US I and II

US I:

You have a test coming up a week from now. Study at least 4 nights, about 20-25 minutes each night.

Make sure you have an understanding of: why colonists came to each region; what types of colonies were established; why were those colonies different from each other; how democracy was developed in the various areas

Vocabulary: we have gone over many terms, but do you know the significance of indentured servants, the headright system, the Anglican church, tobacco, and the frontier areas?

US II:

As we study the settlement of the West, make sure you are establishing a firm understanding of the following:

> the role of technology in the West

> impact of govt policy on: the settlers, on the Native Americans

> reasons why settlers sought to move west

> economic impact on the rest of the nation

> the eventual demise of the agrarian society

Cleaning out the desk drawer

Last night I decided to clean out the back drawer of my own brain. I found these dusty old thoughts stored way in the back corner:

- Ever wonder where all the stuff we erase off the boards goes?

- When my grandchildren arrive at the house, it takes all of 10 minutes for the place look like a hurricane swept through the building, but it takes us hours to clean it all up. I'm not complaining, but it does show how efficient they are and inefficient my wife and I are (I guess).

- It's almost here...Capital of Ohio Day!

- Have I decided who to vote for yet? Yes I have, but I still wish I could vote for Harry Truman.

- Public Education is in a lot of trouble in this era because of some misguided non-educators out there. We have good students and good teachers at Fontbonne Academy, but we are really not much different than those in public schools. Without all the political red tape involved with MCAS, NCLB, Frameworks, and all that, we still provide a solid education, still get students into college, and manage to provide all the extra-curriculars and instill some beautiful values and spiritual appreciation at the same time. If the non-educators had left public education alone, there would be fewer problems in those schools today. As a former public school teacher and adminstrator, I was always proud of what we did, still am, and encourage public school teachers to make the most out of MCAS, etc. but I still wish they had asked real educators to design an improvement plan and possible reforms.

- Have to go now. Have to get dinner ready. Tonight we're grilling salmon with an apple cider glaze. I'll save some for you.

US I & II Progress

So far everyone has been great in class and our discussions and participation has been solid. Let's all be aware of the need to really think when doing the homework assignments from the textbook. I am not a huge textbook fan, but do realize one is necessary for students to have as a foundation/resource. Use it in that way, and when you are doing the essay assignments, use the info in the text, from class, and your own knowledge to present thoughtful and analytical T statements. T statements should not be too factual...they should be insightful and analytical. Do not be reluctant to try this, especially with the HW. That is where/when you want to 'experiment' so that on an exam or assigned formal essay, you have some experience to fall back upon.

Ah yes, HW. The textbook assignments are very simplistic and do not demand any heavy lifting. If you are going through the motions or not putting forth any motions at all, well first - shame on you! - and second, realize that you are putting yourself further behind. If all I see on a test essay is exactly what we discussed in class, then I know that you are not reading and/or thinking when doing the HW. You need to do that so that you become an historian, not just be a student sitting in classroom. I realize I may be preaching to some choir members here, but to the non-choir members...join the choir!

In US II, the first exams were successful overall. A few students seemed to struggle, but most did well. If you had trouble studying, please see me to go over your study routine. Sometimes simple adjustments are all that is needed. US I has not had a major test yet, but will be having one next week, so begin reviewing your notes for 15-30 minutes each day, so that when you have the test the next day you are not going to have to study for hours (which is how too many students approach test preparation).

And let's make sure we keep on arguing! That is the key to studying and analyzing history, exchanging views and interpretations of it.

Election 2008 Vol.1

Well, it is finally getting where we can see some light at the end of this looooooong election campaign tunnel. A little over a month to go, and the race is surprisingly close. I say close because historically when economic times are bad, the party of the current administration usually takes a great deal of the blame and trails badly in the polls. The economic times are certainly bad, but McCain/Palin are in a dead heat with Obama/Biden. This raises several questions.

Would the Democrats have been better off if they had not gained congressional majorities? If they had not, they could lay all the blame on the Republican party for the economic mess. Is race a factor or not? Few people will ever state that they are not voting for Obama - or are voting for him - because of the color of his skin. But one has to wonder how many voters are impacted by this. I hope none are, but my best guess is that is not the case. The most significant question for the Dems right now is "what must we do to put some distance between us and the Rep. candidates? We should be comfortably ahead, so do we get very attack minded now or not?" For the Reps, it would seem that their big question is "How do we maintain the lack of losses? We are doing better than we expected, and maybe the country does not disapprove of our policies as much as was reported!" Let's follow the next 5-6 weeks VERY closely. It will be fun!!

Meet the Shacochis Clan

Well, here is the family you will here me refer to often. In the back row, left to right, is my oldest son Dave, our daughter-in-law (his wife) Elena, our 2nd daughter-in-law Stephanie and our younger son Brian. He is holding our grand-dog..."Tim Johnson". In the fron row is Emma (7 in October), Mrs. Shacochis holding Clare (2 in October), yours truly holding on to Carolina, and Joey is standing to my left.

