Humanities Magazine, the magazine of the National Endowment for the Humanities, has released a special edition issue in celebration of Black History Month that is full of great teaching resources about the long struggle for civil rights in America. In an introduction to the issue, David Skinner, the magazine’s editor, provides a sampler of NEH-supported projects on African American civil rights history that should be a wonderful … Read more »
Even though we as a nation celebrated his birthday holiday on Monday, today—February 22—is George Washington’s actual birthday. (To learn more about Washington’s life and career, read our short biography here.) To celebrate, and to consider what George Washington’s legacy means for us today, read Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.’s “Ode for Washington’s Birthday.” Holmes (1809–94) wrote this poem for the Boston Mercantile Library Association’s celebration of Washington’s birthday … Read more »
Earlier this month, the New York State Education Department and the Board of Regents released a new draft of the state’s Social Studies Common Core framework for grades 9–12. (The proposed framework for K–8 grades was made available in September.) The boards are now seeking feedback on the proposed framework, and residents have until March 8 to complete a survey and provide any input they have on … Read more »
Last week, the New York Times noted that short stories are experiencing a resurgence in popularity, at least in part due to the Internet and new digital options that make sharing and reading short stories easier.
The Times reports:
“It is the culmination of a trend we have seen building for five years,” said Cal Morgan, the editorial director of Harper Perennial Originals, who until last year ran a blog called … Read more »
Yesterday, on George Washington’s birthday holiday, hundreds of Washington admirers flocked to Washington’s home at Mount Vernon to celebrate the life of our first president—whose actual birthday, by the way, is coming up on Friday. A recurring theme of our recent posts on Washington has been to ask the question: How are we, 200 years removed, to think about Washington?
Writing in 1880, Henry Brooks Adams (1838–1918) … Read more »
Monday is George Washington’s birthday holiday—or, as it is more popularly known, Presidents’ Day. How should we as a nation observe the day? Is there more to the day than mattress sales and a day off from work?
Americans in the past have certainly thought so. In 1832, the centennial year of George Washington’s birthday, Daniel Webster said that “a hundred years hence, other disciples of Washington will celebrate … Read more »
George Washington was born on February 22, 1732 to Augustine Washington (1694–1743) and his second wife, Mary Ball Washington (1708–89), at their family plantation at Popes Creek, Westmoreland County, Virginia. When Washington, at age 11, lost his father to a sudden illness, the family owned nearly 50 slaves and 10,000 acres of land, planting the family firmly in the landed gentry of Virginia—though by no means near the top of that … Read more »
Distinguished scholar-teachers Amy and Leon Kass demonstrate how short stories, speeches, and songs can be used to enhance civic education and how a pedagogical approach that stresses learning through inquiry can make primary sources come alive for students of all ages.
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