History Belongs To Us

Connection to History

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I am a student of history, a mentor, and a believer in the value of a “good” education. I love children, dogs, and most of all I love my family. My love of writing began as a child, and my greatest hope is that I have passed down that love to the many students I have worked with through the years. You’ll eventually be able to read about a variety of topics on this site, and I will enjoy writing and publishing each and every one.

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  • Dandelions: Who Knew?

    First Thoughts When I see a dandelion, my first reaction is to remind myself to get out and pull the weeds… today. Dandelion seeds make me sneeze, they set off the allergies, they make me itch, and I do not like the way they look in my lawn. I viewed them in the same way…

  • To Build a Fire: Middle School Book Club

    It never ceases to amaze me that the topic of “man against nature” is always a subject capable of stirring up fierce debate. Everyone is all about what they would have done differently, what they wouldn’t have done at all, and often what they wouldn’t know how to do in the first place. It always…

  • Early Egyptian Civilization

    What is History? History is the story of humanity and its longstanding education to understand and live in this world. It traces our development from our beginnings to the present… the world as we know it today. How did the hunter-gatherer society learn to hunt, and what did they hunt for prey? How did they…

  • Life in Ancient Egypt

    Egypt is studied as one of the world’s earliest civilizations. Civilizations, as defined today, are made up of governments, religion, achievement, population, economy, social structure, and specialization, and if we look carefully at the civilizations in which we live today, it is easy to point out the similarities… the world has changed dramatically, and yet,…

  • Ice Age Animals

    What an experience it would be to have one short twenty-four hour period of time to travel into the past and see the world the way it was. Always intrigued by people and the history they’ve lived before us, I often wonder what period I’d most like to visit, but the fact is I don’t…

  • The Million Year Picnic: Middle School Book Club

    The Million Year Picnic by Ray Bradbury Here we are… it’s Wednesday again, and it’s time to catch up with my eighth graders; they are always hard at work, always looking to broaden their scope of knowledge, and always looking for the next debate. They love to disagree… always. I have to tell you that…

  • The Veldt: Middle School Book Club

    Beyond Entertainment Wednesday is my favorite day of the week, well, at least at school. It’s the day I get to move beyond the ever changing routine and actually have a discussion with the kids that they want to have. Wednesday is the day I actively challenge the people who repeatedly tell me that American…

  • Chicago’s Field Museum; Then and Now

    The White City: 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition In 1893, the World’s Columbian Exposition was held in Chicago, Illinois in order to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ voyage to America. In order to host this very important celebration, Chicago had to compete with many other cities throughout the country. In the end, it was…

  • Cave Paintings

    What is Art? If we were to randomly poll a group of people on a city street as to their definitions of the term “art”, we would in all likelihood receive a variety of meanings. The word “art” is in itself many things to different people. For some, it’s viewing paintings in the local museum,…

  • Hull House ~ History of Us ~ Chicago

    Hull House in Chicago, Illinois Jane Addams’ Settlement House On September 18, 1889, Hull House, which would eventually become America’s most influential settlement house, opened its doors. The project, initially funded with the inheritance left to (Laura) Jane Addams by her late father, John H. Adams, a prosperous miller who served in the United States…