Being a History teacher you can imagine my confusion upon hearing the news:
“BCS DECLARES GERMANY WINNER OF WORLD WAR II”
US Ranked 4th
After determining the Big-12 championship game participants the BCS computers were put to work on other major contests and today the BCS declared Germany to be the winner of World War II.
"Germany put together an incredible number of victories beginning with the annexation of Austria and the Sudetenland and continuing on into conference play with defeats of Poland, France, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium and the Netherlands. Their only losses came against the US and Russia; however considering their entire body of work--including an incredibly tough Strength of Schedule--our computers deemed them worthy of the #1 ranking."
Questioned about the #4 ranking of the United States the BCS commissioner stated "The US only had two major victories--Japan and Germany. The computer models, unlike humans, aren't influenced by head-to-head contests--they consider each contest to be only a single, equally-weighted event."
German Chancellor Adolph Hiter said "Yes, we lost to the US; but we defeated #2 ranked France in only 6 weeks." Herr Hitler has been criticized for seeking dramatic victories to earn 'style points' to enhance Germany's rankings. Hitler protested "Our contest with Poland was in doubt until the final day and the conditions in Norway were incredibly challenging and demanded the application of additional forces."
The French ranking has also come under scrutiny. The BCS commented " France had a single loss against Germany and following a preseason #1 ranking they only fell to #2."
Japan was ranked #3 with victories including Manchuria, Borneo and the Philippines.
Truthfully . . . as a long time Oklahoma State fan I don’t really care too much about the championship after OSU was out of the running. After many years of frustration in dealing with OU fans however, I do understand UT’s frustration regarding OU being named to play in the championship game against Missouri.
Life continues on here in Oklahoma and I hope all is well with you, thanks for stopping in.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Friday, November 21, 2008
Life continues . . .
in spite of the outcome of the recent elections we continue on in Oklahoma even with the siren call of Victoria, B.C. in the air. The “good” news continues with today’s announcement that Hillary will be the next Secretary of State; she can’t manage her own marriage how will she do with those cultures that see women as inferior objects below men in all aspects of life?
There is true good news however and that deals with family, Thanksgiving, and good food! We are looking forward to having most of the family at our table this Thanksgiving and the possibility of all of our immediate family here for Christmas so that is something to be thankful for.
School continues to go well and my students, at least most of them, continue to work hard and do well in my classes. I’ve just completed a new lesson for my holocaust extra credit project and look forward to using it next semester. It is a movie of sorts using lots of still photographs showing a progression of events in Europe in the 1930s & 40s. It starts with family shots of Jewish families in formal poses and at play giving a personal look into what their individual lives were like before Hitler. From there it progresses into the rounding up of Jews into the various ghettos and the random violence and suffering that took place. The video moves into the camps and the treatment and murders that take place there. The piece ends with photos of the various memorials to those killed in the Final Solution, the final slide of a stained glass memorial showing the tortured spirits of those lost in the camps. The visuals are shown with Barbers Adagio for strings playing for the entire 8 minutes and 40 seconds of the presentation. The purpose was to show the progression of the treatment of the Jews but beginning with them portrayed as ordinary people, like your neighbors. Ending of course with their tragic treatment and death at the hands of the Nazi’s but finally with the Memorials that have been built to their memories. I know to the non-educator this all sounds so dreadful and morbid but is one of the more important lessons I teach all year and one I want to have not only a lasting mental impression but emotional one as well.
If I can tie in their emotions,
they will "never forget" . . .
Deuteronomy 25: 17, 19
There is true good news however and that deals with family, Thanksgiving, and good food! We are looking forward to having most of the family at our table this Thanksgiving and the possibility of all of our immediate family here for Christmas so that is something to be thankful for.
School continues to go well and my students, at least most of them, continue to work hard and do well in my classes. I’ve just completed a new lesson for my holocaust extra credit project and look forward to using it next semester. It is a movie of sorts using lots of still photographs showing a progression of events in Europe in the 1930s & 40s. It starts with family shots of Jewish families in formal poses and at play giving a personal look into what their individual lives were like before Hitler. From there it progresses into the rounding up of Jews into the various ghettos and the random violence and suffering that took place. The video moves into the camps and the treatment and murders that take place there. The piece ends with photos of the various memorials to those killed in the Final Solution, the final slide of a stained glass memorial showing the tortured spirits of those lost in the camps. The visuals are shown with Barbers Adagio for strings playing for the entire 8 minutes and 40 seconds of the presentation. The purpose was to show the progression of the treatment of the Jews but beginning with them portrayed as ordinary people, like your neighbors. Ending of course with their tragic treatment and death at the hands of the Nazi’s but finally with the Memorials that have been built to their memories. I know to the non-educator this all sounds so dreadful and morbid but is one of the more important lessons I teach all year and one I want to have not only a lasting mental impression but emotional one as well.
If I can tie in their emotions,
they will "never forget" . . .
Deuteronomy 25: 17, 19
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Election night blues . . .
