It's not often I let down my online wall and allow people into my personal life. This post is an exception. I'm very proud to say that my school has been highlighted in the Philadelphia Inquirer, the online version of the this article has been picked up in several national news feeds. It's nice to know the work we've been doing wearing many different hats, as founding teachers at a new high school is starting to be noticed.
Here's the article: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/81206917.html
We're in our second year. We have just 9th and 10th graders. I'm happy to say as the boy's basketball coach and Athletic Director, we got our first ever victory as a high school yesterday, with a dramatic win. The kids rushed the floor as if we upset Duke or UNC. The school spirit is high... kids love coming to school here. The teachers love coming to work. It's an excellent environment.
I say this to preface some of the comments on the ensuing page below the article. I invite anyone to come into the school, and perhaps they'd change their mind.
Showing posts with label About Me. Show all posts
Showing posts with label About Me. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
My School
Friday, November 06, 2009
Gettysburg: One Man's Visit
I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm an excitable reader. By this, I mean that I get excited about reading, and usually try to bite off more than I can chew. But this is never a bad thing.
When it comes to books, I have a problem. I rarely finish them. This is probably due to my excitability around books and the subjects they cover. I'll read 90% and gladly pick up another if the mood suits me. I'll read 4, 5, 6 books at one time. And as a dedicated teacher and father it is hard to find time to sit back and relax with a good book.
This weekend is no different. I'm going to Gettysburg, and I'm excited about a few books.
For my birthday my wife has decided to take me to Gettysburg this weekend. A short drive from our home in Philadelphia, Gettysburg is one of those places that has always eluded me. So I'm excited to finally get the opportunity to go. And we're not just going. We're GOING. We're leaving tonight (Friday) and staying all day Saturday and some of the day Sunday.
In preparation, and for the little downtown I'll have (with bringing our 3 1/2 month old son with us), I've brought with me, two books. One I've already read; The Killer Angels, by Michael Shaara
. It's a favorite of mine, and because of the way it's written, it's a book I've finished. I hope to thumb through this and pull out some good dialogue concerning the battle.
The other book I've brought with me is a collection of speeches and writings of Abraham Lincoln
. This book, from the Library of America collection is a cool looking canvas bound book, which looks great on a book shelf. (a book shelf that doesn't exist in my house)
These books, along with the history of Gettysburg, the nightly ghost tours, the quaint little town of Gettysburg and my incredible wife and son, are sure to make my birthday weekend enjoyable. Oh, and an Eagles win over the Cowboys Sunday night would help too. All of this might make the Phillies loss a little easier to swallow.
Happy Reading!
Go Birds!
Saturday, August 15, 2009
What would Teddy Roosevelt think about Michael Vick?
Many of you may know I live and breathe Philadelphia. I was born and raised in the outskirts of this town and I'm proud to now live within it's boundaries. With that, comes a love for the Philadelphia Eagles.
For the record, I support the franchise and it's signing of Michael Vick. Many outsiders probably don't understand head coach Andy Reid and the problems his two oldest sons have had with drugs and run-ins with the law. To make a long story short, they've made some terrible decisions, and they've been given a second chance. Michael Vick deserves that chance too.
And as it turns out, the day after the Eagles' shocked the world by signing Michael Vick, was a day I was able to look into the past and find out what Teddy Roosevelt might think about what Michael Vick did. Douglas Brinkley's book The Wilderness Warrior, gives us a glimpse of Roosevelt's views on animal cruelty.
Roosevelt, an avid hunter, had no problem defending his seemingly hypocritical beliefs. It would be a difficult task to find someone who loves hunting - and eating game - more than Roosevelt. His defense? Darwinism. Stay with me here... In the wild, the death of the hunted was very violent, where prey were often torn to pieces by their predators. Hunting, if done correctly, was a more human way of killing the animal. Roosevelt insisted that hunters follow an ethical code to make it a true gentleman sport. He didn't like traps or abusive treatment of wild or domestic animals. Even cattle and lambs brought to slaughter should be handled with dignity. The Roosevelt family, firmly believed that animal shelters and sterilization methods needed to be established in major cities. So I think we can conclude that Roosevelt would not have approved of dog fighting.
