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In World History I have two fundamental goals. First, I try to teach the
lessons of history — Understanding how successes and failures occur and
why people do the things they do. We cannot hope to navigate what lies
ahead of us without knowing our present position, and we cannot do that
without first understanding where we came from. This is the real value of
history — Using knowledge and understanding of past events to explain the
present and to help determine the future. This not only applies to our own
individual futures but to the future of our community, our state and even
our nation as we make choices about how we will participate in progress. I
try to make World History a part of my students' preparation for those
choices. My other goal is to help my students improve on a number of
skills that they can use in all their classes throughout high school and
beyond. Skills such as reading effectively (both textbooks and other kinds
of writing), notemaking (not simple copying but creating an accurate
record of our class), essay writing (and the critical thinking necessary
to do it well) and test taking (both preparation for a test and working
through the actual task) are emphasized, practiced and developed all year.
Hopefully, along the way we can also have some fun. Jim Valvano said that there are three things we should all do every day. First, we should get excited about something. I try to bring my excitement about history and learning to the classroom and help my students find their own passion. Second, we should laugh. Whether in the past or the present people provide us with endless opportunities for laughter and I enjoy shining a light on them. Finally, we should cry. I try very hard not to be the cause of this one because, unfortunately, people also provide us with endless opportunities for this one too. I do try to help my students understand, because if we understand the causes of our tears we have a chance to bring about change. |
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| River Valley Civilizations |
| Greek Civilization |
| Roman Civilization |
| Early Islamic Civilization |
| The Middle Ages |
| Medieval Asia |
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The Renaissance & * The Reformation |
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| European Nation-States |
| Asian Development |
| Enlightenment & Revolution |
| Industrialization |
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Imperialism: East Meets West |
| Causes of War |
| Global Civilization |
| Class Notes . | |||
| Assignment Calendars . | Grades . | ||
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