Like many other Americans, I went to bed on election night before the outcome was known. But deep down, I knew the outcome of the election. My fitful sleep was evidence. It wasn’t necessarily surprising that he won. It was the margin of victory that surprised and...if I’m being honest...saddened me. I've been wanting to … Continue reading The Soul of America
I've written previously how I'm not really into making New Year's resolutions. I just figure if I need to change something about myself, why wait? That said, I understand how people can see the beginning of a new year as a fresh star and/or a time of reflection. I get that. I'm constantly writing notes … Continue reading If
I don't enjoy writing book reviews. That was by far the most common assignment during the thirty six hours of course work for that period of my life I refer to as grad school. The reviews were exhausting, boring, and from where I stand, mostly useless since all of the books had been reviewed previously … Continue reading Reviews
This past week I began my twentieth year as a high school social studies teacher. After the excitement of last school year, this summer was a much-needed break. In fact, I gave myself more of a break than I normally do.
Another book recommendation that showed up on my Kindle recently was Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari. I'd seen the book at the store and on the Internet, but I had no idea what it was about except that it said it was the history of homo sapiens. Kind of a broad topic, but it was … Continue reading Sapiens
One of the nice things about being a history nerd is that it's often easy to find good deals on books. If you're patient enough, even highly acclaimed books will show up in the bargain section of the book store, as recently happened when I found Ron Chernow's Alexander Hamilton for $5. If it would … Continue reading Hamilton
Late last year, The Martian showed up in the “Recommended Reading” section of my Kindle app. I read the description and eventually decided I would probably like the book. I had a faint recollection that a movie was made based on the book. I recorded it a while back on my DVR, but I still … Continue reading Martian
After finishing the entire Harry Potter series this summer, I began reading more fiction than normal...normal for me, that is. I will pick up a novel on occasion, but primarily, I stick to nonfiction, mainly history or economics. Yes, I like reading about old dead guys and the dismal science. That’s my idea of a … Continue reading Fiction
It’s not uncommon for me to spend summers catching up on reading the backlog of magazines I subscribe to or reading various books that I don’t have time to read during the school year. This summer has fairly typical in that sense, but my reading selection this year has been...magical.Twenty years ago this summer, I … Continue reading Harry
When I first began teaching AP US History, I thought I knew a great deal about our nation's history. I was wrong. Partly through completing graduate school, partly from leisure reading, and partly out of necessity, I've learned more about US History in the past nine years than I could possibly teach to my students … Continue reading Backward
Reflections Of A Middle Aged Nobody 