In fall 2007, the Department of History at Fort Hays State University (FHSU) began offering an undergraduate certificate of emphasis as well as a Master's degree in the field of Public History. Now entering the third year of existence, the program has a small but enthusiastic group of students involved and is continuing to build to the future.…

The Completion Agenda has emerged as the overarching mission of the community college. Never in the history of the community college movement has an idea so galvanized stakeholders--from the White House to the state house. Never has so much funding from philanthropic groups, such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Lumina Foundation, been…

The authors collaborated on hosting a "Spring Inspire Day." planned and delivered by preservice elementary teachers as a social studies/science methods project. Projects that have authentic application opportunities can make learning meaningful for prospective teachers as well as elementary students. With the impetus for an integrated…

A proposal is made suggesting the inclusion of historiography (i.e., historical research and the writing of history) into graduate technology teacher education. In particular, a strategy is forwarded to have graduate students in technology teacher education, who are working at schools in different locations, conduct historical research and write…

A typical U.S. high school student today might be able to recite some milestones of civil rights history--the Montgomery bus boycott of 1955-56; the Freedom Rides of 1961; and (some would add) the election of the first African American president in 2008. But how many students understand that these events, which historians call out as milestones,…

This study was an action research design which examined the effects of infusing the local history of North Alabama into the traditional Early American History curriculum to assess the effect on student interest, multicultural awareness, and success on the Alabama High School Graduation Exam history portion. This study found no significance when…

A combination of factors including Global Climate Change, population growth, depletion of natural resources, and degradation of the environment have contributed to a general consensus concerning the need for man to amend his relation with the earth in order to perpetuate the survival and well-being of future generations of human beings. An…

One can't make the trip to New Orleans for NAESP's Annual Convention and Exposition without checking out a few of the historic and cultural attractions that are within a short walk, or streetcar or cab ride, from the Morial Convention Center and the convention hotels. This article presents a taste of what one can explore between convention events.

Much of what has been written about local, state, and national approaches related to the desegregation of public schools focuses on administrative concerns, policy debates, and other issues faced by schools, yet there are still many stories of initiatives designed to facilitate school integration in the twentieth century to be told. The lives, the…

In this article, the author describes how historians and history buffs work to close the knowledge gap about the Black Civil War experience. The war is being revisited in some college history courses and is being championed this year by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. The nation's oldest and largest organization…

Samuel Gist was a wealthy British merchant who, toward the end of his life, lived in England, but owned a considerable amount of land with a large number of slaves in America. Upon his death in 1815, his will specified that within one year his slaves should be emancipated, and his estate was to provide them with a new beginning in the form of…

Decades of research into which instructional strategies are successful in K-12 history and social studies conclude that having students write is extremely important. Effective writing assignments--whether a 3- to 5-paragraph essay, a longer term-paper-style assignment, or even a fictional short story based on a historical period or event--require…

Two articles are presented in this column. "Life in an Auto Factory: Simulating how Labor and Management Interact" by Eric B. Freedman describes a classroom simulation of management and labor relations in an auto factory. Classroom handouts are included. The next article, "Women of Action and County Names: Mary Musgrove County--Why…

This publication follows the tradition of publishing selected papers from Pacific Islands Association of Libraries, Archives and Museums (PIALA) annual conferences. This 22th annual conference was held in Tumon, Territory of Guam USA, November 13-16, 2012. The volume begins with a listing of the members of the PIALA 2012 Planning Committee and…

This paper focuses on the exclusion of black peoples from the English countryside. It particularly considers how white imaginaries of the English rural have ignored historical geographies of the black presence. Firstly the paper reflects upon the heritage of Englishness as represented in and through the rural tradition. It then presents some…