Well it’s the evening of the election results and unfortunately my predictions are coming true. It appears that January will bring major changes in life in America. I asked Linda earlier this week where in Canada she’d like to move if the election doesn’t go according to our wishes and suggested that Victoria on Vancouver Island would be my choice. Too far north but then that is pretty much true of Canada in general. :-)
My concern with the change will be for the safety of the new president, can’t say his name yet. It will come but not tonight. If some nut does something stupid the result could be real disaster, and Biden doesn’t seem up to coping with that kind of future to me. So, I will begin to pray in earnest for the safety of a man that I didn’t vote for. I will also begin to pray for divine guidance for him in all decisions that he makes.
I’m glad that I don’t feel panic but only great concern for our nation and the direction that it is headed. From my point of view those now moving into leadership represent the worst fruits of our nation, secular leaders with little to no concern for our spiritual direction. It all seems so Old Testament in a turn away from the light of the world.
Enough optimism this evening; I think I’ll watch something on the food channel.
Check back later and make sure I’m still in Oklahoma and not teaching Canadian history.
My concern with the change will be for the safety of the new president, can’t say his name yet. It will come but not tonight. If some nut does something stupid the result could be real disaster, and Biden doesn’t seem up to coping with that kind of future to me. So, I will begin to pray in earnest for the safety of a man that I didn’t vote for. I will also begin to pray for divine guidance for him in all decisions that he makes.
I’m glad that I don’t feel panic but only great concern for our nation and the direction that it is headed. From my point of view those now moving into leadership represent the worst fruits of our nation, secular leaders with little to no concern for our spiritual direction. It all seems so Old Testament in a turn away from the light of the world.
Enough optimism this evening; I think I’ll watch something on the food channel.
Check back later and make sure I’m still in Oklahoma and not teaching Canadian history.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Log entry, Star date 10-27-08
Not being of the generation of Lord of the Rings or The latest trilogy that relates to Star Wars I've hung on to the sci-fi that I know, Star Trek with a little history thrown in.
I teach U.S. History in high school, hence the play on the Best Generation and I was just out of high school when Star Trek first aired in 1966. That is a weak attempt to tie into the The Next Generation although I'm really the original generation of Star Trek with James T. Kirk, aka William Shatner, as the fearless leader.
My hobby and vocation now are the same, the study of U.S. History. I was a banker for nearly 20 years before I saw the light and made a quality of life change. One of my favorite bank clients told me after I moved away from his area that his newly assigned banker didn't take interest the way that I had but eventually even I lost interest and finally moved away from banking entirely. In fact I don't even go into banks unless it is a must. :-)
Teaching history is what I love to do and currently teach 3 sections of AP U.S. History. That is the difficult one that allows you to earn college credit while still in high school if you pass the test in May. That should tell you that I'm the teacher that you either really wanted in high school or the one you avoided like the plague depending on if you really wanted to learn some history or were just trying to skate by with as little effort as possible. Those students that stay with me work hard but we try and enjoy our efforts to expand our knowledge. My summers are filled with private study and travel hopefully combined. I've spent the past 10-12 summers traveling to some great locations studying history and for the most part on someone else’s dime. This is the time of year that I get online and look for grant opportunities providing money for study/tours on American history. My students think I'm crazy to spend my off time preparing for next years work. I enjoy travel and working with other teachers crazy in the same way. I've met some wonderful teachers over the years and still try to stay in contact with some of them.
Done for now, hope you enjoy passing through.
Bill
I teach U.S. History in high school, hence the play on the Best Generation and I was just out of high school when Star Trek first aired in 1966. That is a weak attempt to tie into the The Next Generation although I'm really the original generation of Star Trek with James T. Kirk, aka William Shatner, as the fearless leader.
My hobby and vocation now are the same, the study of U.S. History. I was a banker for nearly 20 years before I saw the light and made a quality of life change. One of my favorite bank clients told me after I moved away from his area that his newly assigned banker didn't take interest the way that I had but eventually even I lost interest and finally moved away from banking entirely. In fact I don't even go into banks unless it is a must. :-)
Teaching history is what I love to do and currently teach 3 sections of AP U.S. History. That is the difficult one that allows you to earn college credit while still in high school if you pass the test in May. That should tell you that I'm the teacher that you either really wanted in high school or the one you avoided like the plague depending on if you really wanted to learn some history or were just trying to skate by with as little effort as possible. Those students that stay with me work hard but we try and enjoy our efforts to expand our knowledge. My summers are filled with private study and travel hopefully combined. I've spent the past 10-12 summers traveling to some great locations studying history and for the most part on someone else’s dime. This is the time of year that I get online and look for grant opportunities providing money for study/tours on American history. My students think I'm crazy to spend my off time preparing for next years work. I enjoy travel and working with other teachers crazy in the same way. I've met some wonderful teachers over the years and still try to stay in contact with some of them.
Done for now, hope you enjoy passing through.
Bill
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