clair055

I find it appropriate that this post is my 800th posting for History Is Elementary . Memorial Day is one of my favorite holidays, so it makes sense I’m writing about it again for post number 800. I knew the milestone post was coming up. I had thought about what I would write. I had even asked friends on Facebook what I should write about, and they came up with several interesting ideas. Then I realized Memorial Day was rapidly approaching…..and I couldn’t go without saying something. What does Memorial Day mean to you? Cookouts, picnics, trips to the beach, perhaps a sale at the mall, time off from work, a cold beer or two, the Indianapolis 500, a slab of ribs on the grill…… Don’t get me wrong. I don’t have a problem with any of those things, but I wouldn’t be the ElementaryHistoryTeacher that I am if I didn’t point out what the original intent behind Memorial Day is. Yes! These sweet young ladies, two of which I have the pleasure of knowing, have the right idea. Hannah and Claire...

I found out this morning in a roundabout way the high school I graduated from will be hiring an art teacher for grades 4, 5, and 6 for the fall. The teacher will be employed full-time and will teach darkroom photography and printmaking to elementary classes. Yes, you read that right. Students in upper elementary grades will be learning darkroom photography and printmaking. First of all, I don’t have to tell you the economic climate of the United States over the last couple of years hasn’t exactly been agreeable to many in the teaching profession. Education has experienced delays with contracts, budge cutbacks, and programs have been pared down or cut out all together. Teachers have been required to take furlough days and in many instances positions have been deleted totally. Art and music have been hit especially hard in public school systems. Unfortunately, they always seem to be the first programs to go when there are money issues. I doubt there are very few public schools today teac...

Without a question…..without a doubt history and time are inexplicably intertwined. You can’t have one without the other. During my 49 years riding around on this planet there have been events that serve as turning points in my life – meetings, births, marriages, deaths, reunions, actions that show strength and truthfulness and those that scream weakness and betrayal. Yes, we all have those moments in life….during our time here……embedded in each of our personal histories. Collectively, historical events have their impact as well. We all have those, “Where were you?” moments such as JFK’s assassination, the Apollo Moon Landing, the Challenger Explosion, the Oklahoma Bombing, and of course…….the tragedy of September 11th, a date that needs no year to identify it because it was that terrible, that horrible, that defining in the psyche of each and every American who experienced it. Last night was another one of those defining moments in our collective history. While it can be argued the de...