As we spoke about briefly in class last week, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial was recently opened to the public in a few "smaller" openings. It was set to be officially dedicated tomorrow, Sunday, August 28th, but has been delayed due to the threat of Hurricane Irene in the northeastern U.S. this weekend.
Here are some different links offering descriptions and perspectives of the memorial:
- The official website, with a nice video of a virtual tour, can be found here.
- A New York Times article regarding the opening of the memorial is found here.
- An interesting and critical article, written by the respected African-American scholar, author, philosopher, civil rights activist, and Princeton professor Cornel West can be found here.
- A short youtube video by the Washington Times of early visitors to the memorial is here.
- The Washington Post's special coverage page, full of various articles and videos about the memorial and its opening, can be found here.
As we begin our second week of class, the schedule of topics and activities will transition from building our classroom culture and expectations to tackling the U.S. History curriculum. We will continue our review of primary vs. secondary sources, assess our understanding and mastery of the skills associated with analyzing and comparing sources and their use, set our goals for the academic year, then jump right into studying the industrial age of the late 19th century. We will begin by identifying the impact of some important inventions and developments of the era leading up to the Gilded Age, while also examining the causes, factors, and consequences of industrialization in America. It is an important week of material and topics!
In another side note, students were supposed to have ALL their necessary class materials BY this past Friday. These included a 3-ring binder, a set of 3x5" note cards, a highlighter, and a composition book (journal) for the class. I suggest parents check with their students to ensure they have the materials they need, and if they haven't acquired them already, they should show up Monday with them in order to be prepared for the rest of the year.
Their homework this weekend was to find one inspirational quote from any American figure during any American time period, write it down, and bring it to class Monday to be handed in. This task is VERY important and will be used throughout the year!
One last remark: the curriculum conference is scheduled for this upcoming Wednesday evening from 4-6pm. I look forward to meeting the parents of any new students and seeing again the parents of Wright students I had the opportunity to teach two years ago for World Geography. See you then!
