My son is graduating from high school this coming weekend and I am feeling mixed emotions.
On the one hand, I am proud, excited, and looking forward to what the future holds. On the other hand, I feel the winds of change, and with them a bit of sadness and apprehension about what lies ahead.
At times like this, I take comfort in knowing that I am not the first person to feel this way. Connecting with primary sources always helps. (Seriously, it does.)
Now we have a way for teachers to bring Library of Congress professional development programming into their homes and classrooms whenever they want it. The Library's education staff has been building a collection of short videos to help teachers enhance their professional learning. The 40 videos focus on building awareness of the Library's various collections as well as on the effective use of these primary source materials.
In the November/December 2016 issue of Social Education, the journal of the National Council for the Social Studies, our “Sources and Strategies” article highlighted George Washington’s very first Presidential Proclamation, described many of the more than 7,700 other proclamations issued by the 44 presidents, and invited students to consider the purpose of such proclamations.
When I learned that Smokey Robinson would be the next recipient of the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, I was thrilled.
The Gershwin Prize honors a living musical artist’s lifetime achievement in promoting the genre of song as a vehicle of cultural understanding; entertaining and informing audiences; and inspiring new generations.
In anticipation of Constitution Day, our "Sources and Strategies" article in the September 2016 issue of Social Education, the journal of the National Council for the Social Studies, suggested provoking student interest in civic responsibility with an 18th century diary entry. The featured entry was that of James McHenry, written on September 18, 1787.
In the May/June 2016 issue of Social Education, the journal of the National Council for the Social Studies, our “Sources and Strategies” article featured The Rocket Book, a children’s book published in 1912.
The details contained in both the story’s prose and its illustrations—from the names and occupations of the tenants to the pastimes and inventions depicted—provide a unique glimpse of urban life in America in the early years of the twentieth century.
In the October 2015 issue of Social Education, the journal of the National Council for the Social Studies, our “Sources and Strategies” article featured a letter written by Thomas Jefferson a little more than 200 years ago. We suggested that Jefferson’s single page letter to his friend Samuel Harrison Smith, founder of the National Intelligencer, might serve to remind students that events in history often overlap one another.
I have never been to Syria. I had only read about and seen images of the ancient ruins in Palmyra. I knew the 2,000-year old Greco-Roman structures were falling apart and had been for centuries. I had, however, no personal experience with them. But late last month, when news reports detailed their destruction, I found myself very upset, and tried explaining why to my children.
On May 13, 1900, using stationery of the Wright Cycle Company, Wilbur Wright handwrote a letter to fellow aviation pioneer Octave Chanute of Chicago, Illinois. I love this 5 page letter!
It contains some of the very best human emotions--there is passion, optimism, tenacity, curiosity, and recognition that together we can solve big problems.
