Get Out of the Box

This is the first in a series of postings over the next few weeks where I hope to show that by becoming an “out of the box teacher” you can actually achieve the goals of the “stay in the box” crowd.

Even though my first administrator went on to other things following my first year in the classroom I still saw him at least once a year as he breezed down the hall getting a handshake or hug here and there. He was a fairly hands-off kind of guy during my first year….I rarely saw him. He was a former basketball coach so he often employed his coaching tactics to the inhabitants of his school from the youngest to the oldest. He referred to many of us by our last names. My own last name of Cooper suddenly became “Coop”. He employed certain phrases to keep his team in focus and working together to meet his goal. He’d say things like “go team”, “keep it in focus”, “you know what to do”, or one that has signficance to me “stay in the box”. As for me and other staff members we took the last one to mean “don’t rock the boat”, stay in sinc with the team, or conform, conform, conform.

So what was my administrator’s goal? Quite simply it was for the school to run smoothly….no problems of any kind especially any he might have to deal with personally. He was all about appearance and a united front was key.

Today he’s no longer with the school system but still visits our campus as a community representative. He always receives a hug from me on those visits and always begins our visit by flinging open my classroom door, filling the doorway with his very tall form, and booms, “Well, howya doin’ Coop?”

I received a reprimand from him only once.Our team of teachers had decided to go out to lunch on a work day as so many educators do across the country. It’s one of those little pleasures you look forward to. One of our team members lived close by and had prepared a magnificent luncheon for us. It was so magnificient that we were approximately thirty minutes late getting back to school. Apparently our coach….er…administrator had decided to venture forth from his office to walk down our hall and found empty classrooms when he should have found a least one team member…er….teacher in each room. After we returned and thinking we were in the clear we all got back to work when suddenly over the intercom came our fearless leader’s voice.

He requested a visit from our team leader. After a few minutes another team member was called, and then another, and then another. By this time of course the team leader had already returned and alerted us to the fact that coach…er….our administrator knew about about our long lunch.

Finally the intercom came on in my room where everyone had assembled to discuss the matter. “Coop,” his voice boomed, “I need you front and center, please.” By this time every staff member knew what was going on and I got quite a ribbing as I traversed my way through the maze of hallways to reach the front office.

He sat in his big overstuffed executive chair while I perched on a much smaller and lower chair across from him. His elbows rested on the arms of his chair and he kept pressing the fingers of each hand together. His very empty and very shiny cherry desktop gleamed. I knew not to touch it. A team member of mine had made the mistake once of steadying her body as she sat down by placing a hand on his desk, and he immediately got out the furniture polish and corrected the smudge that had been left behind while she looked on.

Several seconds ticked by. I smiled nervously as I waited for him to speak first.

Our meeting was one of the strangest I have ever had. The gist of the whole thing was during the prescribed lunch hour the front office expected us to be off campus. If we were off campus any other time and the front office was not aware of it the situation it could cause a problem if someone from the board office called wanting to speak with us or if an official came by wanting to visit with us. I apologized and stated I understood. All my administrator kept saying was, “Coop, I need ya’ to stay in the box. Those words “in the box” still echo in my head today.

Ok, I know what he meant. He wanted me to follow the rules. He needed me to follow the rules, and I don’t think a rule about being off campus during unprescribed times is a bad one. I agree with it.

What I don’t agree with is always staying in that damn box especially where teaching is concerned.

These are difficult times in education. New theories, research, standards, expectations, and responsibilities are thrust upon us in what seems to be a daily litany of directives that can change day-to-day. In the meantime we are expected to work wonders with students who are unmotivated, often unskilled, and a growing number who have emotional and behavioral concerns. My educational playbook is full of reminders about staying in the box……I can’t leave students behind, I must meet them where they are, and I must focus on the whole student. Many feel that the only sure-fire fix to education and the way we can meet the cries of legislators, parents, and educrats is by forming a team where we all move forward in lock-step fashion to cure our educational ills…you know, that same page on the same day crowd (which to a certain extent isn’t necessarily a bad thing).

What I’m getting at is in order to meet those goals that we find in those boxes and binders full of directives, procedures, and reminders we must be willing to climb out of the box in order to research and collect a repertoire of teaching skills and strategies to meet the many different unique individuals we come in contact with each and every day. No one program, no one strategy, no one law will cure our educational woes. Our fix should come from many different directions.

Saying “I’ve always taught this way” is not going to get you the same results you might have gotten ten, five, or even two years ago. What it will take is a “team” of teachers who are committed to researching on their own, discovering on their own, gathering their own data, collaborating with others and inplementing on their own various skills and strategies to reach each and every learner.

One of the biggest complaints I hear from teachers is about the stuff that gets ram-rodded down our throats that we must do in order to reach our goals. Don’t wait to get something thrown at you. Be aware of what is out there, be aware of current research, be aware of the demographics in your area, be aware of the particular problems your school has, and be aware regarding your own personal data with your own students. Don’t rely on someone else to give it to you.

Get out of the box and be part of the solution instead of having a solution you don’t agree with dumped on your head.

Thanks for visiting and for leaving a comment. My current postings can be seen here.

Out and About in the Blogosphere

A nice lazy, snowed in Saturday…..a good time was had by all. I sat in my chair and did all sorts of “webby things” on the computer. Dear Hubby watched movie after movie on his new high-definition surround sound television and made us Jambalaya for dinner. Tomorrow it will be football, football, and more football. Dear Daughter and friend created the wonderful snowman you see in the picture here.

Isn’t Frosty great? Not bad for two teenage girls who have only had real snow in their yards three or four times since birth.

You folks above the Mason-Dixon Line like to poke fun of us Southern types when we get ice and snow. Yes, we all run to the store when ice is in the forecast. Yes, schools shut down and folks stay home from church. Heck, ten people from our church called today to let us know church had been cancelled.

Apparently Jesus doesn’t drive too well in the snow and neither do Georgians. We just don’t get enough practice. It is a real safety issue in these parts when black ice forms on the roads. You can read more about the snowy south here, here, and 943 closings and delays in the Atlanta area are being reported.

I received a nice email this week from my friend, Mrs. Mecomber, who authors the great blog New York Traveler. Her kids are finalists in a video contest and they need our votes. Head on over to her post that tells you specifically how to vote. I always loved the Swedish Chef character!

The Georgia Carnival is up over at Georgia Politics Unfiltered…..great postings and great blogs to explore!

Dolce Belezza provided 13 Books Which Have Won an Award in 2007 and I’m so glad she did. There’s three or four listed I have on my list to check out.

I was most impressed with Dr. Pezz and his lesson plan that included showing his students the video Star Wars and Mythology produced by the History Channel. The good doctor states I think the kids will be excited to see how the patterns, structures, and archetypes used in Greek/Roman and Norse mythology are still being used in modern storytelling.

