Sunday, August 29, 2010

HOW TO SUCCEED & OUR APPROACH

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HOW TO SUCCEED
In order to successfully achieve the purpose of this course, all students must to strive to participate actively in class; complete assignments to the best of their ability and on time (paying close attention to the quality of their writing and providing historical evidence to support their claims); come to class prepared every day, having completed the assigned readings; demonstrate respect for others (and differences of opinion); take notes; and exhibit an open mind during discussion and other activities. While expectations will be high, every student can succeed in this course.

OUR APPROACH
Our textbook, called "American Nation” (2003), will serve as a general outline through the years we plan to study, but will not be used everyday. Instead, we will strive to use many of the resources at the disposal of historians, including letters, diaries, speeches, films, photographs, newspapers, and even poetry. We will also read small excerpts from works written by professional historians, enjoy at least one guest speaker, and examine first-hand some authentic historical artifacts. The lectures and discussions will supplement the readings, and are fair game for questions on exams.
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CURRENT ASSIGNMENT

Civil War Take-Home Essay Examination due 2/28/12:
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WELCOME TO UNITED STATES HISTORY!

WELCOME TO UNITED STATES HISTORY!
This 1851 painting of Washington crossing the frozen Delaware River in December of 1776 is beautiful and famous, but German-American artist Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze painted a false image of this historic event--to make a larger point. Can you guess what Leutze got wrong? And why?
History is like a road map. We can’t find our way somewhere new unless we know where we are now. History tells us where we are, how we got there, and with any luck, how to get where we want to go. It's everything that's ever happened to anybody--and it's the story of how people not unlike us said and did things that changed the world.

This class--called a survey class because we will survey some of the most influential people and events over the course of more than 500 years, all in just one nine-month school year--will focus, specifically, on the history the United States of America. It's been a wild ride these last 500 years, and learning the stories and trying to sort out what it all means for us today is so much more than names, dates, places--and tests. This is going to get interesting.

Questions? Email Mr. Novick at jnovick@roycemoreschool.org

The lovely Catskill Mountains (New York) in autumn. After the Revolution ended in 1783, locals began to move into these beautiful hills. The theme of westward expansion runs throughout American history.