Recently, the eighth graders of Parkway West Middle School’s Gifted program went through the White House Decision Center at the Truman Library in Independence, Missouri. The library is a long way away from their hometown of St. Louis, so the teens had to catch their charter bus bright and early on Friday, November 8th. “It was strange to be at the school before anyone else!” said student Betsy Wait, giggling during the interview. On the way, the students ate lunch and then performed the Truman Library’s simulation for about four hours. Mrs. Carter, the instructor of the program who is very dedicated to her students, reported that “The kids were tuckered out. By the time they arrived at West Middle, it was almost 10’ o’ clock at night!” Long and challenging, the field trip was an expedition that took the students to the outstandingly historical Truman Library, dedicated to 1950s President Harry S. Truman.
The Truman Library trip was necessary to synthesize all that the gifted 14- year-olds had learned, and it was also done in a long- standing tradition for West’s MOSAICS program. As the gifted teachers in Parkway can select the enrichment activities for their students, the White House Decision Center program is one of the favorites of Mrs. Carter. “We have been going to the Truman Library for many years now, and the students always learn so much.” Like a “Game Day”, the trip also put what the eighth graders had been working on for more than a month into a real situation. “We learned about the Korean Conflict, held discussions and problem-solving scenarios, and wrote an essay,” said Paul Krauss. The students, like many classes before them, used their trip to the White House Decision Center to reenact Truman’s briefings about the K...
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... few future plans inspired by the trip. To start, Instructor Donna Carter is most definitely coming back next year. “There’s no reason not to!” she exclaims, “The trip is always one of the students’ favorites.” The students have also been moved by the experience. “I think I might come back with my family sometime. There was an interesting museum attached,” said Solomi Inje. Other students express an increased interest in government positions. “A job like what I did on the trip would be very interesting and intense,” said Ronny Fields. In the end, West Middle MOSAICS definitely recommends the White House decision center and the Truman Library to everyone. For more information, visit www.trumanlibrary.org .
In a thoughtful moment on the trip, student Laura Wetzel declared, “It is never a bad time to learn something new!” The students of Parkway West Middle all agree.
“Was Truman Responsible for the Cold War”, well, according to author Arnold A. Offner, his simplistic answer is an obvious “yes.” “Taking Sides” is a controversial aspect of the author’s interpretation for justifying his position and perception of “Truman’s” actions. This political approach is situated around the “Cold War” era in which the author scrutinizes, delineates, and ridicules his opponents by claiming “I have an ace in the hole and one showing” (SoRelle 313). Both authors provide the readers with intuitive perceptions for their argumentative approaches in justifying whether or not “Truman” contributed to the onset of the “Cold War.” Thus far, it would be hard-pressed to blame one single individual, President or not, for the “Cold War” initiation/s. Information presented shows the implications centered on the issues leading up to the Cold War”, presents different ideologies of two Presidents involving policy making, and a national relationship strained by uncooperative governments.
The reform of history textbook has always been a growing concern. In her “America Revised: A History of Schoolbooks in the twentieth century,” Frances Fitzgerald reveals that history books are updated but modified substantially to comply with the national interest at the time. Fitzgerald’s argument is slightly biased and some pieces of evidence are not sufficient or might even be far-fetched. However, she successfully conveys her argument through comprehensively contrasting the current history books for children with histories of the fifties using various rhetorical devices and plentiful examples.
Offner, Arnold. “‘Another Such Victory’: President Truman, American Foreign Policy, and the Cold War.” Taking Sides: Clashing Views On Controversial Issues in United States History. Ed. Larry Madaras and James M. SoRelle. 14th Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011. 291-301.
James Loewen, author of Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything your American Text Book Got Wrong, wrote about the grim nature of the American educational system. Loewen spent a couple of years gathering intimate details about twelve American history textbooks. In his search, he found convoluted truths of what it means to be a patriot, and worst of all, the misrepresentation of the truth in the educational system. We must think about why a government would want to mislead its people, like in the case of the 1954 Iranian Coup orchestrated by the CIA. Perhaps it is comfort in knowing that all of the conflicts we’ve been involved in are reasonably sound, to remove our abilities to think critically, or to rightfully be proud of a bloody
Truman, much like the prisoners in the cave, would know no difference then what they have been taught or shown to be the real world their whole lives. If T...
Terkel, Studs. "The Good War": An Oral History of World War Two. New York: Pantheon,
A key part in the history of America’s schools involves clashes over culture and religion, as well as racial and ethnic conflicts. The struggle for power between different aspects in our educational history has shaped the way we learn today.
In the beginning, Stanley explains the conditions that the children and their families face such as a limited income and lack of support. The conditions later cause a rejection of acceptance from classmates at school. Even though the conditions the Okies faced were relevant to the 1930s’, the same struggles are still relevant all across classrooms in America.
Truman’s accomplishments in his domestic policy were impressive, considering the hardships the nation was experiencing as World War II came to an end, and the resistance of Congress (which was greatly made up of Republicans and conservatives) to liberalism. The president was able to pas...
"At Lincoln Elementary school, there were three types of kids, the really bad kids, the really good kids, and the really smart kids. Nick Allen wasn't any of them, because he was a kind of his own, and everyone knew it. Was Nick a troublemaker?" We'll leave that for you to decide. "One thing's for sure: Nick Allen had plenty of ideas, and he knew what to do with them. Lincoln Elementary needed a good jolt once in a while, and Nick was just the guy to deliver it.”
Hasegawa, Tsuyoshi. “Racing the Enemy: Stalin, Truman and the Surrender of Japan.” Taking Sides: Clashing View in United States History. Ed. Larry Madaras & James SoRelle. 15th ed. New York, NY. 2012. 289-298.
I believe that learning is a journey that both child and educator set out on together. This journey is a privilege that I take seriously, realizing that a child’s early years are a key formative time in their life. I believe that it is during this time that important foundations are being set in place that will not only impact them in the present but will also influence them later on in life.
...es the American and Soviet officials for the lack of tolerance for one another and how that led to unnecessary military tension. Additionally, he uses the story to criticize military-industry complex that led to the Nuclear Arms Race. However, this tale is not only applicable to the Cold War. The wall between the Yooks and Zooks parallels the racial divide that dominated the US. While a seemingly depressing book for children, Geisel ends the book on a hopeful note. As the Yooks and the Zooks are on the verge of destroying each other, the book ends with a blank page to follow. This blank page represents the unwritten future—that the problems of ignorance and unnecessary militarization could be changed. As a novel to the future generations, Geisel’s cliff hanger provides children the opportunity to create their own ending, both for the butter battle in in real life.
I have realized by watching my children learn and grow that every day is a learning experience. Each day they wake up ready for a new ch...
Thomas Gradgrind Sr., a father of five children, has lived his life by the book and never strayed from his philosophy that life is nothing more than facts and statistics. He has successfully incorporated this belief into the school system of Coketown, and has tried his best to do so with his own children. The educators see children as easy targets just waiting to be filled with information. They did not consider, however, the children’s need for fiction, poetry, and other fine arts that are used to expand children’s minds, all of which are essential today in order to produce well-...