I love this! When the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou? came out many of my young students were very excited about it. I took advantage of the teachable moment that presented itself and we had a short talk about the time period presented in the movie as well as the connection to The Iliad and The Odyssey. It’s never too early to begin showing students connections between literature of the past and entertainment of the present and future.

Have a great rest of the weekend!

I'm Still Spitting and Gnashing My Teeth

A recent posting by Joanne Jacobs stated:

Schools in Britain are dropping studies of the Holocaust and the Crusades to avoid offending Muslims, concludes a British government study.

It found some teachers are reluctant to cover the atrocity for fear of upsetting students whose beliefs include Holocaust denial.

There is also resistance to tackling the 11th century Crusades — where Christians fought Muslim armies for control of Jerusalem — because lessons often contradict what is taught in local mosques.

In addition, many primary teachers don’t know much history themselves, leading to shallow, simplistic and boring lessons.

My comment over at Joanne's site:

My head hurts……..this is so incredibly stupid and goes way beyond the idea of being politically correct.

Joanne, you are very correct about the level of content knowledge in elementary and some middle schools regarding history. For the most part I see teachers teaching myths or going to extremes to paint Columbus as the poster-boy for evil or as BadaBing (make sure you follow the link above to Joanne's site for the link to the Daily Mail story and read all the comments) says painting Japanese internment camps in the same way as the Nazi concentration camps.

These extremes and total eradication of certain historical events from the history curriculum as your post discusses wouldn’t be necessary without one simple word……balance. The Crusades were not about making nice. There were terrible things done on both sides. Both sides should be taught. Students are very capable of of understanding the bad as well as the good. I could go on and on, but won’t.

I’m going to go off in nice quiet corner somewhere and spit and gnash my teeth. Grrrrrrrrr…..

What's your opinion?

(The picture with this post is the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin)

13 Presidential Postings

I attempt to post over at American Presidents Blog at least once a week. I’m rarely successful with that goal, but I think it’s worthy to keep attempting to meet it. I do so love to write about our presidents.

American Presidents Blog is a great site to keep up with anything presidential from past history, current events, and resources for presidential information that can be found on the Internet. Luckily my co-bloggers over there, Michael and Jennie, do a much better job than I do at posting regularly. :)

Here are my first thirteen postings I completed for American Presidents Blog:

1. Chester A. Arthur: Can an Obscure President Become a Lesson in Character? When faced with my first posting I was at a loss when deciding which president I would write about first. I asked my brother-in-law and husband who they thought would be classified as the most obscure president of them all and they both came up with Chester A. Arthur. A post was born!

2. The Election of 1824: A Tale of Four Favorite Sons….John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, Andrew Jackson, and one of Georgia’s favorite sons----William Crawford.

3. Millard Fillmore Was a Know-Nothing. Am I being discourteous? Am I resorting to name calling? Read the post and you can let me know.

4. The Election of 1912: Teddy Roosevelt, Howard Taft, and Woodrow Wilson

5. Exploring Campaign Slogans….Some you’ve heard of and some you haven’t I'll bet.

6. Rutherford B. Hayes: Does the Man Make the Name or Does the Name Make the Man? It would seem that President Hayes dabbled in family research on the side.

7. So Who Was Our First President? Historians love to get technical with details and technically if we go back in time before the U.S. Constitution George Washington was NOT the first president to lead our country.

8. Can Anything Postive Be Said About Warren G. Harding? I found so many interesting tidbits about one of our worst presidents that it took me three separate postings to feel like I had covered the matter.

9. Andrew Jackson: A Young Man From the Waxhaws…..history types either love him or hate him….there is no middle ground with Jackson.

10. Presidential scandals aren't just for modern times. Choose a Scandal, Any Scandal looks at scandals durings the Eisenhower and Truman years.

11. The Election of 1800….Some historians refer to this election as a second revolution….Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Aaron Burr, and Alexander Hamilton. From my post---The election of 1800 shows us that many of the med dedicated to the formation of this country were also very cutthroat in their efforts to maintain power for themselves and their friends. Political in-fighting and outragous behavior is not anything new.

12. Unanswered Questions Fuel the Love of Learning…a post where an intriguing fact causes me to do a little research involving Teddy Roosevelt and a ring with a lock of Lincoln’s hair

13. I am old enough to remember hearing Richard Nixon’s resignation speech live on televions. The Tale of the Tapes is my own personal recollection of that evening and the historical artifact I still have from that August 8, 1974 evening.

Enjoy!

You can learn more about Thursday 13 and visit other 13s here.

Educators....Your Input Is Required

Dangerously Irrelevant has posted a link to the 2008 Education Blogosphere Survey. The hope is to double the number of educators who took the survey last year. I just finished taking the survey and it was absolutely painless. Go on…..don’t procrastinate. The survey deadline is January 26th.

The newest edition of the Education Carnival is up over at Eduwonkette. It’s short and to the point…..something I need to remember the next time I’m given the opportunity to host. Is it just me or have there been some postings that really don’t belong? I’ve not been brave enough to cut a submitted post, but it needs to be done. The last time I hosted I did have some really crazy submissions that simply did not have anything to do with education.

Did you know there is a new carnival for K-12 teachers? It’s called A Teacher's Life Blog Carnival. The Blog Carnival page states its purpose is to provide a place for teachers to practice collegiality-which is the sharing of best practices and lesson plans. All lesson plans are welcome, hopefully standards-based with objectives and links to resources.

Also if you have been a regular reader of this blog for some time you are familiar with the comments from Californiateacherguy. Having gone down this road myself my heart goes out to him regarding the loss of his father this week. If you would like to pay your respects the link is here.

Wordless 54

Isn’t this painting interesting? Look at all of the different things going on in it!

Do you know where it can be found and its significance in history?

You can see all of my wordless postings here.

Follow this link to others participating in Wordless Wednesday.

A Couple of Links to Share

When I begin to teach my unit on the Age of Exploration I’m moving students from a purely North American focus (Native American tribes prior to 1500 A.D.) to one that includes Europe and Africa. Some of my posts regarding exploration can be seen here.

We spend a few days in the beginning discussing the status of the world at the time and going back a bit in time to discuss the rise of African kingdoms and their role in trade networks. One of the kingdoms we discuss is the Kingdom of Aksum as discussed here. Invariably a question regarding the Queen of Sheba will come up. I provide some links regarding her factual or mythical existence (you get to choose) over at Got Bible.

I have a rather large collection of blogs authored by fellow Georgians over at Georgia on My Mind. They cover a wide range of topics from history and religion to local or national politics. There are craft blogs, photo blogs, and even a few “here’s what I did today” blogs. Recently I discovered one that I want to share here with you. It’s a wonderful source for lovers of history.