As a child a horse being flogged or a dog being kicked made Roosevelt sick. President Roosevelt believed that all animals could feel pain, and therefore deliberate infliction of pain had to be stopped. Roosevelt also believed that some animals had emotions and thought similar to humans. To quote him...
"I believe that the higher mammals and birds have reasoning powers, which differ in degree rather than kind from the lower reasoning powers of, for instance, the lower savages."
Roosevelt's grandfather, Cornelius V.S. Roosevelt and his grand-uncle John J. Roosevelt both played integral parts in the establishment and incorporation of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA).
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Thank You Readers!
Dear Readers,
I'd like to take the time to thank all of my loyal readers. I have now hit the milestone of 100 readers. What does this mean? This means 100 people have decided that they like my blog enough to have it fed to them every time I decide to spoon it out. Thanks guys!
Incidentally, the 100th reader came on the 100th post. This is post #101. And although the red button below may not indicate 100 - it was at that number - it just sometimes fluctuates.
If you're interested in getting USHistoryBlog in your RSS feed, click the red button below.
Or if you want to get USHistoryBlog in your email, you can do that too...
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I try my best to create quality, insightful commentary that can be enjoyed by both the lay-man and the expert. I do cater towards teachers and education a bit, but why not... I'm a teacher.
What started as a way to give my students an alternative to the same old homework assignment has turned into a hobby, and it appears like people enjoy my hobby. And I appreciate that.
USHistoryBlog.com has been around since October 29, 2006. Since that time, the blog has received over 42,000 site visits. 33,000 of those visits have come since January 1st of 2008. So the site is growing. So I'll keep doing what I do... and you can keep enjoy it.
What can you do?
For starters, you can spread the word... Tell people about the blog, send them a link, put a link on your website (I'll exchange with you if you'd like).
You can Friend USHistorySite/USHistoryBlog on Facebook, and become a fan of the site... This is a great way to connect and network with like-minded people. Click the image below to do that.
Comment more often. I love to get comments and hear the opinions of my readers. I'd love to hear from you about topic ideas and discussions. I do give prompts at the end of a lot of the entries, but just a few quick words will help out a lot.
And finally... you can simply keep doing what you've been doing. Read and enjoy the blog.
Thanks again.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Dr. Benjamin Rush: An Underrated Signer
George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Thomas Paine and Lewis and Clark. Each of these men owe a great deal of their success to a lesser known man named Benjamin Rush.
Each and every one of the aforementioned characters was aided in one way shape or form by Dr. Benjamin Rush.
In 1813, at the time of his death, Dr. Benjamin Rush was arguably one of America’s three most notable men, George Washington and Ben Franklin being the others. Rush was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, he served under 3 presidents, founded five colleges, and trained thousandas of medical students.
In June 1776, he was appointed to represent Philadelphia at the Continental Congress. He later became the physician-general of the Continental Army, where he campaigned for the removal of George Washington as the Army General, after a series of defeats. He later expressed regret for his actions. Washington and Rush were not the best of friends...
Read more about the conversations between George Washington and Benjamin Rush.
Rush is most famous, however, for helping to reconcile the friendship of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams.
Dr. Rush did not align himself with either party. His ecumenical approach to politics allowed him to foster relationships with men from both parties, and kept him employed under three different Presidents of varying political beliefs. Thus, Rush was friendly with both Jefferson and Adams.
Rush's efforts would eventually help to reconcile differences between the two great minds. Our good friend Hercules Mulligan of the Foundation Forum puts it best on his blog entry: The Dream of Benjamin Rush. Why reinvent the wheel? Read his post, after finishing mine of course.
Rush also played an important role in the creation of one of America's most influential and inspiring documents, the pro-independence Common Sense. Rush consulted Thomas Paine on the writing of the document.
Thomas Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis to Philadelphia to meet with Dr. Rush with the hope of preparing them for their great exploration. Rush taught Lewis about many of the illnesses he would encounter in the frontier as well as a crash course on bloodletting. Rush provided the expedition crew with a medical kit which included laxatives that contained mercury. As it turns out, these laxatives came in very handy as the lack of clean water and the diet heavy in meat caused the corps to use the pills often.
Incidentally, the large traces of mercury in the crews' feces have allowed scientists and archaeologists to trace more closely the actual route blazed by Lewis and Clark.
All this said, I'm proud to be a founding teacher of a brand new high school in the Philadelphia School District named none other than: The Arts Academy @ Benjamin Rush.
