Today is Wednesday, an A Day.

On this date in American history:

September 16th, 2009 : US rapper, Jay-Z, breaks Elvis Presley’s record as the solo artist with the most number one records (11).

Today’s Lesson.

1. Starter Question: 10 minutes. How does our class list of problems connect to the history you read about in Module 0.4?  In other words, can you see our recent history as a cause of some things you wrote? The election of course is obvious. But you can and should still talk about it. But beyond the election, can you make a connection?
2. Activity two- 5 minutes- As we dive more deeply into thinking about why American history is important, I want to think about its connection to an “American Identity?  When I google image searched American identity, I got this picture, one of an increasingly frayed American Identity. https://images.app.goo.gl/2CtBSE39xqAMiLhq6

1.  Reflect on the graph (of correct/incorrect answers) I will share. Other than reinforcing the tendency to check epic fail, what does this information tell you? Why would I give you this test? What’s the point?
2. Discuss.

HW for Tomorrow-

HW- for Monday-

1. HW: Either take a photo or create an illustration that best captures the definition of America. The picture must be either an original drawing OR a photo you snapped or have snapped. It can be in your camera roll- but I’d love for you to think of a new one. No scrolling through Flikr  ;). 
2. We will be using the image in class on Monday, it is imperative that you share the photo to the Padlet Wall by Monday. 

You will place them here:

https://padlet.com/amcdonnell/7dy3ge2x23qlbxog

As you consider Frethorne today, a short glimpse at Jamestown which the English started to colonize in 1607.

Why did Virginia start in Jamestown, why there?

The English colonists who arrived in 1607 picked that site far upstream from the coast to avoid the Spanish. They also feared the French and the Dutch.

Today is September 14. Today is the second day of class and an E day.

On this day in history among other things, this happened :

• 1866 – George K. Anderson patented the typewriter ribbon.
• 1899 – In New York City, Henry Bliss became the first automobile fatality.
• 1901 – U.S. President William McKinley died of gunshot wounds inflicted by an assassin. Vice President Theodore Roosevelt, at age 42, succeeded him.
• 1940 – The Selective Service Act was passed by the U.S. Congress providing the first peacetime draft in the United States.
• 1948 – In New York, a groundbreaking ceremony took place at the site of the United Nations’ world headquarters.

In class today, there are three tasks. You can start right away with the quiz. Of course, I will ask you to not look at the reading as you take it. 

1. Take Freethorne Quiz. It’s Module 0.6 in Canvas.
2. Once done, look at our current lists- from the 2020 dates only- and come to an agreement on which 10 would represent a consensus of the group’s concerns. I will invite you into groups that you will join upon completing
3. Look at the excerpt of textbook in the reading in Module 0.4.   Look again at the Wordcloud and at our representative list, where can we find the roots of these concerns in the history of our time. The wordcloud is below, you can click fullscreen to see better. At first glance, I am struck by how much more serious your lists are when compared with the lists from the earlier eras, though, Jai’s 1971 list is pretty heavy too. I also want to acknowledge the existential dread those of us felt in the 80s as we lived under the threat of nuclear war. (It hasn’t gone away, but the fear of it is much less.)

To help determine our class’s list of 10, use this tool.

For HW this week, for Thursday, re-familiarize yourself with the Freethorne reading in the packet. We will talk about it then

For Wednesday, you have no HW though I recommend that you start your first journal. Click here to get started in making your own blog.

Finally, I’ll end with some grammar humor. Yes, there is such a thing!

and finally, this picture of this cat from the terrible fires in California grabbed my attention.

today is Friday, day one of the semester.

Welcome! 

In honor of our school’s 175th Anniversary, I share this advertisement from 1899. Note we had 3 campuses! And we supplied students with filtered drinking water! 

Okay, now let’s get started…

Dear 11th Graders,

     Does that sound a little strange? 11th grade? I am very much looking forward to teaching you this year. Believe it or not, this year will pass very quickly and I have a whole lot of things I want you to experience.

