Welcome back, 2014!

Hi everyone, and welcome back to another great year in Mrs. Olsen's history classes.

This year I'll be teaching freshman history and AP European history.

Every summer, Mrs. Olsen goes somewhere interesting to learn more about history and make her a better teacher.  This year, she studied the nuclear industry that developed at the Hanford site near the tri cities of Washington state.

She even got to tour the B2 reactor where the plutonium was produced for Trinity (the test site) and Nagasaki bombs.  It was interesting and sad at the same time.  I even saw where the plant was disconnected as the cold war came to an end.  Seeing a nuclear power plant up close was pretty interesting.

I don't think I received any radiation, but if my hair starts to frizz, let me know!

Though most of our work is done in class, I will be putting an update on the website, so click on the left for your class work. 

Afghanistan Girl.....

In 10th grade history, we are fast approaching the end of the year.  I posted the picture of the Afghan girl from the National Geographic outside my door.  I am always surprised to see students stop and read about her.  They talk about how different she looks.

No one really can ever forget her beautiful eyes....but after twenty years, her life had exposed her to the sun and open fires, hard work and the trials that await so many women of the 'global south.'  You can read about her story here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghan_Girl

 This month, I'll be attending an Global Girl Empowerment conference up in Portland.  Last year's conference was on the African continent. 

I have also been encouraging my female students to speak up more in class.  The recent ban bossy movement promoted by Sheryl Sandberg highlighted how girls are often asked to speak less often in class.  Since I've instated a few of these changes, the BOYS are now telling me to make sure I ask the GIRLS like I committed to when I discussed this with them. 

The American Indian Movement

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 In Sophomore American History, students are learning about the American Indian Movement.  During this time, Indians fought for greater rights while highlighting the injustices of the past.  Reservations were barricaded and there was random violence.  Most of the protests, however, involved civil disobedience.  At the Academy Awards, actor Marlon Brando was up for an Oscar for his performance in The Godfather.  When his name was announced, we were stunned to see a beautiful Native American woman come up to the stand and refuse the award.  The short speech she read spoke of Mr. Brando's disgust with the portrayal of American Indians on screen, but also alluded to past injustices in real Native American History.  I remember seeing this happen, and there was a loud murmur and some heckling while she attempted to read her speech.  Students in my class now get to read Brando's speech from this controversial time. 

Crimean Peninsula

With Crimea's decision to join the Russian Federation, we have spent some time discussing border changes in class.  The other day, I stood in front of the map, during period 6, and colored it yellow (Russia).  Students asked about the dark line between the Czech Republic and Slovakia...and I explained the Velvet revolution.

Then they asked about the dark line at the bottom of Yugoslavia...again I explained about Kosovo's independence.  Now I just placed a line at the top of the Crimean Peninsula.  At Sprague, we have quite a few Ukrainian and Russian students...one of my students was even born in Yalta...the site of the 1945 conference. 

This is an exciting time for Russia, not so much for the Ukraine.  Students will be learning about other border changes---as we move in the annexations of Germany during the 1930's.  Catherine the Great was thrilled to finally get her port on the Black Sea....and I have always thought that Crimea should be a part of Russia.  Still, it is interesting to see these historic changes come about....

Faberge and the lost world of the Russian Romanov family...

Students in 9th grade history are learning about World War I and the Russian Revolution.  We spend a slide show learning about the Romanovs, the last royal family of Russia.  They will also see in afilm, Rasputin, how the Tsars' bad decisions let to the downfall of the dynasty...and some brutal deaths.

Peter Carl Faberge was the court jeweler to the Romanov family.  Faberge was originally from Baltic Germany, and the Faberge firm was known for their use of precious and semi-precious gemstones, often in whimsical ways.  Since Easter was a major holiday in the Russian Orthodox calendar, eggs were made from precious materials, with different themes, and given to various members of the royal family.

Those are some fancy Easter eggs...most of the eggs are now in the Russian state museums, but Queen Elizabeth of England also owns the greatest number outside of Russia.

The Russian Royal eggs are tinged with sadness....a time when Russia oppressed its poor and communist cells plotted to take over the government. It all came tumbling down into a chaotic revolution that took hundreds of thousands of lives.

Olympics and Sports Nationalism

Ninth grade students are learning about the America's new frontiers in their Imperialism unit.  After the Wild West was tamed, America needed a new frontier.  Hawaii, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines were areas where America expanded in territory and influence.

Sports supported this idea of competition.  They evolved into national events such as the Olympics and the Tour de France. Since that time, many Olympics have been held.  Some have been tainted (such as the Berlin 1936 Olympics), others have been subject to terrorist attacks (Munich Olympics), while others have been boycotted...Moscow and Los Angeles.   This year the Olympics are going to be held in Sochi, Russia.  This is a fantastic opportunity for Russia to host an Olympics since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the communist regimes of Eastern Europe.  Students in ninth grade will be receiving a mini-lesson on the Olympics when they begin in February. 
The first modern day Olympics was held in Athens, Greece in 1896.  It was based on Baron de Coubertin's own philosophy:

The important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle, the essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.



 

Buffalo in Oregon

Students in 9th grade have been learning about the settling of the west.  They have learned about how the Indians were forced to assimilate.  They have read quotes about "soddies" and "rattlesnake dens."   They have also learned about how the buffalo were exterminated by the advance of manifest destiny.

The history of the buffalo also includes part of the boundaries of the state of Oregon.  The lower southeast corner of the state once had numerous herds of  plains bison.  By 1887, these buffalo were eliminated from Oregon.  Now, students eagerly shared their experiences of seeing buffalo in farms throughout the Willamette Valley.  There is even a rare herd of white buffalo in Oregon.  Students also learned that the handiest way to kill the buffalo was to herd them over cliffs, where they were easier to slaughter after their limbs were broken.