No More Snow Days?!

We have had much more than our fair share of snow days this school year.  But even should we see winters in the future as cold and snowy as this one, snow day vacations may be a thing of the past.

"At 9 a.m. on Thursday the snow was piling high outside and officials had long since made the call to shutter the local schools.

But Alexa H. Hirschberg, 17, was not curled up in bed, watching videos on her Netflix account or making plans on Facebook for sledding with her boyfriend. She was showered and dressed, seated before a laptop in her family’s kitchen searching for the day’s assignments her French teacher had left online. School was out, but she was in virtual class.

As classrooms become more electronically connected, public schools around the country are exploring whether they can use virtual learning as a practical solution to unpredictable weather, effectively transforming the traditional snow day into a day of instruction."

So, now we have something else to blame the Internet for.  Ha!  This type of virtual learning may take time to trickle down to schools nationwide, so you will all have likely graduated before it becomes a cause for concern.  But, you may one day feel very old when your children and grandchildren ask you about the strange, ancient rite of passage once known as the Snow Day.

Clovis is More Than Just a Town in New Mexico

We have discussed Clovis culture in pre-Columbian America previously in class. So I thought that news of recently discovered Clovis DNA would interest some of you.

"Until recently, all that archeologists knew about the Clovis people came from studying their tools, which have been unearthed at wide-ranging sites across the country. Now, DNA analysis of a single human skeleton--that of a one-year-old boy buried in a rocky field in modern-day Montana--has allowed scientists to link the Clovis culture to Native Americans throughout the Western Hemisphere."

This video link will help refresh your memories about the origins of the Clovis culture and First Americans:

Bill Nye's "Crusade" (for lack of a better term) for Science Education

William Sanford Nye will be better known as "Bill Nye the Science Guy" for as long as he walks the earth...and for a good many years beyond that, I imagine.  His popular and influential children's program of the 1990s put science education front and center in America's living rooms.  However, Nye is not happy with the current state of science education in America's classroooms.

For several years, Nye has kept a high profile by appearing in the media and in public as an unofficial ambassador for science education.  He was inspired to do this because he laments that falling behind in scientific literacy will cause the nation to fall behind other nations.

"I want to close by reminding everyone what's at stake here.  If we abandon all that we've learned...if we abandon the process by which we know it...if we stop looking for the next answer, we in the United States will be outcompeted by other countries, other economies.  That would be okay, I guess, but I was born here, I'm a patriot, and so we have to embrace science education.  We have to keep science education in science."

That quote comes from his closing remarks in the recent debate that Nye had with Young Earth Creationist Ken Ham, proprietor of the Creation Museum in Petersburg, KY.  Nye, in his role as an educator, has decided that it is better to engage with those who disagree with him, in a respectful manner, than it is to simply ignore or humiliate them, as others may be tempted to do.

Though it is long, I encourage you to check out at least part of the debate held this month at the Creation Museum.  Though Bill Nye waded into what could be considered hostile waters, he is largely considered to have come out on top in the debate, even among those who may be inclined disagree with him.

One for the TV & History Geeks

HBO's mini-series from 2008, John Adams, was a hit for me on three levels: I love history, Paul Giamatti & Laura Linney. And, since it had the HBO pedigree, it's very going to be rather entertaining. It is available on DVD from Netflix, or it may be streamed via HBOGo, if you have a subscription.

John Adams taps into the uncertainty and intensity surrounding the birth of the American republic and its first 50 years. With the fervent support of his wife Abigail(Linney), and through a lifelong political rivalry and friendship with Thomas Jefferson (Stephen Dillane), Adams rose to be the leader of the American independence movement, the nation's first ambassador to Holland and England, the first American Vice President, the second American President, and father of the sixth American President.

Drawn from an extensive collection of letters, diaries and family papers, David McCullough's biography of John Adams was a New York Times best seller, and proclaimed by Time magazine as a "masterwork of storytelling...a rollicking ensemble drama featuring a collection of giants." The New Yorker hailed it as a "stirring history. [McCullough's] vivid storytelling will surely persuade a generation to look again at this obstinate, brave, and most deeply philosophical of American patriarchs."

Once you're finished with all seven episodes of the series, you should treat yourself by reading David McCullough's biography of the second US president.