TodayzHistory

     The definition of technology is, “the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, especially in industry.”  By that standard it could include everything from the wheel to quantum technology and nanotechnology.  I love technology, and it has made major impacts on my life.  But, lately, I have felt like Captain America being pulled from the ice after 70 years of suspended animation, surrounded by technology that I do not fully comprehend the purposes or applications of.  Unfortunately, society is usually about as slow in reacting to the dangers of new breakthroughs, while very quickly and optimistically embracing the potential upsides.  It seems that much of this is due to the pace of technological innovation in addition to the degree of impact it has on society.   Is the human mind capable of surveying the field and preparing for the inevitable impacts before it is too late?        “Necessity ...

       I said goodbye to an old friend this year.  It was an unceremonious end to something that had been part of my life for over two decades, and had connected me with hundreds of students that went way beyond the classroom.  After 22 years, the UHS Toys for Tots Holiday Party succumbed to age and Covid, and I’m feeling a decent mix of relief and sadness.  But, I think the biggest takeaway, for myself, is wondering if I will ever feel the same sense of togetherness and community that I saw between the students, parents, teachers, and local businesses for all these years.      The Holiday Party was born in a small US History class of mine in 1997.  There was a push either locally or at the state level to get students more involved with the community.  Uxbridge High School created a requirement for students to get a certain amount of volunteer hours in order to graduate (something I found to be oxymoronic and counteri...

        I’ve been hearing quite a few anxious murmurs, locally and nationally, that the United States is heading for another civil war.  They believe the political divide and animosity between the parties is causing an escalation that will lead to the two sides possibly taking up arms against each other.  If I’m being totally honest, I’ve had similar thoughts myself, but the analogy troubled me.  Something about it felt off, and I couldn’t quite pinpoint it.  In some ways, I feel like the fight is already happening, but under the radar like some negative vibe sitting just under the surface.  I have spent the last couple of months covering the Cold War in my junior classes, and a few weeks ago a realization hit me.  Is it possible that we are currently in a cold civil war?      After joining forces to defeat the Nazis in World War II, the United States and Soviet Union spent the next 45 years in a perpetual state ...

         The teaching profession has always elicited a large spectrum of opinions, running from the effusively complimentary (teachers are world changers who deserve much larger salaries) to the angrily negative (teachers are overpaid babysitters who get the summers off and complain constantly about their jobs).  Of course, there are many that fall in the more moderate category, and, honestly, each comment has some merit, depending on the teacher you’re talking about.  But, none can be applied fairly to the entire profession.  The last couple years of Covid have underscored the extremes, where teachers were seen as heroic (a term I find is vastly overused) at the beginning, and then slammed for pushing mask mandates and vaccination rates (also vastly simplified and overstated).  Working among these changing conditions has caused me to reflect on the past thirty years of teaching, and my soon to be retirement.  It also makes me look at th...

  Two weeks ago, with Mark Twain as my inspiration, I posited that the period of time covering 1950-1970 strongly, but not perfectly, parallels our present day circumstances.  In this post, I’ll do my best to complete the comparison.      The 1950’s-1970’s were prime Cold War years.  The fear of a communist takeover was the main impetus for the Korean War, Vietnam War, Space Race, and espionage.  Irrational fear led to the emergence of Senator McCarthy and his meteoric rise to infamy, and just as sudden fall back to earth.  This fear led people to act in ways they would not normally, justified or not, for good or bad.  The events of 9-11 have led to a similar fear of immigrants present day.  With fifteen out of nineteen hijackers from Saudi Arabia, anti-US terrorism was given a face, and that is what TSA agents started looking for in airports.  And these fears manifested into an anti-immigrant feel in this country where we...

  The quote, “Those that cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it,” attributed the most to Spanish philosopher George Sentayana, has never rang quite true to me.  I’ve always been more of a fan of Mark Twain’s, “History never repeats itself, but it does often rhyme.”  As a history teacher, I always try to find the present day equivalents for the historical events we teach.  But more recently, in an attempt to make some sense of what seems like an increasingly unstable time period, I’ve been using the process in reverse, trying to find a time period that rhymes with the one we are living in.  In my humble opinion, a good (but far from perfect) case can be made for the 1950’s-1970’s.      The most glaring comparison, to me, is the involvement in Vietnam and the involvement in Afghanistan.  Similarity #1, US involvement in each was based on a legitimate fear.  For Vietnam, it was the spread of communism (which had alre...

        How often have you wanted to tell someone to just shut the hell up?  These days, probably plenty.  And you have every right to do so according to the First Amendment.  The question is, can you make that person stop talking or expressing themselves in some other manner?  As usual, when it comes to the Constitution, the answer depends on a number of conditions, especially where you are and how you are expressing yourself.       The First Amendment covers five main areas of expression; religion, speech, press, peaceful assembly, and petition.  Regarding speech, the amendment says, “Congress shall make no law...abridging the freedom of speech”, which this post will focus on.  Speech does not necessarily mean the spoken word.  Symbols are a form of speech, such as wearing armbands in protest of a war or burning the American flag, and thus protected under the First Amendment.  But, if you ha...