tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5977625681756554695.post3981898331309370834..comments2024-03-26T13:46:42.738-05:00Comments on 4 Quarters, 10 Dimes: A Reading List on the Founding Era, by requestDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03463621516644789183noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5977625681756554695.post-16735609496036335972011-04-24T23:35:24.704-05:002011-04-24T23:35:24.704-05:00Lucy, I am honored to have a place by the side of ...Lucy, I am honored to have a place by the side of Dr. Wittukii - he was clearly someone who knew how to communicate the passion he felt for history to his students, and the fact that you remember him so clearly all these years later says something about how well he accomplished that. <br /><br />Thank you for that story. It means a lot.<br /><br />Oddly enough, one of the things that my Department has discussed a great deal over the last few years is precisely the model Dr. Wittukii used - of starting with today and working backward rather than starting at a given point and working forward. It is a difficult model to pull off from a teaching perspective, but the rewards are said to be great if you can do it. As, apparently, they were. :)Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03463621516644789183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5977625681756554695.post-59842255136827884882011-04-24T14:16:52.953-05:002011-04-24T14:16:52.953-05:00Forgive me this somewhat lengthy post:
Climbing i...Forgive me this somewhat lengthy post:<br /><br />Climbing into the "way-back machine" we find a confirmed history hater walking into a classroom in his sophomore year of high school. September, 1969, to narrow it down a bit.<br /><br />[sidebar]<i>Hate, hate, hate! history. World History = Boring. How many times can you hear about Rome and England before you fall asleep? Ancient History = Even more boring. What did the Egyptian pharaohs ever do that was interesting? US history is the worst. Most boring subject ever. How many times do we really need to hear the story of the Mayflower and the Puritans. Or was that Pilgrims …</i>[/sidebar]<br /><br />But something about <i>this</i> room is strange. We see a copy of today's <i>Salt Lake Tribune</i> sitting upon each desk in the room, and some hippy looking dude writing the name "James Wittukii" upon the black board.<br /><br />"Welcome to US History. We will be doing a few things a bit differently than you may be accustomed to", he said. "We will start with what happened yesterday, which is now a part of history, and work our way back to where everyone else left the story hanging … "<br /><br />Dr. Wittuckii (and he will forever be thought of in the honorific in my mind) changed the lives of more students than I'd ever care to hazard a guesstimated number. (yeah, well, I never claimed to have a love for sentence construction …)<br /><br />For the first time, we learned about Viet Nam, the battles, the politics, the causes.<br /><br />Ditto: the Korean war. World War II. "The War to End All Wars" (WWI). Were you aware that there were other wars before that? We even learned <b>in a class room</b> that there was a Civil War that nearly destroyed this Republic! And we were allowed to learn about that!<br /><br />We even -- for the very first time -- found out, "officially", again in an actual class room, who won The Revolutionary War. We were even allowed to read and actually study that most remarkable of all documents, <i>The Constitution of the United States</i>.<br /><br />To this very day, some 41 years later, I still have a man-crush on Dr. Wittuckii. (Oooohhh, I think I just dated myself …)<br /><br />You see, it was he who turned me on to history in all it's glory. He who sent in off in search of history -- a humble student -- even if it was only for entertainment value and not for some stupid grade. <br /><br />It was he, oddly enough, who sent me off in search of what ever happened to his Empire when Alexander died. (In and of itself, a fascinating story …)<br /><br />You, sir, have earned a place by his side. Looks like I've got the next couple of years' reading lists covered.<br /><br />Thank you. <br /><br />No, really! <b>Thank you</b>.<br /><br />Lucy<br />[Yeah, I really am a man, hence the "InDisguise" bit. It really is my name, though.]<br /><br />(Trust me, it's a <i>really</i>long story …)LucyInDisguisehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04119391303533723966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5977625681756554695.post-69681815114788864772011-04-16T20:38:49.083-05:002011-04-16T20:38:49.083-05:00You're welcome, Janiece!
Someday I might writ...You're welcome, Janiece!<br /><br />Someday I might write my own. I'd probably leave that title as subtext, though, just to see if they were smart enough to catch on.<br /><br />I kid, I kid.<br /><br />I know they're not smart enough to catch on.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03463621516644789183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5977625681756554695.post-56095745149883341032011-04-16T14:51:01.283-05:002011-04-16T14:51:01.283-05:00Thanks, David.
BTW, may I point out that if this ...Thanks, David.<br /><br />BTW, may I point out that if this was such a tough assignment, there <em>is</em> a solution - you should write your own book. All about how the right has co-opted the history of this country to justify their kleptocracy. You could call it, "You don't know shit, far right. So STFU."<br /><br />That title might need some work. But I still think you should write it.Janiecehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14190655869710465713noreply@blogger.com