Marking Papers

I took this picture off of Dr. Mark Elrod’s webpage a year ago when I first ran the pictures below on how one should mark papers. Above is a picture of Elrod and his former colleague illustrating how they go about marking students’ work via the shotgun approach. I had a number of courses with [...]

Giving A Test

My AP United States History classes are writing their first exam today; it should be a great adventure for many of them. Honestly, I think they will do very well.  About 20 of us met at the home of Parker Malone for a review session last night; it went very well. Parker’s mom took the [...]

The Historiography Question

By definition…
Marxist historiography has made contributions to the history of the working class, oppressed nationalities, and the methodology of history from below. The chief problematic aspect of Marxist historiography has been an argument on the nature of history as determined or dialectical; this can also be stated as the relative importance of subjective and objective [...]

The Problem with Teaching History

I continue to be and will always be a great fan of James Loewen; I think he gets it too. I am often troubled by the history buff notion. Too many people who see the teaching, reading, writing, and learning of history as static; it should not change since there is only one voice. But [...]

School Industry

I posted this once and thought about it again last night when Dead Poets Society was on the tube.
During the Gilded Age period, the industrial model of education was seen as efficient and pragmatic; however, the traditional machine model as illustrated by a row of desk showcased industry and religion: In the typical classroom model, [...]

Faculty Diversity and Schools

Above: Sam Mendazibal of Bolivia and the chairman of the Foreign Language Department chats with me after playing  basketball with students during a recent campus retreat.
I received an email today from a group looking to organize a sub meeting on independent school campus diversity; one of the topics to be addressed is that of comfort [...]

History on Trial

The Chronicle of Higher Education again published an article on the state of American history and Economics among many of America’s college students. According to it, students are getting dumber in history. The think tank that conducted the study found that seniors in college knew as much as, if not less than entering freshman. James [...]

Year 10 (Updated with a Cake)

Above: 10 Year cake from senior Sarah Salinas
With classes starting up on Monday, I spent the past few days getting “organized” while attending a number of meetings with administrators and my department. It will still take much of this weekend to get my syllabus up to speed in each of the three courses I teach, [...]

The Professional Meeting

I am excited about finishing my paper on the 1980s as a significant historical period in the United States History survey course. I usually teach this decade with great passion and interest seeing that I still listen to much of the music, and can recall every member of the Brat Pack that shaped teen pop [...]

History Teaching and You Tube

The “Conversations with History” series showcases interviews with historians, political scientists, writers, and other professionals talking about their work and world events. See the official site for more information. Some notable participants from the history profession include: James M. McPherson, David [...]

Black Intellectuals

I constructed the above bulletin in the room that I teach in; I wanted to present to my students a list of works and authors that they might or might not know. This is clearly not an exhausted list. And, it represents authors often ignored by teachers. Black scholars have a very important case to [...]

Teaching History

I like the process of understanding the studyof history. The nature of the field is complex in that perspectives are what shapes history. Sure, the so called “history buff” will always call on historical facts, which are important, but it is how various states see those facts that ultimately determines the writing of history. My now [...]

Writing and Presentation Projects

I have been doing some work towards completing two journal articles this summer; one looks at the historical impact of rap music and the socioeconomic conditions that shaped race relations during the 1980s; much of this piece looks at the pedagogical significance of teaching the 80s via music and pop culture in the U.S. history [...]

I Used To Be Hard

In the world of independent schools, most places have an evaluation process in place in which students mark evaluation forms of their instructors. For the most part, I have enjoyed the feedback from students on my teaching and the general nature of my courses. Before students evaluate me, I always ask them to write a [...]

World History Final Today

I gave my world history section their final exam today; it is the only final I have to give since Advanced Placement students at Houston Christian are exempt. One of the things I teach in what is “truly” a world history course is the concept of global history. Too often teachers at all levels teach [...]

Teaching at a Private School

It is safe to say that not all schools are created equal. There are clear benefits to being a faculty member in an independent school environment. However, one must compete with a number of highly qualified candidates to get through the gate.  After nine years of teaching, I only know and fully understand private school [...]

Being a Teacher and Runner is Much Like Being Wile E. Coyote

Below is a great post from Runner’s World running blog. I love what Mark had to say about setting goals and staying focus; I think this post applies not only to running, but to life; I am always thinking about my academic goals and ask: Have I done all that I really want to [...]

Post AP Exam Thoughts

Both my AP European and AP US History classes took the Advanced Placement National Exam on Friday. Traditionally speaking, the AP US History exam has proven to be a far more difficult exam for my students over the past nine years of teaching. That was not the case this year. European history students thought the [...]

Required Readings for ‘09-’10 and the Trouble With History Teaching

With the exception of Richard Hofstadter’s The American Political Tradition, I have elected to add three new books to next year’s Advanced Placement United States History course; I am a big fan of Howard Zinn and his writings. Some believe his historical approach is a bit biased, but I contend what work is not. Because [...]

Rethinking Teaching as Industry

Above: Democratic Model

My Advanced Placement United States History sections recently discussed the transformation of American identity as it related to the concepts of capitalism and democracy; I used my interest in progressive education to showcase how education was used to bring about a transformation in independent school teaching and  the political progressive reforms [...]