The name of the blog is Mary Zelda. The description on the blog states it is a story of a rural southern family as recollected by a child who wasn’t even born for the first 37 years and related in the voice of Mary, who was there. The blog also describes itself as a fictive account from the first half of the 20th century illustrated by actual photos….and I love this part….characters and events in this story are real. Conversations are remembered or imagined.

Quite simply Mary Zelda is a wonderful and creative way to catalog and remember family history. I’m most impressed and see all sorts of ways it could be used in a classroom covering the early 20th century. Please go check her out!

If you have come by expecting my wordless image to be up I’m going to try really hard to be a good girl in ‘08 and not post it until after midnight on Tuesdays or wait until Wednesday morning.

Lobbing Discussion Bombs

Teachers are forever throwing discussion bombs out into the middle of the classroom floor hoping to ignite some type of viable conversation to help students connect to prior knowledge, connect to new knowledge, and create even more questions for future lessons.

So, one day last year found me sitting on my classroom stool waiting for conversations to stop, papers to stop rustling, and 3-ring binders to stop their incessant clicking. I finally lobbed my discussion bomb. I direct students, “Tell me about a time your mother embarrassed you.” Instantly every hand in the room goes up including my own.

Parental embarrassment of any kind seems to be the great equalizer in a very diverse group of people including my young students. For the next several minutes I’m regaled with tales of mothers who like to show baby pictures (especially the naked type) to friends and family, mom’s who go out in public with curlers in their hair, and mom’s who laugh or talk too loud. In my own case my mother was notorious for taking up with virtual strangers in waiting rooms and grocery store lines, and in the course of five minutes she would be telling them all sorts of personal and private things about my sister and I while we looked on in horrified fashion.

I’m a huge embarrassment to my own children at times. I even know what it is I do to elicit the eyerolling and the exasperated exclamations of “Oh, Mother!”, but I can’t help myself. Perhaps it all stems from some type of hormone that is present during pregnancy and never goes away. At any rate it would seem that if there are children mothers who embarrass them are never far away.

Now I don’t merely bring up embarrassing mother stories just for the heck of it. I usually do it as an introduction to a read aloud I use in my classroom by Jean Fritz titled George Washington's Mother. It is a wonderfully researched tale of Mary Ball Washington and some of her interactions with her famous son especially those of the embarrassing kind. Students instantly connect to our first president as they realize they have something in common.

To find out more about my wordless image from last week and more about the relationship between George Washington and his mother head over to American Presidents.

Wordless 53

Look closely at the painting. Make a mental note of everything you see? What is going on here? Who are the people in this little known painting?

Want to see other wordless images? Then head here.

Update 1-14-08: My explantation post is up. Follow the link for my post titled Lobbing Discussion Bombs.

For Your Reading Pleasure

The history carnival is up over at The Victorian Peeper. Post are arranged chronologically and I can’t wait to become immersed in the submissions.

A new history carnival called Time Line is up over at Amor Valorem. Scroll down to the heading “A Trip Back in Time” to locate the history submissions. This will be a weekly event.

Here in Georgia it seems we can’t even go about our daily lives or explore the wonderful natural environments our state has to offer without some type of harm coming to us. Sadly it seems this young lady was murdered while this one is still missing.

Also topping the news in my section of Atlanta….students return to class tomorrow.

So much to do---so little time. Stress levels are on the rise!

The Post Where I Send You Off in All Directions

I’ve taken enough time from my project today to get the 26th edition of the Georgia Carnival up and running for viewing pleasure. This edition marks the one year anniversary for one of the few state-focused carnivals in the blogosphere. You can find it over at Georgia on My Mind. You’ll find lots of views regarding the results of the Iowa caucus, a primary calendar, and a great post on making resolutions among many other great submissions. Do you know what a Brasstown Baldbuster is? Well, head on over to Georgia’s carnival and find out!

During the week between Christmas and New Year’s there was quite a discussion going on regarding my post about the painting of Washington's prayer at Valley Forge. One of the participants in the discussion, Hercules Mulligan, decided his most recent thoughts on the matter were too long to post as a comment so he was inspired to create his own posting. You can read it here. Let the discussion continue….

Those darn educators (I’m one of them) are at it again with a recipe swap. You can find them over at Meeyauw’s spot at the Teacher Pot Luck Carnival

Polski3 wants to know what’s on your bulletin boards.

Finally, Miss Profe is wondering about student motivation. The education guru who solves this problem will make millions, won’t they? I found Miss Profe’s take on the matter interesting and the example she used was Frederick Douglass. So what creates intrinsic motivation? Miss Profe wants to know is it your circumstances or are you already wired for it at birth? For some reason I couldn’t post a comment there but what I would have said involved Mr. Douglass. I’m not sure it was just his circumstances that prompted him to be so driven though he did have some horrific circumstances to overcome. The reason why I question the circumstance reason is there were plenty of others who came out of slavery who did not make their mark on the world in any particular way. I think when we finally hit on a perfect formula we will discover there is no perfect formula but a very mixed basis for intrinsic motivation that involves parenting, culture, environment, and even DNA. I think Miss Profe brings up a very valid question…..head on over and enter the discussion.

Posting Forecast: Spotty With a Hint of Links Every Now and Then

I have begun the New Year closeted away with a major project I’m working on …..one of those “have to” situations that I can’t get out of. Let’s just say I’m currently overwhelmed with books, journal articles, web articles, and ERIC has become my new best friend.

Posting will be spotty through the weekend, but there is plenty here to keep you busy OR what you should really do is turn right around and head over to the 152nd carnival of education where Joel has done a fantastic job of keeping our minds on education.

The Carnival of Education can be found here.

What Are You Eating For New Year's?

Happy New Year! In case you haven’t noticed I haven’t posted in a few days. I took a self-imposed blog holiday to do mommie things like clean house, wash clothes, grocery shop, help Dear Daughter spend her Christmas money and help her prepare for a ski trip with her youth group. I also took some time to speak with Dear Son as he comes and goes between his many social engagements. I think the kids enjoyed not seeing a computer attached to my lap.

I decided to check in though to wish everyone in the blogosphere who might stop by a very happy new year. Blogging might be spotty over the next few days, but regular posting will resume next week. I will be posting links to the Education Carnival tomorrow and the Georgia Carnival on Friday. The Georgia Carnival will be one year old! In the meantime you can choose a month from my archives and scroll through. Maybe you’ll find something interesting you missed before.

So, back to my title…everyone has customs and traditions especially to mark the beginning of a new year. My family is no different. Over at Georgia on My Mind I posted Looking Ahead to New Year's Day where I provide two recipes for dishes that mark the new year for my family as well as the reasoning why I eat something I don’t particularly love. There are some great pictures with the post my daughter took on my father’s property. The first picture doesn’t totally show up, but if you click on it you can see one of the huge oak trees on the property as well as one of the few farm buildings that is left….an old corn crib.

and again,

Happy New Year! May you realize all of your hopes and dreams in 2008.

