I Stand With Paris!

A few weeks ago sadly Notre Dame de Paris caught on fire and burned for 6 hours till it finally went out!  It caught the attention of the world, and we all sat in horror and shock while it burned.  I truly believe most felt helpless.  Dan Rather captured the world's emotion with this statement:

"Why has the burning of Notre Dame moved so many? Because we believe in beauty, majesty, faith, art, history, and the human expressions thereof. We recognize in this cathedral our common humanity. A scar now emerges in our connections to our past, our future, and each other."

I feel so lucky! I have been to Paris 14 times, and I hope I go back another 14 times.  Here are some of my favorite pics of Notre Dame!

AP US HISTORY College Board Site

I was  having a bad day a few weeks ago!  Then I took students to the art show and I saw a former student from last year!  He declared he made a 5 on the APUSH Exam!  I instantly had a smile!  Then he said it was all because of me, and he wanted to say Thank You!  I became so embarrassed, and he explained he knew the content but also knew the structure of the Exam! That is so true  you need both!  Look at the College Board Site and learn the structure of the test!

APUSH College Board Site

Lessons from History

This was an amazing AP US History Shirt!!!! I love it!

One of my favorite things about history is you can learn life lessons!  Trust!  Life is too short to learn all the lessons!  This week we are watching 42 in Oklahoma History!

As the movie has played I hope the students have seen how strong Jackie Robinson is!  People heavily discriminated against him, and said horrific and unbelievable things to him! Honestly it was hard to watch!  I truly believe a difference between now and then is people would fight back today!  Sadly in the 1940s Jackie Robinson could not talk back or fight back!  As Oprah says about the Little Rock Nine  he handles it with Grace and Dignity!  I wonder could people do it today?  I do not think they can!  I asked  my students what Life Lessons did you learn from 42?  The two things I heard all day was persistence and perseverance.  I loved what Oprah said about the Little Rock Nine - it is the same thing as Jackie Robinson!

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Everyone has a Story!!!!

Patience

One thing I love about history is you can learn life lessons! One lesson you can learn from President Abraham Lincoln is patience.  The first goal of President Lincoln during the Civil War was to preserve the Union.  Then very quickly President Lincoln realized he had to free the slaves, but he had to wait for a large Union Victory - that was 2 years!  The Battle of Antietam provided that moment!

President Lincoln visited the battle he patiently waited for!