History in the News

Umpires

“The role of an umpire and a judge is critical. They make sure everybody plays by the rules. But it is a limited role. Nobody ever went to a ball game to…

Adrift

During my career in the classroom, I displayed a large poster expressing the wisdom of Mark Twain: “Never let your schooling interfere with your education.” It was my way of telling students…

Eyewitness

Two people witnessing an automobile accident often come away with conflicting accounts, even within moments of the event. Ask them six months later to recall the same accident, and their stories will have been transformed by…

Ghetto

When I first wrote about the ghetto as I began the research for my Master’s thesis, it was pointed out by Dr. C., my committee chair, that the use of the word…

Moonshine

“Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency; but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” —Benjamin Franklin, 1789 With…

The DTs

As a writer in search of novel ideas that reflect our world and the significance of its past, I have recently found myself struggling to comment upon anything of importance without encountering…

John Boy

During my days at Malibu Park Junior High School, some of my classmates decided that I should go by the nickname of John Boy. I am almost certain that there were only…

Doomed to Repeat It

A teacher colleague whose job description was similar to my own once lamented that she was burdened with so many responsibilities that she would be unable to teach a designated unit on…

Walter

Forgive me for the details on this one but I have repeatedly told this story to eighth graders over several years and the veracity of the parts of the story that get…

Sir William

An opening line from the 1995 film Braveheart warns us that “history is written by those who have hanged heroes.” What follows, then, is intended as a correction to the historical record;…