In the previous blog, I introduced the topic of “What Are American Students Learning About US History?” That blog introduced the two-year study conducted by the American Historical Association (AHA). Now I wish to turn to the content of the report and make some observations about it. INTRODUCTION This section notes the stormy debate which […]
What Are American Students Learning about US History Today? (Part 1 of 6: Introduction)
The American Historical Association (AHA) launched a two-year study on the topic of what are American students learning about US history today. The full report of 198 pages is available for download on its website. The study examined all 50 states for their standards and legislation. In addition, nine states covering a range of characteristics […]
Election Postmortem #1: Where’s the Civil War?
This post in the first in a series of posts analyzing the results of the 2024 Presidential Election. I am starting with something that as of November 8, 2024, does not appear to have happened. To the best of knowledge there is no civil war at this time. In fact the country seems remarkably peaceful […]
Why Vote for Donald Trump?
“Teaching, Anti-bullying Policies and Trump” was an op-ed piece in the Sunday paper in Westchester by Tony Monchinski, a local high school teacher. He states: … the biggest issue I have with my fellow Queens native is that he’s a bully. I have always located him in middle school as a seventh-grade-smart-aleck-dumb-aleck. Think of the […]
Why Should Someone Vote for Kamala Harris?
Why should someone vote for Kamala Harris (to be followed by “Why Should Vote for Donald Trump)? The main reasons are: 1. She is a Democrat. 2. She is a woman. 3. She is Black. 4. She is South Asian. 5. Her abortion position. 6. She is not Trump. 7. Joy. Why one should not […]
Why Isn’t Harris Running Away with This?
“Why Isn’t Harris Running Away with This?” is the provocative title of an op-ed piece by David Brooks (NYT, October 18, 2024, print). He wonders why the polls are so immobile. He notes the lack of a strategy by either political party to broaden its electoral reach. Deadlock is the new normal. He suggests that […]
Field of Dreams: Sometimes Myth and Reality Coincide
Ray, people will come, Ray. They’ll come to Iowa for reasons they can’t even fathom. They’ll turn up your driveway, not knowing for sure why they’re doing it. They’ll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past. “Of course, we won’t mind if you look around,” you’ll say. “It’s only twenty […]
Lessons from the Olympics
America managed to tie China for the most gold medals in the 2024 Summer Olympics. This feat was considered a victory for the United States. Let’s examine more closely the American record. Even though the United States won a lot of medals (126), there are many areas where the country is not competitive. Here is […]
Albright Shrugged: The Haupt/Albright Relationship
This blog is the fourth in a series of four blogs on the position of William Foxwell Albright as the dean of American Biblical archaeology. The current issue of NEA includes the article “Dawn and Descent: Social Network Analysis and the ASOR Family Trees” by Diane Harris Cline, Eric H. Cline, and Rachel Hallote (NEA […]
What is Thomas Jefferson’s Wins above Replacement (WAR)?
The baseball playoffs are upon us. How does one measure the value of players to their teams? The answer was made famous in the book and the movie “Money Ball” starring Brad Pitt. In it the Oakland A’s manager brings a new technique to determining the value of an individual to a team. The movie […]