As Promised....A Few Sources

Yesterday I wrote about academic controversy and how it can be used in the classroom. I promised a list of various sources and you can find it below.

A few things need to be clarified about this list, however. I would never use the online sources I provide here by merely printing them off “as is” and hand them to students. I would not use blog entries as classroom resources nor would I direct students to websites unless they were of the scholarly type such as online journal articles or sites belonging to the National Parks Service. I’ve used information from many of these sources but have repackaged them to fit the needs of students.

When preparing an academic controversy type lesson for students it is very important to provide information from both sides of an issue. This should not be an activity where the instructor is attempting to guide all students to one particular point of view. The point is for students to examine and analyze the information presented in order to come up with their own opinions and to be able to state those opinions in a clear and logical manner.

Sources to consult when using Washington’s Prayer at Valley Forge in the classroom:

1. Supporters of the story regarding Washington’s prayer at Valley Forge use the following eyewitness testimony of Isaac Potts, a Quaker and a Loyalist which was given to Rev. Nathaniel Randolph Snowden. Snowden later recorded the event in his diary: " I was riding with Mr. Potts near to the Valley Forge where the army lay during the war of ye Revolution, when Mr. Potts said, 'Do you see that woods & that plain? There laid the army of Washington. It was a most distressing time of ye war, and all were for giving up the Ship but that great and good man. In that woods (pointing to a close in view) I heard a plaintive sound as of a man at prayer. I tied my horse to a sapling & went quietly into the woods. To my astonishment I saw the great George Washington on his knees alone, with his sword on one side and his cocked hat on the other. He was at Prayer to the God of the Armies, beseeching to interpose with his Divine aid, as it was ye Crisis & the cause of the country, of humanity & of the world. Such a prayer I never heard from the lips of man. I left him alone praying. I went home & told my wife. We never thought a man could be a soldier & a Christian, but if there is one in the world, it is Washington. We thought it was the cause of God & America could prevail.' (source)

Snowden’s diary entry is a good example for students to use when determining reliability of a source and when determining the type of source such as a primary document or secondary source. In the past I’ve used activities where one student tells a short account of an event to another student out of the hearing of the rest of the class. The second student then goes to his/her desk and writes down what they were told. The second second student then visits a third and reads his/her account to a third student who in turn writes down what he/she heard in order to read it to a fourth student. This process continues until all students have been told and have written down the account ending with the first student who writes down the last account. Then we compare the original story to the the final account. Students are amazed at what has been left out and what has been embellished in the account.

2. This site supports Pott's story and also includes the fact that he supervised the grinding and delivery of the grain which Washington had requested that local farmers provide for the army. I have not seen this mentioned in a scholarly account.

3. This site mentions Potts and his home... that some state Washington used as his headquarters while at Valley Forge (the image I present with this post). However, the editors of the Washington Papers at the Library of Congress state bluntly that "no evidence" exists in his records to document the claim, insisting that the association "appears to rest largely upon tradition" and the "recollection of aged individuals." As the marker text suggests, prior to the arrival of the Americans, a British raiding party had destroyed several buildings at Valley Forge. There could not have been too many inhabitable residences from which the commander in chief could select his headquarters. The general's expense accounts indicate that he left his tent on Christmas Day 1777 to establish more permanent quarters at the home of Deborah Hewes, a widow. Isaac Potts himself was not then present at the Forge, living instead at nearby Pottsgrove. Records from the period also suggest that William Dewees, who had married into the Potts family, was actually considered the owner and operator of Valley Forge during the wartime period. (source)

The National Parks Service site currently states the Potts home was Washington’s headquarters.

4. Chapter 13 from A History of the Life and Death, Virtues and Exploits of General George Washington by Mason Locke Weems better known as Parson Weems. It is Parson Weems who has the honor of spreading the cherry tree myth as well and the account of the prayer at Valley Forge.

5.Arnold Friberg, the artist who completed the painting of Washington in prayer, explains in his own words the reasons why he completed the painting and the research he conducted in the process. From the site Friberg states The well known American legend is without documentation. But from Washington's own words there can be no doubt of his deep and humble dependence upon whom he chose to call "that all wise and powerful Being on whom alone our success depends.

6. A stained glass image of Washington in prayer

7. Over at Boston, 1775 J.L. Bell provides information regarding the story that Washington saw an angel at Valley Forge.

8. Washington's Prayer Journal---taken from a book published in 1919 called George Washington, the Christian which is a collection of prayers that supposedly Washington compiled and used. When a California teacher used the prayer journal along with other documents in his fifth grade classroom there were complaints, the items were eventually banned, and the teacher filed a lawsuit which was eventually settled. The prayer journal itself is highly suspect. (check out Liz’s links marked “Library of Congress and George Washington’s Papers)

9. Did Washington Pray at Valley Forge?---an article from Coral Ridge ministries which mentions Paul Boller, a historian and noted presidential expert, who discounts the story. The article also mentions five people who gave account of the event. Jared Sparks, an early Washingtion biographer, is also mentioned.

10. Taking the Measure of Washington....Once More---an online article by Michael J. Lombardi at the Journal of Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. This article examines the painstaking efforts historians go to to make sure we are getting an accurate and not romanticized picture of Washington.

11.Information regarding a book by Michael and Jana Novak titled Washington’s God: Religion, Liberty, and the Father of our Country and an article written by the Novaks for USA Today

12.Ushistory.org provides an account written by Gilbert Starling Jones from The Picket Post, published by the Valley Forge Historical Society (April, 1945, No. 9)

13.The National Parks Service site for Valley Forge provides An account of the conditions at Valley Forge, and at this parks service site we are told the Potts home was Washington’s headquarters while this article advises where all of Washington’s officers slept.

14.Wayne Bodie’s Valley Forge Winter: Civilians and Soldiers in War provides a very different picture of Washington’s winter in Pennsylvania---one that revises both popular and scholarly perceptions. Here is a link to a review from The Journal of American History and information from Penn State Press

15. From the National Valley Forge Park site----an article titled New Interpretations at Valley Forge states subsequent research among primary source materials revealed very few seferences to soldiers being buried at Valley Forge, but many references to the need to dispose of the remains of butchered cattle and dead horses….Says park historian Joseph Lee Boyle, "No substantiated human graves have ever been found in the park," which is a significant shift in interpretation from what was being written at the turn of the century

16.American Heritage Magazine---reviews the book American Creation by Joseph Ellis and recounts the chapter on Valley Forge is the book’s strongest. He points out that Washington’s army was made up not of the sturdy Massachusetts farmers of Lexington and Concord fame but rather of “indentured servants, recently arrived immigrants from Ireland or Scotland, emancipated slaves, landless sons from New England, mechanics from Philadelphia. They represented the poorest strata of American society, there because, truth be known, they had no brighter prospects.” Neither were they all huddled together en masse at Valley Forge. “The headquarters of the Continental Army was located there, to be sure, but the army itself was deployed in a wide arc, stretching from northern Delaware up through Valley Forge, then around to southern New Jersey.” That winter, as Gen. William Howe’s British troops stayed warm and ate well in Philadelphia, Washington’s ragtag army starved and froze. From an initial troop level of about 12,000, the force was depleted by early spring to about 5,000 before reinforcements arrived.