     Teaching is not just telling and learning isn’t just listening. Your experience, of course, teaches you this. So, I really don’t want to be talking at you all the time. I will at times, have to be the “sage on the stage” and I will have to do most of the speaking. But most of the best learning happens when you are actively engaged in learning. So, what I am telling you is that I need you to be involved. The success of the class will depend just as much on you as it will on me. Because, as I say above, teaching is not telling. There will be many projects, simulations and presentations. We will also take time to examine the present as we look at 400 years of American History. This course examines American history and culture from the colonial times to the late 20th century.  You will rely less on textbook work in this course and more on primary sources: letters, charters, legal codes, etc.  Our goal is two-fold: first, we hope that you become more knowledgeable about the United States; second, we hope you will become more critical in their thinking and reading so that their ability to analyze and intelligently question what they read, hear and view will improve.

Required Texts:

• Most of our reading will be primary sources.  Some will be secondary sources.  Almost all of them will be in the document packet. (two volumes),  The document packet will also be available as a PDF to download into a PDF annotation tool such as Notability or Kami.
• DuBois, The Souls of Black Folk (on Amazon.com, e-version, and in many bookstores)
• Some type of system for taking notes is essential.  This might be a notebook or digital.
• We will occasionally use secondary sources and for a textbook, we will occasionally use  Digital History and more frequently,  The American Yawp.  These websites serve as our e-textbooks.  
• Here is a link to the document packet.

You are strongly encouraged and occasionally required to write highlights and annotations in all text material.

Blog:

     You are expected to contribute almost every week to a blog that can be seen by others in the class. Over the course of the first semester, you should have at least 12 posts which cumulatively reach about 3000-10000 words. (We will talk about the 2nd semester later.) These are not expected to be completely polished pieces of writing, but they should show your engagement with the readings and your peers, and create a ground you can build on in later work and discussion. (The word minimum is not particularly high, a page of single spaced typed work is 500 words.)  Avoid generalizations; write something meaningful. Write for the audience of the class and anyone like you who might stumble across the pages. You should read your peers’ blog posts for ideas to react to.  (I’ll have blog posts due the last class of every week- you’ll need to write at least 10 of these blog posts. Over the weekend, I will create a blog for every one of you.  

You may be asking, “What should I write about?”,    Topics should typically include things like: 

1. reactions to the reading and reactions to class. 
2. questions you want your peers or me to answer, things you don’t understand.
3. address the writer of the document directly.  Tell them off, agree with them, ask questions you’d like them to answer.
4. Reflections on connections between the readings and issues you’ve encountered in other courses or in your life. 
5. Responses to questions posed by your classmates. 

Once in awhile, I’ll ask you specifically respond to a given prompt. If this is the case, you will have to write a blog post for this week. Most of your posts will be on topics of your choosing.

Here’s my blog. Once we get started, I’ll be making this the landing page in Canvas. 

     How I view school:   

    I treat the subject of history as a portal to teach important competencies like writing, critical thinking, reasoning, and technology skills (you’ll use more tech that you perhaps are used to.) This makes the content more relatable, useful, and engaging. I allow and encourage students to rewrite papers. I don’t penalize missed deadlines severely, though do not make a habit of it (more than twice in a semester) or you will lose the precious privilege of being able to rewrite. The end goal is mastery, and I’m not as concerned about when an individual masters a concept—just that it is in fact mastered.

      This class is a space of total experimentation in an atmosphere of mutual respect and trust.  This class is a kind of contract between us.  As a community of intellectuals, we will read, write, talk and think.  We will become readers and participants in each other’s work, coaching and supporting as we learn what real work is together.  I will be totally open to your questions and concerns.       In a nutshell, 

There are three things I basically ask from you:

1. To Really Try
2. To Participate in Class as best you can.
3. Be open minded to me, your classmates, and my class

 I look forward to helping you learn.

Mr. McDonnell

One More Item:

click the image below to see the most recent class recordings.

This bookplate illustrates the motto with an ant because ants are proverbially hard-working (like in Aesop’s fable of The Ant and the Grasshopper).

Here is a U.S. Postage stamp from 1956 in honor of the holiday: Labor is life.