US History (Monday, January 9, 7th period)

[professor-lyman.livejournal.com]

Josh put down his copy of the Washington Post when students began arriving.

"Welcome to US history. I'm Josh Lyman and up until a few weeks ago I was the deputy chief of staff for President Josiah Bartlet. You may all be suitably impressed now." He looked around the room. "Good."

"A few quick things. First of all, this won't be like most history classes you've had. Um, if you're from the United States and this part of the timeline, in any case. And can I say upfront that even having to modify my statement like that is still a bit on the weird side for my taste?

"Moving on. I'm not going to be teaching this class as a series of dates that you'll memorize for tests and then forget. Dates don't matter. Events matter. Broad themes matter." He raised his eyebrows. "There'll still be tests, though, but don't stress yourselves out trying to remember the exact date that the Northwest Territories opened to white settlement or the day Chief Joseph surrendered.

"I'm also not going to waste time explaining that the United States is the best country in the history of history, which was pretty much the overarching theme of my high school history classes. America has made some tremendous achievements and some huge strides towards freedom for all--but we're not there yet, and we've certainly had some colossal screw-ups. If you don't think so, I invite you to pay a visit to Pine Ridge reservation out in South Dakota, or to read the Dred Scot decision.

"History isn't static, and there isn't just one interpretation of any event. This class will be about discussing this fact." He looked around the room. "Which means if you don't open your mouth, you're not going to do very well. I'm not huge on paperwork, so most of your grade will be based on class participation."

He picked up a sign-up sheet from his desk. "Please be sure to sign in every class. If you're not here, you can't participate. If you can't participate, you can't pass. Also, you get detention, which I'm led to believe isn't your standard 'sit in a musty classroom with the health teacher' deal."

He smiled and pointed at the board, where he had scrawled a quote. Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it. "George Santayana wasn't talking about summer school. After you've signed in, please introduce yourself to the class and tell us what you think he meant."

Comments

Re: Discussion question.

[wraithbaitjohn.livejournal.com]

"So, okay, if the Republicans are demons, what group does Nader belong in?"

Re: Discussion question.

[professor-lyman.livejournal.com]

"I'll have to ask," Josh said, "but for now, I'm betting alien."

Re: Discussion question.

[courier-gavin.livejournal.com]

Jake gave them both blank looks. "...Okay. In, you know, actual class, you're going to explain who people are, right?"

Re: Discussion question.

[professor-lyman.livejournal.com]

Josh looked abashed. "The Republican Party is the conservative party in the United States. They didn't start out tha way, though, and we'll get into their evolution in class. Ralph Nader is a huge pain in the ass--I mean, a liberal businessman who ran as an independent candidate in the 2000 presidential elections. There are Democrats--the liberal party in the United States who are by far smarter and better-looking than the Republicans--who hold him responsible for the loss of Al Gore, the Democratic candidate that year." Josh shrugged. "I blame the vote-counting issues in Florida more myself. And we'll try to get to that, too."