This was taken on our annual family vacation together. Dave & his family live in Virginia, so we see them a few times a year but not as much as we would like, so we rent some place every year where we can all gather for a week together. This year was out in the Berkshires - an old farm house with a swimming pool. We had a great time!

Essay writing

I hope to have a model for essay writing up soon on my website (still in construction), but for students in both US I and US II, using the "Building an Essay" model that we went over in class is the most efficient approach and you really should get accustomed to it.

Far too many students just start writing, and that is generally not the way to go. You have not thought through your material and you are using a "shoot first and ask questions later" approach which all too often ends up poorly organized, incomplete, and weak. So no matter what format you use, the following steps should be incorporated into your creation of a valid essay:

1. Brainstorm! Look at the question for a minute, then start jotting all terms, events, info thta pops into your head about the topic and the question being asked. This will not be organized at first, but at least get it out there.

2. Categorize/organize...try to create at least 3 categories or subtopics from your thoughts, info, and brainstorming. This becomes the paragraphs for the body of your essay.

3. Revisit the question. Now that you have a sense of where you are going, does it truly answer the question?

4. Create your Thesis Statement (T Statement)...in which you clarify your position and preview the argument you are going to use in your essay.

- a good T statement:
Although it was the initial intent of the national government to unite the nation and get it headed in a unified direction, the failure to recognize the still bitter social and economic differences between the North and South resulted in a failed Reconstruction of the nation.

- a weak T statement:
Reconstruction was a failure because the North wanted to punish the South.

While both of these essays could argue the same points, the first T statement makes a stronger argument and it demonstrates a greater understanding on your part, thus making a better initial impression on the reader (me!).

5. Draft your T paragraph and incorporate your 3 categories into your body paragraphs.

Summer Reading

So now that summer is almost gone, I have to tell you I really enjoyed the opportunity to do some great reading over the summer months. I belong to two book groups, one for my church and one of History teachers. We get together monthly (Church group is just in the summer) to discuss our collective take on our selections for the month. Of course, summer is a great time to read and I wonder if the history group will function as consistently during the school year.

Nevertheless, here's what I was reading this summer and highly recommend to everyone:

The Prayer Chest - a beautiful story of loss and heartbreak, but also of discovery and awakening as one man learns that those around him represent God's answers to our prayers, only we do not always recognize. Saw a lot of myself in this story.

Take This Bread - a nonfiction work by Sarah Miles. Fabulous story of an atheist surprising herself in a journey of faith. Miles wanders into a church in San Francisco, feels welcome and comfort, and is drawn to the eucharist. In her journey, her faith blossoms but not without many moments of doubt. She comes to realize that it is her(our) job to feed each other...to be eucharist for each other. Great story and I highly recommend it.

Thirteen American Arguments - LOVED this book! We all did in my history group. Howard Fineman traces 13 arguments that have been significant throughout our history. He uses contemporary and historical scenarios to illustrate the role each argument has played and still plays. Great overview of our entire history.

Post-American World - Fareed Zakaria's latest work, in which he brings a global perspective to our role. It is not any where close to the pessimistic sound of the title, and Zakaria is very optimistic about our coming role in the world, but recognizes that we must recognize that the world has changed, not only because of terrorism but because of the rising of other nations (China, India, Brazil, Japan, and Russia) as economic influences. Interesting and thought provoking reading.

Freakonomics - a sometimes offbeat sometimes dead-on serious discussion of what makes our ecominc lives tick. The authors have some fun but also make some great points. What I liked best about this book was that if you are not comfortable with economics (and many are not, that's why it often is referred to as "the miserable science"), this puts it in real life terms so that you can see/understand how economics impacts society, without having to first understand all kinds of econ-vocabulary and confusing concepts.

All in all, a good summer of reading. What did you read this summer?

Establishing the routine

While we never want life to be routine, we do seek some routine in life so that we have some sense of confidence/security about how things will go and how things work. We certainly like to have that feeling in class and in school. By now you should be gaining a sense of how our US History class will run. I recognize that my teaching style can be somewhat erratic at times, but beyond that, there are certain routines I follow that you should begin to recognize by now. And it is important that you create some of your own routines as well ---in studying, in how you approach the chapter assignments (quizzes, essay exercises, etc.), are you taking chapter notes? outlining?, vocabulary routines --- all of these must be established by you for you. Be aware of this for yourself. And not just for US History but for all of your classes.

Hope you are following the presidential campaign developments somewhat. We have not had much opportunity to address the campaigns as yet, as we are just trying to get back into the school mindset, but we will be taking a look at this incredible process (and this incredible privilege). In fact, the Honors sections will be running a mock election along with some mock campaign events as we near the November election. Be sure to take notice of the various issues in this campaign, try to categorize the types of political ads you see, and also pay attention to how the media covers events and developments.

And of course, on this day, let us remember the events and the people of 9/11. As noted above in the title of this blog, history is all around you, and never so striking as on that day 7 years ago. It was a day that changed us. We already have seen a multitude of changes but have many yet to come, and of course we can not know those changes...America's role in the world? How we are viewed by this now "Post-American World" (Fareed Zakaria's latest book)? Economic impacts yet to be felt? There is a long list, but still what sticks in my mind will always be the horror of that day.