Blogs

On this bright, cool Saturday morning in Scottsdale, I'm writing a lesson for the Lehrer NewsHour website for teachers and students. It's called "Write Obama's Inaugural Address." There's a jigsaw of inauguration readings as a lesson set: Lincoln's in 1865, Wilson's in 1917, FDR's in 1933, JFK's in 1961.

So I have been picking through the words of our most spectacular speakers, already.  read more »

Greetings to All! We are back from Houston where we had another tremendous conference and back from Thanksgiving where we enjoyed family, friends, and food.

Just wanted you to know that Mike Yell and I sent the following letter to the Obama Transition Team to introduce them to National Council for the Social Studies and a few of our priorities.  read more »

October 5: Syd in India

I took the flight from New Delhi to Aurangabad this morning. I was early to the airport, and passed time reading the matrimonial ads in the India Times. I remember these from the 1996 trip to Mumbai and Hyderabad, and they haven't changed at all. Prospective grooms' families still list relentlessly the young men's academic and financial achievements, followed by the request that the bride be fair, tall, and accomplished. While we worry about the racial subtext in the American election, it's right there up front in those ads.  read more »

I have created an open group on Michael M. Yell's Facebook page for "The National Council for the Social Studies."

My description is "This is a group for all social studies (teachers K-grad school, writers, editors, publishers, etc.) professionals.

Let's talk social studies!!"

I have also created an open event listing for the annual conference in Houston.  read more »

Throughout my presidential year, I will maintain a blog that will examine ideas, social studies education, issues that we deal with, conferences that I will attend as president, people that I meet, and whatever else moves me at any given time.  read more »

Great News--We will soon have a companion bill for S.1414, the Alexander/Kennedy bill to expand the sample size for NAEP in U.S. History and Social Studies, stay tuned for more!