I'm very fortunate to be a part of this once in a lifetime opportunity of building a high school from the ground up... from the mission statement to graduation. I can't wait to get started.
If anyone out there has any experience in a brand new school... and I mean brand new, first time opened... please share some pointers.
For more information about Benjamin Rush, visit:
Benjamin Rush: Patriot and Physician
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Rush
You shouldn't have any trouble finding information about Rush. Rush wrote over 2,000 pages of published letters and essays, in addition to hundreds of unpublished papers. His works are scattered around the world and can be found in both public and private collections.
Here are just a few of his selected writings.
Friday, July 06, 2007
I've Been Tagged
The date was July 4th. I was sitting in my office on an otherwise peaceful weekday morning. Leaning back and looking out my window I can see the wonderful buildings that make up the beautiful landscape of the most historical city in the United States, the fabulous Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
I'm disappointed we didn't do something more patriotic than walk to my Aunt Bobby's house to watch fireworks and listen to the concert at the Art Museum. Incidentally it was Philly's own Patti Labelle and Hall and Oates. But we're busy. My wife and I just moved into our new home on June 4th, and my dad and I spent the day putting a wooden deck floor on our previously fiberglass patio.
That said, my day was brightened when I found myself in the middle of a virtual game of tag. Hercules Mulligan of the Foundation Forum Blog, tug me. Which means I'm it, and I must do the following...
1. Let others know who tagged you.
2. Players start with 8 random facts about themselves.
3. Those who are tagged should post these rules and their 8 random facts.
4. Players should tag 8 other people and notify them they have been tagged.
Without further ado, here are my 8 random facts.
1. I am related to Moses. Yes, THE Moses. My father is Jewish. Our last, Katz, is a name of the Kohen or Cohen. In the Jewish faith this means that we are royalty and our lineage can be traced back to Aaron, the brother of Moses. (here's some validity from a reputable source)
2. I used to collect Pez dispensers and I have nearly 700 of them. Of these 700 I have 21 different Donald Ducks from the 1950s through the early 21st century. To the naked eye many of these look the same, however any Pez dispenser would soon notice that the countries of origin on their stems would make each of them unique.
3. I played college baseball and was hit by 19 pitches in 28 games as a junior. My coach was convinced that I led the nation in that category but it was not a stat that was quantified for rankings. I'm also proud to say that I batted .301 and led our team in runs scored. Unfortunately, my senior year was a bust and I lost my starting job about halfway through the year. I'm a little embarrassed by my senior year statistics, so I live vicariously through the stats of my junior year.4. I can recite all 50 states in alphabetical order. This is not that interesting, but in the aforementioned rules, it is a random fact. This skill sometimes comes in handy during trivia.
5. I once met Yogi Berra at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC. Yogi and a few of his friends were at the MOMA for an exhibit on baseball cards. He was leaving and was trying to sneak out of the museum through the Egyptian room. I approached his friend and asked if it was Yogi, even though I was 100% sure it was. I was just being polite. Yogi stopped to pose for a picture with me, and my girlfriend of the time snapped a great picture of me and Yogi with our arms around each other. The picture was later sent to Yogi and signed. It's a great shot.
6. My little sister, who is 9 months my former learned to ride a bike before me. My competitiveness kicked in and she only learned 1 day before me. I'll never forgive her.
7. I once participated in a parade as a juggling clown. That's all I have to say about that. And yes, I can juggle.
8. I am a karaoke king. I once had girls dancing on tables to my rendition of Garth Brooks' "Aint Goin' Down 'til the Sun Comes Up". Seriously.
So there you have it... 8 random facts about yours truly. If you have any questions or would like to learn more, please feel free to comment.
I humbly tag the following:
A. Lincoln Blog - A site I reference periodically for anything and everything about Abraham Lincoln. The blog producer is an author and a professor.
American Presidents Blog - incite into our great, and not so great Chiefs of Staff.
HistoryMike - sometimes history, sometimes current events, sometimes irreverence, always amusing.
History is Elementary - a super blog, by a super teacher. I was a high school history teacher, and any teacher deserves to wear a badge of honor. This really is an enlightening site.
Civil War Bookshelf - if its news about the Civil War.. it's on this blog.
I'll tag 3 more at a later date...
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