17. In an online interview John Ferling author of Almost a Miracle: An American Victory in the War of Independence states I don't agree that the army nearly collapsed [at Valley Forge]or that America verged on having to end the war during the Valley Forge winter. After the great victory at Saratoga in October, two months before Valley Forge, it was generally presumed that France would enter the war. It was also thought that with French assistance, the war could be won, and probably fairly quickly. During the Valley Forge winter I think most Americans believed that they were too close to winning independence to throw in the towel.

I would also suggest that if you are interested in further resources please refer to my original post and take a look at the comments section where many great opinions and ideas were put forth and The Tour Marm and Ed over at Millard Fillmore's Bathtub provided some additional sources/links as well.

Controversy...It's a Good Thing!

Controversy…our very world is full of it! It only takes a few clicks in the blogosphere to become embroiled in one controvery or another and everyday it seems we are heaping on more and more controversy involving subjects from religion to politics and from education issues to social ones like teen pregnancy or abortion. Historians have their fair share of controversies as well---the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Crusades, the causes and effects of any war---and because there are no definitive black or white answers due to individual analysis and conjecture many issues remain controversial until more evidence is located that cannot be refuted in any way.

Think about it for a minute…you see something in a blog, newspaper, or book that goes against the grain, your ire is up and you want to voice your own opinion in response. Many of you would rely on your own prior knowledge and a large number of you would dig a little deeper to verify some of the things you disagreed with in the original article….just to make sure, you know. In the process your horizons are broadened just a bit with some of your prior knowledge being confirmed and some of it being thoroughly debunked. You, my good friend, have learned something in the process.

I’m not one that really wants to get embroiled in a controversy and at first glance I might balk at the idea of actually planning for one in the classroom! Who needs the hassle, right?

In his book Creative Controversy---Intellectual Challenge in the Classroom, Dr. David Johnson advises conflict has considerable value for educators and students when the controversy is managed constructively [by the teacher]. Controversial questions can actually teach students to deal with all types of controversy; they can help to structure debate in the classroom, and reinforce conflict resolutions skills.

Dr. Johnson advises academic controversy exists when one person’s ideas, information, conclusions, theories, and opinions are incompatible with those of another party, and both parties have to reach an agreement. However, in today’s world where many believe controversial issues have no gray areas but are either white or black we see no concessions or even a hint of an admission that with some issues we simply don’t have enough information to have an exact answer.

Last week’s wordlesss image was a portion of a painting by Arnold Friberg called VaThe Prayer at Valley Forge (1975). An earlier engraving of Washington’s Prayer by Henry Brueckner also exists. Friberg explains in his own words the reasons why he completed the painting and the research he conducted in the process. From the site Friberg states The well known American legend is without documentation. But from Washington's own words there can be no doubt of his deep and humble dependence upon whom he chose to call "that all wise and powerful Being on whom alone our success depends."
I decided to use the painting of Washington praying due to the very controversies surrounding it (if you haven’t already this would be a good time to check out the comments made regarding my mystery image here):

*A man, George Washington, is praying. Some believe it is wrong to show public school students an image of someone in prayer. I’ve read where this painting has been banned from public buildings including schools, but I have no specific locations.
*There is a strong religious message as you view the painting that sends the separation of chuch and state crowd into a tizzy.
*Washington in prayer?!? Some believe Washington was Christian while others argue he was a Deist and not a Christian.
*The backstory behind the painting is suspect and many historians argue that it is nothing more than an American myth.

I strongly feel there is nothing illegal or irresponsible by showing students the painting by Mr. Friberg. As many of my commentors suggested this image can be used to teach about Valley Forge, American myths, the evaluation of historical sources, and can even lead to a discussion on the exact wording of the Constititution regarding freedom of religion and as Polski3 stated Jefferson’s own opinion regarding the separation of church and state.

Everyone had really great ideas concerning how to use the painting. Following Dr. David Johnson’s ideas on academic controversy, however, I have in the past shown the painting to students and discussed its background. After carefully pairing students together I have provided them with several bits of information concerning the various controversies surrounding the painting that I mentioned above. The trick with a lesson surrounding academic controversy is to allow the students to explore the information, evidence, and points of view and allow them to arrive at solutions on their own.

Each team receives information based on only one point of view. They must digest the information and understand the point of view so that they can relate the position to their partner. After both sides have been presented the partners trade information and the process begins again resulting in each partner presenting the alternative point of view. Many students state it is very interesting to see how differently their partner can interpret the same information.

Following the second set of presentations the partners work together to analyze both sets of information and they attempt to discover which point of view seems the most plausible. Finally, students synthesize their new knowledge by arriving at a concensus that each student must word on his or her own in writing to turn in. Sometimes the concensus my students have arrived at is simply agreeing to disagree while others disagree greatly with one point of view but certainly understand where it came from.

I have found these types of activities motivate my most reluctant students and also begin to help them understand how to listen to a different point of view that can affect their lives inside and outside of the classroom.

Our hot-button issues in history, science, religion, politics, education, and our social and cultural lives aren’t going away anytime soon. What concerns me is it doesn’t seem that any of the sides to an issue are willing to concede even an inch of ground to move on. Unfortunately some controversies are not white or black. They are very gray, and allowing students an opportunity to mix points of view in order to see the gray is a very powerful thing to do---not necessarily to teach tolerance or to teach compromise at all costs, but to teach students what it is to have an intelligent informed dialogue regarding controversial subjects and to understand with some issues we might never have a meeting of the minds.

Tomorrow I will post a list of various online sources that can be used to formulate materials for students to view when Friburg’s painting is used in an academic controversy lesson.

UPDATE: My source list is now published here

151st Carnival of Education

Welcome to the midway of the 151st edition of The Carnival of Education! Here's the very latest roundup of entries from around the EduSphere. Unless clearly labeled otherwise, all entries this week were submitted by the writers themselves.Folks interested in hosting an edition of the C.O.E. should please let Edwonk know via this email address: owlshome [at] earthlink [dot] net.Thanks to everyone who helped spread the word about last week's midway, which was hosted over at The Education Wonks. Visit the C.O.E.'s early archives here and later archives there.

