19th Century Textbook

https://archive.org/stream/conciseschoolhis02camp#page/n21/mode/2up 

For this activity I am using a 19th century textbook (link above) to discover how kids during that time learned about colonists first interactions with Indians. They were seen as "savages" and this was a term used mostly when the book wanted to discuss Indians in a negative light.

If I were a student being taught material from this textbook, I wouldn't have a very positive view on Indians, nor would I appreciate their way of life. The observations written in the book seem to have a skewed point of view, as though written from the point of view of a white individual or group of white individuals who wish to teach kids in this time to be frightened of  or even hostile toward Indians. I believe that of this way of writing could be due to what was going on in the 19th century in the west with Indians.

Diary from February 22,1872

I read this absolutely tragic article in the paper today. It was about some Indians attacking this small little neighborhood during the French war. They stole the supplies from the settlers all up and down the colonies, then these savages had the nerve to turn the colonies weapons onto the places from which they stole them!

Killburn was the name of one of the first settlers of the area, and the hero of this thrilling story. As these savages crept up to killburn's house, he got the first shot. And with much help from a Colonel Bellows and his men, the savages were taken down. Killburn suffered a bullet to the hip and died from a lack of proper medical aid. 

It is the stories such as these that make us remember how lucky we are and how we are progressively ridding ourselves of the "Indian problem".

Social media vs. newspapers

Our use of social media is selective and intentional so that we tend in only things we've already been interested, whereas newspapers expose readers to information on a broad range of topics, this can connect communities by providing information about what others may be interested in. It may raise questions I never thought to ask

Newspaper history

So what is a newspaper? 

As defined by Merriam Webster is "a set of large sheets of paper that have news stories, information about local events, advertisements, etc., and that are folded together and sold every day or every week".

Where did they originate?

It is said that the first newspapers came about in Europe in the mid 17th century.

What are some of the oldest papers in the US?
The Hartford Courant is the oldest newspaper that is still published today in the United States. It was founded in 1764, and is still up and printing everyday!

"leading stories" in newspapers today!
Taking a look into the Atlanta Journal Constitution website for October 14, 2015, the biggest stories are about the Democratic debate that had taken place the night before, there were also stories about computers at sever airports across the country being down, and a former NBA player being honored for his service as a PE teacher in a school in Georgia.

What is a "Newspaper of Record"?
It is a newspaper that is of large circulation and is very professional. The origin of the "newspaper of record" began in 1913 with the New York Times. Other examples of  newspaper of record are the Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post.


Think about it:
 Social Media vs. Newspapers:

There are many obvious ways that social media and a newspaper are different. Social media is meant to be just as the name implies, social. it is to engage with friends, and to discover new ones. Social media should be as it is designed for: fun and entertaining. It is not the best way to gather truthful fact or news about current events, because people can and do lie in social media. therefore the information isn't always credible.  If I see something that is on social media that I want to learn about, I almost always look for more information on credible websites to make discoveries. Newspapers are a much more credible source, because these stories are based on investigation and fact written in a story.
Social media allows discussion on issues, newspaper doesn't have a way to allow discussion other than in person and over something people have all read.

Indian boarding schools

     In the 1870s, the US government was struggling to introduce the "American lifestyle" to Native Americans. Two men named Herbert Welsh and Henry Pancoast, formed a school for Native American children just off of a reservation in Washington. Their purpose was to teach these children how to be more like all of the white Americans living around them. Their logic was that if they could teach the children the best way to act off of the reservation, then the children could teach the parents how to act. Children took classes in reading and writing, but the most important class that they took was learning how to speak the English language. These classes were to help break the cultural divide between the  By the end of the decade, over 60 schools had been built in different parts of the US. 

     Some people didn't feel as though the schools close to the reservations were getting through to the children. So Col. Richard Henry Pratt chose do take a slightly different route with his school. He opened a boarding school, so as to remove the children from their everyday lives as Native Americans. He was headmaster of his school for 25 years, and all of those years, he lived by the phrase "kill the Indian, save the man", and that's exactly what he tried to do. He gave the children uniforms and new names to go by, as well as white families to live with and be a part of when school wasn't in session. He tried to absolutely destroy the background that these children knew from birth, all because the Indian way of life wasn't suitable to white people. 

     I personally don't believe that these schools were necessary, nor were they morally right for these kids to be uprooted from their families and the culture of their ancestors taken away from them for the comfort and convenience of others. 

Sources:

http://americanindian.si.edu/education/codetalkers/html/chapter3.html

http://www.pbs.org/indiancountry/history/boarding.html

http://www.nrcprograms.org/site/PageServer?pagename=airc_hist_boardingschools

1st Quarter Reflection

     Looking back on what I've learned in history this first quarter, I realize that I've come much further than I thought I would have. I came in on day 1 expecting a class where we sit and have a lecture on historical events that are touched on almost every year in history classes. But after just the first class, I realized that this isn't just a course with a lecture and a project to follow. I've learned how to really think deeply about what I see in a film or how empathy, act like a time machine to take us back in time to aid our understand of these historical events. In addition to developing my knowledge of the subject and my critical thinking skills, I've learned a few tech skills as well. 

     Every time I come into class I expect that I'll have a good discussion, and I will walk away from class with a new thought or perspective in my mind. I have stretched my mind more this year between English and History than I've ever done before. I have learned in this class to think about films in new ways, realizing that they can be seen as ways to tell a true story that not just for amusement for the audience. This new way of studying history has really made me fall in love with the subject.

     My research skills still needs improvement, with better research skills, I will have an easier time writing. Writing and research have always been "good" but what I want is to be an absolutely amazing writer.