The Gilded Age

After a three week break, it was wonderful to see everyone again. I loved hearing how your Christmas break went and seeing your smiling faces again. I also love that even after three weeks apart, we can jump right back into discussing anything and everything. And we do discuss everything!

We are now starting the second volume of Exploring America. Wow! I can hardly believe we are on the last book! From here on out, we will be creeping closer and closer to our own arrival time in this country. Starting us off was the election of President Hayes, or "His Fraudulency". He was known for possessing a strong and honest character, but even the forces of corruption were too strong for him to avoid. He brought the period of Reconstruction to an end and worked towards bringing the nation together.
We also came across the second assassination of a U.S. President. Garfield was shot by a crazed office seeker, as he passed through a Washington train station. He was able to hang on for a bit, but eventually died from his wound.
An important topic in this Unit was the issue of money. Shocking, right?! Why is money always an issue? Before we latched on to paper money and coin, we simply traded goods for the items we needed. Should we go back to trading goats for a table, or a bushel of corn for a winter coat? It is interesting to think about. We all agreed that our society has become a bit materialistic, but in what way? Is it our desire to acquire more? Our need to keep up with our neighbors? Hmmm.... At what point does a desire for certain items become materialistic? Something to think about.

The "War of Wealth" is nothing new, and we will closely examine that in the coming weeks. I have a few fun ideas in mind to demonstrate this issue.

Ok, so on to the homework for this week:
-Read Unit 17
-Choose 1 Unit Project to complete
-Complete bible assignments ( 1 Peter 2:19-21), and all assignments at the end of each lesson.
-American Voices: hymns by Philip P. Bliss, "The Significance of the Frontier in American History", "The New Colossus", "Casey and the Bat", "O Master Let Me Walk With Thee".

One final note: please be sure to turn in all assignments, so you receive proper credit for them. I don't like giving out anything but "A's", and an easy way to get an "A" is to turn in assignments. I will send out grades for the first semester at the end of the week by email. Of course, your parent will issue you your final grade. Mine is a suggestion for completed work and participation in class.

Have a great week!