Next Week's Carnival will be hosted by So You Want to Teach? Contributors are invited to send submissions to: joel [at] soyouwanttoteach [dot] com, or, easier yet, use this handy submission form. Entries should be received no later than 6:00 PM (Eastern) 3:00 PM (Pacific) on Tuesday, January 1, 2008. Please include the title of your post, and its URL, if possible. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the midway should open Wednesday, January 2, 2008.

The Legalities of Education

Can students take pictures of you and place them on the Internet or release them to the press?Ms. Cornelius presents Smile, Teach! It's Candid Camera! posted at A Shrewdness of Apes.

Are schools losing the ability to make rules? Do you think it is because they have been abusing their authority? Give Judy an answer after you read her post Tiggers Are Wonderful Things After All posted at Consent Of The Governed.

Accountability and Discipline

In short, we want high standards, we want high expectations, we want students to behave and learn. But at the same time, we don't want to look bad when the students don't meet expectations. We worry about the self-esteem of students to the point that we don't expect high performance or adherence even to a dress code. That’s just a snippet from Matt Johnston’s presentation which is an interesting look at expectations titled Going to the Mat: The Tragedy of Education posted at Going to the Mat.

The Tempered Radical tackles a tough topic this week---what exactly should be taken into account when designing school accountability models that promote the kinds of teaching and learning necessary to advance America's future.

Tom Kim examines the tension between a lecture on The Pressured Child and the Status of American Education in the documentary Two Million Minutes in his post Two Million Minutes of the Pressured Child

After reading Breaking the Code of Silence I have to agree with Chanman…..the code of silence isn’t just for prison or the ghetto.

NYCEducator was shocked to read that teacher unions oppose NCLB, and that democractic candidates for president are opposing it as well. Are you surprised that NCLB could be left behind?

Maybe success isn't all it's cracked up to be. Maybe the obsession with superficial success is driving wisdom out of education. Diana presents in praise of failure.

A comment to an older post got The Science Goddess wondering about grades and the grading process. Check out her post Medians on the Mind and Number Crunching.

The Science of Learning

Rightwingprof says, “The only thing more over-rated in education than teacher creativity is student creativity.” Hmmm…..content or creativity? Read Rightwingprof’s post Your Inner Grandfather posted at Right Wing Nation.

Recently a scientist on the importance on mental exercise and lifelong learning for healthy aging stated, "What matters is being engaged with life, continually exposed to stimulating activities, always trying to get out of our comfort zones, doing our best at whatever we are doing. A major typical misconception is that there is only one general intelligence to care about. In reality, we have many different cognitive abilities, such as attention, memory, language, reasoning, and more, so it makes sense to have different programs designed to train and improve each of them." Alvaro Fernandez presents Brain Training: No Magic Bullet, Yet Useful Tool. Interview with Elizabeth Zelinski posted at SharpBrains.

Check out this review of a recent study that examines Reduced Verbal Ability in African American Children posted at Greg Laden's Blog.

Thoughts on Teaching and Ideas to Snag

Pat presents A Teacher Who Inspired Me posted at Successful Teaching.

Kilroy_60 wants all educators to realize that education is very much an individualized process and there are many paths to success. Check out his post Fear and Loathing in Academia.

Fun, personal, interactive, and easy to particpate….The description of a great lesson, right? Mathew Needleman presents My Favorite Interactive Advertising Sites of the Year posted at Creating Lifelong Learners.

Sometimes we just need a different prospective…it’s how we look at things.
Batya presents Different Perspectives posted at me-ander.

J.M. Holland presents a post mentioned in Alexander Russo's speed read recently titled Save Humpty Dumpty! posted at Circle Time "Lead From The Start".

Larry Ferlazzo shares, “This HRW website now appears to be functioning well for the first time in a year, and has extraordinary online activities for geography and history.” Head on over here and also check out Larry’s Best Social Studies Websites for 2007. You know I’m already there!

Concerns: Dealing with the Bureaucracy of Education

Woodlass over at Under Assault: Teaching in NYC gives us The Zen of Being an ATR (day- to- day sub) followed by HR (Human Resources) Connects or Does It? How she and other ATRs haven’t pulled their hair out I simply do not know.

EdWonk presents Inflation.... It's Baaack! posted at The Education Wonks.

General Thoughts
My Bellringers presents From Podless to Podness posted at Bellringers.

Parenting and Child Guidance

Christine presents Choosing a French Lycee (High School) for Your Child posted at Me, My Kid and Life: An American Single Mom Living in France.

Lori Prokop Keyboard Culture Co-Founder presents Do Your Children Have Negative Self-talk? posted at Dr. Paula Fellingham Stay at Home Mom Expert at Keyboard Culture Expert Community.

Everything College….Choosing a Career Path, Paying for College, and the Writing in College

Carrie Kirby presents Paying for College: Rays of Hope posted at Parenting Squad.

Have a profesion you can be proud of….Alex M presents Have a Profession You Can Be Proud Of posted at Online education: schools, colleges and universities distance learning.

The Digital Student presents Top 7 College Application Mistakes posted at The Digital Student Blog.

So much has been said about college application essays. This is because the subject is relatively quite critical. And yet neither applicants nor their parents seem to give this the attention that it merits. Many candidates believe that their high SAT and good grades will turn the trick for them. Often this does not happen. The reason for this is that hundreds, if not thousands of candidates also have high SAT scores and exemplary grades. In situations such as this it is the quality of the application essay tips the scales. Alex presents College Application Essays - Tips to Do It Right posted at Customessays.co.uk Blog: guide on how to write essays, courseworks, dissertations, assignments. Essay help, Dissertation Assistance, GCSE Coursework.

Also from CustomEssays.co.uk:

The Importance of a Quality Application Essay
An Essay to Analyze Ideas
An Exploratory Essay Explained
Research Paper Format
PhD Dissertation

Ending the Way We Began…With a Mention of Creativity

Andrew Edgington presents a couple of tutorials regarding techniques on how to create some nice borders for your images and using the old photo effects in Create Cool Photo Edges with Photoshop and Andrew also presents Old Photo Effect in Photoshop posted at David Peters.

And finally: This, like nearly all of our journeys around the EduSphere, has been both enjoyable and informative. We continue to thank all the contributors whose submissions make the midway's continuing success possible, the folks who give of their time to help spread the word, and the readers who continue to make it A Free Exchange of Thoughts and Ideas.

Take a Break From Holiday To-Dos with Blog Carnivals

I’ve been in and out all day today helping Santa to complete his list and when I stopped by the house long enough to drop off packages I was pleased to discover the 25th Georgia Blog Carnival has arrived for your reading pleasure over at Marketing Through the Clutter. Head on over and discover what the Georgia Blogosphere has to offer.

