions on recent research and Texas state guidelines from the 2000 statute. There is no real text for GT study, just an outdated handbook and recent articles from professional journals in GT education and research with which to try to scour an understanding of what GT education is today. Thank goodness Winebrenner's "orange bible" gives practical ideas for application and differentiation. Education is just so subjective, personal...there are no real working definitions or just one formula that works. Much to my dismay, there is no consistent definition for school culture either.

Success for All

Due to the situation my school finds itself in, I have been exploring the net, teacher blogs and any other educational commentary to find ideas about creating a school culture and climate that is nurturing and fosters high achievement. This is one of the places that I have ended up. Of course, in Texas, schools could be more successful if the Legislature actually equitably funded the districts or really, just stopped changing their funding formulas after school district budgets have been approved for the year. SSI funding changes this late? Come on!!!! Here is one sites....http://www.successforall.net/