??? Thomas Harrison White ???

Sherri, Mary and I were partners at the National Park Service classroom activity today.  We saw a drawing of Bishop White's son, who looked sickly and whose portrait notes said he died in 1820.  We wondered what he died of, so I texted it to myself to look up later.  Yeah, I'm a geek like that...

Anyway, I found this PDF from NPS, which says on page 8 that he lived to 1859. 

I'm confused.  Anyone have any insight on this? 

Day 1 of Summer Institute

My mind is just spinning!  What cool stuff we got to see today at the Archives and "backstage" at the State Museum!  I could have spent days in those rooms, just looking around and imagining the people who used those donated items.

I'm looking forward to a good night's sleep before trying to learn more tomorrow!  I hope you all had a great time at dinner and the hotel.  I'm looking forward to spending more time talking with you in the morning.  

Comparison of Hakim/Wood books

The topic I chose was the Boston Tea Party, since I had just taught it to my students.  Wood's book gave a much more in-depth study of the situation surrounding it than the Hakim text had done.  I learned why the East India company was given the right to be the sole tea-sellers in the Colonies and how that added to the Colonists' fear of England's rule.

I think that Hakim's book serves a different purpose than Wood's.  Hakim's is more of an overview of important events and is designed to whet the appetite of reluctant or disinterested history students.  Wood's book is not nearly as entertaining, but seems to provide a deeper look into the situations that surrounded the big events in the American Revolution.