Entries from October 2007

October 31, 2007

Christian Fundamentalism or Truth?

I have been engaged in a discussion over the photo below via e-mail. When I first received this, I hit reply and stated that it (the e-mail) sounded like Christian fundamentalism — which scares me. Take note of the response I got too.

Barack Hussein Obama’s photo (that’s his real name)……the article said he REFUSED TO [...]

October 27, 2007

Teaching at SBS

I have been meaning to write about my teaching opportunity at the Second Baptist School this past Wednesday. Phil Sinitiere, a friend and a colleague who is the history department chair at SBS invited me to teach his Advanced Placement European History class on the Age of Exploration. Although I met Phil for the first [...]

October 23, 2007

Just A Sunday Review

From left to right: William Morgan, Mark Cotham, Juliana Santiago, Sarah Voncannon, Haily Thomas, Shelby Callaway, and Kate Kreager.
Roughly around 18 or so of my AP United States History students met me on campus for a Sunday afternoon review session. In anticipation for the most “difficult” exam I gave, we decided to spend a couple [...]

October 22, 2007

Intellectual Racism

Dr. James Watson, who received the Nobel Prize, in 1962, for being the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA, has become embroiled in a nasty racial controversy because of remarks he made. The British Broadcasting Network, BBC, reports that Watson told the London Sunday Times that “all our social policies are based [...]

October 18, 2007

Cold War

I have this political cartoon posted outside of my office door; as a kid growing up, I recall thinking that I would not live long enough to see adulthood. During those early 3rd – 5th grade years, the Soviet Union was not a stable state. It seemed that the office of the premier was a [...]

October 16, 2007

Against the War

Just like my heros, Muhammad Ali and Malcom X, I too refuse to support a war I deem unjust. However, I do support our troops who are fighting for my right to voice my political and ideological views on a blog. As part of my protest, I received in the mail today a shirt I ordered that states [...]

October 14, 2007

Maybe Homeschooling is Good

I have been engaged in various debates with my best friend Lori Kwater and my in-laws Matt and Kathryn Lee over the merit of homeschooling; being suspicious of both the quality of instruction and intent of those who home school, I have long been an advocate against it; however, after recently hearing current NFL football [...]

October 11, 2007

Love, Sex, and Marriage in World History

My two sections of world history were assigned a primary document set of readings that focus on the concept of love, sex, and marriage during the Post-Classical period — circa 600 CE to 1450 CE. I asked students to read excerpts on this topic from the following works:

A Wife’s Collection
Tale of Genji
The Pillow Book
The Rubaiyat
The [...]

October 10, 2007

Race and Culture by Kevin Mills

The following piece was written by Kevin Mills; here, he looks at the progress of race relationships in America, especially as it relates to interracial relationships. It is difficult to believe that at one point interracial marriages were against the law in a number of states. The topic of marriage and defining marriage has become [...]

October 7, 2007

The Proletariat

As I prepare to guide my advanced courses through a discussion on race, class, and gender, I often without effort think about the important contribution of Marx and Marxist’s literature. I will admit that at times, even for me, it is difficult to determine who truly belongs to the proletariat or with the bourgeoisie. W.E.B. Du Bois [...]

October 2, 2007

The Color of Teaching

Above: My star (& a Favorite) German student Charlotte Hartman
The National Association of Independent Schools People of Color Conference is quickly approaching. As of today, I am planning on attending this very important meeting. It was during my second year of teaching that I became interested in the topic of race and independent schools. As [...]