The latest edition of the Education Carnival is up over at The Education Wonks

The Carnival of Political Punditry can be found here and The Carnival of Family Life is over at Adventures in Juggling.

Tune in next Wednesday when this blog will be hosting the 151st edition of the Education Carnival.

13 Ways to Say Merry Christmas!

As units wind down to a close and final exams are taken for the nine weeks it becomes necessary to fill the time remaining---usually a day or two---with activities that matter. Children are focused on the vacation looming ahead of them and beginning brand new material is just a waste of time. I like to use the few extra class periods before the holidays practicing skills.

One activity has to do with languages across the world and a web search where students attempt to find how many different ways the words Merry Christmas can be said. Other celebrations during this time of the year can also be included such as Hannukah.

We end up making a huge collage of the different greetings and individual students map their county in two ways---individually and in relation to the rest of the world. A few facts are gathered as well regarding holiday traditions and presented to the class.

A twist on this activity involves a review of crucial material students will need to remember during Spring testing. Nowadays there are many sites that also provide ‘Merry Christmas’ translations in various Native American languages. It’s a great way to review the Native American regions we studied back in August and September.

1. Chinese (Cantonese): Gun Tso Sun Tan’Gung Haw Sun

2. Brazil: Feliz Natal

3. Arabic: Milad Majid

4. Croation: Sretan Bozic

5. Egyptian: Colo sana wimtom tiebeen

6. French: Joyeux Noel

7. Icelandic: Gledileg Jol

8. Greek: Kala Christouyenna

9. Japanese: Shinnen omedeto Kurisumasu Omedeto

10. Lithuanian: Linksmu Kaledu

11. Papua New Guinea: Bikpela hamamas blong dispela Krismas na Nupela yia I go long yu

12. Turkish: Noeliniz Ve Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun

13. Vietnamese: Chuc Mung Giang Sinh

See other 13s here

Wordless 52

There isn’t much to guess here. The man looks like General Washington at Valley Forge because it is George Washington. Yes, he does appear to be praying.

My question to you is….would it be ok for me to share this painting with students and discuss the controversy it could cause?

Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think. UPDATE: Check out my explanation for this wordless image here

Still wondering about the dirt road from last week? Read my explanation post here.

View other Wordless images here.

The Story Where I Prove Santa Exists or Why the Red Ranger is My Official Christmas Hero

I would say that after fifteen hundred plus days confined in small places with fourth and fifth graders I could be considered somewhat an expert regarding the mental and physical development process of eight, nine, and ten year old children. The boys and girls who pass through my classroom each year are a rare breed and care must be taken to ride the fine line between planning activities that ooze all the wonder of childhood and those that acknowledge the pre-teen angst that is always hovering in the back of my room like the smell of dirty gym socks or a few forgotten and half empty milk cartons shoved to the back of an extra desk.

Students love to color, but would absolutely die if I tried to hang their color sheets in the hallway for others to see. They love to write letters to Santa but would never want anyone to know they chose that particular writing choice and would lie to their dying day they wrote about their favorite present of all time instead. To put it simply gather up a group of fourth or fifth graders and you won’t be able to find a single child in the group who will admit to believing in Santa.

I still believe in Santa Claus. Yes, I know you probably think I’m silly, but I still remember that magic feeling in the the pit of my stomach that began right after Thanksgiving and became a little stronger each day until Christmas Eve. I still remember the joy of delightful anticipation as I would wiggle myself up underneath the Christmas tree so I could see the twinkle of the lights straight up through all of the prickly needles and the intrigue of each package and what it might contain. I still remember the excitement of standing in line at Rich’s Department Store at Greenbrier Mall in order to receive my 30 precious seconds with Santa to tell him what I specifically wanted. It did not matter that the man in the white beard was only a helper. He was my direct line to the Big Guy.

Christmas Eve morning I would begin mentally checking off each little family event that would get us closer and closer to Christmas morning when I could finally open the mountain of presents Mom and Dad would have under the tree and the joy of discovering what Santa had brought. First, I had to trudge along with mom to the Kroger at Jamestown Shopping Center for last minute things we would need. Then our last few Christmas cards that had turned into New Years greetings had to be mailed at the Red Oak post office. The rest of the afternoon while Mother hummed along to the oven timer I would try to make the time pass faster by keeping myself busy building a dining room table fort with a blanket or watching one of the three or four television channels we had back in the olden days. Finally, my grandfather would arrive with some sort of diversionary toy that was almost always the metal wind-up kind like the hopping monkey seen here with cymbals (kind of scary, huh?). Dad would come home from work and Christmas Eve dinner would be served. It would seem like the adults would talk forever and ever, and ever before they would venture into the living room and we could open a few…..a few of the presents under the tree.

Mother always picked which presents we would open and invariably we would open new matching nightgowns and oh-the-horror- new underwear which Dear Sister and I would promptly place on our heads for the annual underwear-on-the-head picture (Dear Sister and I have now severely injured the psyches of our children with this custom as well). Over the years there were games, clothes, jewelry, Lite Brites, and various things for me to play school with such as a bona fide black board. One year Santa brought my sister and I a racetrack, another year a prize-winning pony walked up our front steps and greeted me by clop-clopping all over our very large front porch, and another year I received my 10-speed bike I eventually used to ride by some old boy who would eventually become my wonderful husband. I must have logged a thousand miles or more on that bike when I was trying to get him to notice me.

I have never taught a child who didn’t celebrate Christmas in some way, so I always share my happy magical moments of Christmas history with my wee ones in hopes to get them to connect with their own customs and memories since memories become our history only to be shouted down each year that there is no magic and Santa simply does not exist.

The more I profess to believe…the more I get shouted down.

“Santa’s a myth, Mrs. Elementaryhistoryteacher.”

“Gee, Mrs. Elementaryhistoryteacher…..you should know this by now. Your parents buy Christmas for you.”

“Santa is for babies!”

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Elementaryhistoryteacher, but I’m too old to believe in something like Santa.”

No, No, No I would counter. You have to believe. Santa can’t come if you don’t believe. It really pained my heart to see my students so jaded at such a young age regarding my friend Santa Claus, but no matter how much I tried to encourage belief they just wouldn’t believe.

So, I was very happy some years ago when I found the wonderful book by Berkeley Breathed titled The Red Ranger Came Calling. It’s a lovely story set in the 1930s that lends itself well to a rollicking read aloud for students. The artwork is supurb. A few years ago I made color copies that I used with the overhead as I read….later I scanned them and placed them in a Powerpoint. It also is a story that the author’s father told the family each Christmas Eve so it fits even further into what I’m attempting to do with students regarding tradition and making memories.

