A Day to Remember

I remember being in 8th grade History, taught by a very smart man, Mr. Derrig.  He was explaining to us that Columbus did not actually discover America.  It was a bit of a defining moment to me, as I remember experiencing a great deal of anger over learning that.  Even as I was experiencing the… Continue reading A Day to Remember

If only all classes were like this…

I came across this website last night while following up on some other reading.  His approach made me laugh, made sense and made it worth it sharing.  I’m buying his book on Amazon and hopefully others will take the time to read through what he has to say.  You don’t have to agree with everything… Continue reading If only all classes were like this…

By George!

So I donated to George’s production efforts.  When I was going through High School History, there were a few moments that really struck me about the last century of American History.  Racism and the civil rights movement, Joseph McCarthy and his horrible crusades against those he deemed his enemies, and the internment of Japanese Americans.… Continue reading By George!

Why History?

Dave posted recently on one of the purposes of history.  Or rather, he pondered a little bit on the purposes and then went on to use history as a means of illustrating some observations he was making.  He looked at history, made note of some useful contexts related to what he was thinking about, and… Continue reading Why History?

Temujin Teaches 21st Century Diplomacy

A long time ago, on a continent some drive from here, there lived a guy with a bad mustache and a great mind for international relations.  He also had some fairly forward thinking ideas on resource management.  One of his better ones, to his mind, was the idea that since he needed more space to… Continue reading Temujin Teaches 21st Century Diplomacy

Letting the past go

When I was a teenager it was a common practice to assume that nobody ever changed.  What I mean by this is, if somebody had stated an opinion on something a year ago, it was common knowledge that they still felt that way today.  Growth, evolution of thought and philosophy was not a big part… Continue reading Letting the past go