Week 34 in Mr. Bruce's History

Parents and Students,

Sorry for getting this out late. I started Friday afternoon, bout couldn't finish. And there are too many projects around my house to occupy my weekend.

As I typed "Week 34" I realized how close we are to the end of the school year. Officially we have two solid weeks of class time and that week in June of exams and that's it. Done. Hard to believe, really. As we wrap up this week, we must recognize that the end is near. Next week, I'll try to share more of the schedule of events as they pertain to you and your need for preparation.

Photo credit: Nina Subin
dontknowmuch.com

I'd like to take an opportunity at the start here to announce an event/opportunity coming on June 3. I have arranged for a Skype conversation with Mr. Kenneth Davis, author/historian of the Don't Know Much About series and other works focusing on sharing lesser-known stories from America's past. His most recent book, In the Shadow of Liberty reveals the unheard stories of slaves belonging to high profile Americans such as George Washington (does it get any higher profile!?). I have arranged for Mr. Davis to speak with us at the end of the day on Friday, June 3 from 1:45ish to 2:45. Because of the nature of the session, I am thinking of making this available on a sign-up basis limited to 35-40 students and arranging opportunities for those who opt-out (rather, miss out). More details to come on that, but in the meantime, look him up at dontknowmuch.com and start planning to get your name on that list.

Otherwise, we spent a good portion of this week getting to understand the progress of the Civil War. I shared some great resources from CivilWar.org and we relied on our textbooks to gain a comprehensive view of the major movements in the Civil War from start to finish. Some key ideas within were the initial optimism of a short war held by both sides, then the significant casualties inflicted by both sides as a result of better weapons technologies. We learned how the abolitionists and the Battle of Antietam shifted Lincoln's view on using the war to bring an end to slavery. Finally, we learned how General Grant changed the strategy toward "total war" against the Confederacy to bring the southern states to a desperate condition in order to bring about a final end to the war, almost exactly 4 years after it began.

Monday we will all begin a timeline activity that puts the major events of this conflict into a chronological view. This will complete our work on the Civil War and we will shift our focus onto the challenges and tragedies facing the nation as it works to rebuild what was torn asunder.

In case you missed it, this past Sunday evening, I had the honor to speak to the graduating Class of 2016 at the QHS Baccalaureate Ceremony. I have linked my speech here for those of you who desire to read it.

I hope you all have a great week. More to come Friday!

Until then, I am yours,
Mr. Bruce