For various reasons the little boy in the book has become disillusioned with the adults in his life and feels the pains for a toy he knows the adults around him cannot afford in the Depression Era…..an official Buck Tweed (a cinema hero of the era who also was known as the Red Ranger of Mars) two-speed crime-stopper star-hopper bicycle to save 23rd century princesses from space nazis and princess nabbers.

After hearing a rumor that Santa…..yes, the real Santa has retired nearby he seeks him out. The Red Ranger challenges Santa and basically says put up or shut up. Bring me what I want and prove you’re Santa. The Red Ranger demands the same present he knows that is out of the reach of the adults in his life….the special bicycle.

During the Red Ranger’s explanation regarding what he wants there is a huge miscommunication between Santa Claus and the the Red Ranger and students discover the old man really was Santa at the same moment the Red Ranger does. You see Santa does deliver the bike. It’s just that he misheard and thought the Red Ranger wanted a treed bicycle instead of a tweed bike. The delivered regular run-of-the-mill bike has been left in a tree instead of the usual spot by the tree.

One of the best moments of my Christmas each year has been turning to the final page and showing students the picture seen below with the words “If you don’t believe me it’s still there.” As you can see from the image below there is indeed a treed bicycle. When children still doubt me I ask them to head over to the computer and search for the setting of the story which is Point Robinson on Vashon Island. My doubters do this and are again astounded when they locate the very picture in the book and verification that there is indeed a treed bicycle located there.
Mouths drop open and several conversations start at once. Suddenly my students who think they are too old to believe in Santa rethink their priorities and for a minute….just a minute….we are all children again wallowing in the wonderment of Santa Claus and we all agree……it’s not such a bad place to be.

The official Berkeley Breathed website is here

The Amazon page for The Red Ranger Came Calling has additional information and reviews.

A webpage for the lighthouse at Point Robinson is here and mentions the tree

Weekend Musings and a Few Links for You

As I write this my dear son and hubby keep flipping back and forth between the Falcons game and other assorted fare on television. The Falcons have fallen far behind Tampa Bay and its just too painful for them watch, I guess. I really feel sorry for the team members having to do their jobs amidst the circus that Vick created not to mention a betrayal by the coach I will not mention here. There’s always next year, but at this moment it seems a long way off. Other sports news this week included the report concerning baseball and steroids that I honestly think will go nowhere. There are too many to investigate and even innocent players will be affected. If a hitter is juicing not only is his record padded but so is the pitcher who pitched to him. Oh, what a tangled web they have woven………

Here at home Dear Son is home from college and I hope I have laid in enough food supplies to get us through at least a day or two before I have to go back to the store. He’s been busy blowing the last of the Fall leaves away from our yard. Unfortunately, with basically no rain since May he also blew up quite a dust cloud.

Even though it looked treacherous and some people were in dire straights in the Midwest earlier this week I couldn't help but be a bit envious of the precipitation that had come their way.

Dear Daughter isn’t off from school until this Friday. She’s been busy a few nights this week helping out at the local Methodist chuch with their annual live nativity. Many people from local churches, including ours, helped out. It’s nice to see everyone pitch in and help this time of year.
Home renovations continue, light fixtures have been bought, and furniture ordered, but Christmas presents????????????????

Nary a one has been bought so if any family members are reading this there is no use in plundering because there’s nothing to find! I must shop in ernest next week!

This week’s reading links include a couple of 13 lists I really enjoyed. I don’t get to read many Thursday Thirteen contributions because of time constraints but I really did enjoy
Alasandra's 13 regarding turquoise (I still have some pieces dating back to the 70s) and Denise’s 13 Things About Sir Francis Drake.

The Mom's Blogging Carnival is up over at Australian Women Online. You might recognize a contribution there and find other great reads.

The Education Carnival from this past week can be found over at The Colossus of Rhodey and a new carnival I didn’t know about till recently featured my post regarding my lobies. If you missed it you can catch it over at Carnival for Product Reviews

and finally……check out History Nexus. Information at the site states it’s a new on-line history community site. Submit and recommend a history website to others. I’ve already submitted History Is Elementary and Georgia on My Mind…..go on over and enter a comment, but be nice! :)

History of a Long, Dirt Road

I love dirt roads, and Georgia is simply full of them. Unfortunately you have to travel further and further from the environs of Atlanta to find them anymore. When I was 18 and a newbie on the college campus of my parent’s choosing I was a member of the Dirt Road Club.

The requirements were simple…..you had to have enough money to invest in either gas or an appropriate beverage or two for you and your fellow club members, you had to be willing to devote an occaisional Saturday or Sunday to what could be an all day, all night road trip, and if you were the official driver for that trip you had turn off the main highway everytime you came upon a dirt road and follow it until you couldn’t follow it any longer.

Needless to say I’m quite the expert when it comes to private drives and logging roads all over North Georgia.

Just like the explorers of the 1500s and just like those folks who brave the elements to climb Mt. Everest members of The Dirt Road Club ventured forth because they were compelled to.

Our club motto was “Because it’s there!”

Yes, there were some dirt roads that were a bit scary, some that had a Deliverance feel to them, and some were just plain dangerous. Others were pure gems. Once when riding along through a forest the trees suddenly cleared and we found ourselves on a ridge where you could see mountain rise after mountain rise in the distance. Another time we found a mountain stream complete with waterfall and on the hills rising up all around us were hundreds of mountain laurel in full bloom. Those were the moments that kept us going down all those dirt roads.

This week’s wordless image was a dirt road. The image received many comments regarding perspective and the fact that the road in the photo looked like a very long road. It does my heart good when so many take the time to bring out other details like the palmetto, live oaks, and the shell road like Shannon and Carmi.

The road seen in my image has the distinction of being the longest and oldest dirt road still in use in America. It is located on Ossabaw Island, a barrier island along Georgia’s coast. Jeremy was the first commenter to place the image in the proper U.S. region so congratulations and enjoy your link. :)

To find out more about Ossabaw’s long, dirt road take a detour to my post over at Georgia on My Mind.

Yippee! The White House Christmas Card Has Arrived

Right after Thanksgiving I began searching for something…..anything regarding the 2007 White House Christmas Card.

I had so much fun last year researching the article I wrote and published here and at American Presidents titled Have You Received Your Christmas Card From the White House Yet?, and I wanted to make sure I posted this year’s design as soon as it was made available.

After an exhaustive search I finally found an image. I’ve posted the inside of the card here.

Wouldn’t you like to know what the front looks like? Well, then head on over to the American Presidents Blog, of course.

A huge thank you goes to Michael Swartz at monoblogue. He actually had the honor of receiving the card you see in the image above. He receives my undying gratitude for giving me his permission to post the pictures here in what seems to be the second time the official White House Christmas Card for 2007 card has had a mention along with an image on the Internet to date.

Hmmm…..I wonder if I have a scoop….