Mayflower Compact

Pilgrims signing the Compact

In the name of God, Amen. We whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord King James, by the Grace of God of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, etc. Having undertaken, for the Glory of God and advancement of the Christian Faith and Honour of our King and Country, a Voyage to plant the First Colony in the Northern Parts of Virginia, do by these presents solemnly and mutually in the presence of God and one of another, Covenant and Combine ourselves together into a Civil Body Politic, for our better ordering and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute and frame such just and equal Laws, Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions and Offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the Colony, unto which we promise all due submission and obedience. In witness whereof we have hereunder subscribed our names at Cape Cod, the 11th of November, in the year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord King James, of England, France and Ireland the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth. Anno Domini 1620.

Link to the Constitution

US Constitution and Amendments
Here is a readable and printable copy of the US Constitution and Amendments

dealing with a loss

Life is so full of complications and therefore it is full of solutions.  This positive thinking is usually enough to keep me optimistic and productive, but there are also occurrences about which we are helpless to act upon.

What do I say to the child of a parent has just passed away,  what do you do about  the final part of a life.  How easy it is to say just carry on -- "they would want you to enjoy yourself" -- "she/he lead a good life and we must remember the good things."  Everything said is meant to help, but only time makes the pain lessen and there really is no solution to this sad, yet inevitable part of life. With the passing of someone there is amazing grief  witnessing the sadness of the people you love the most.  It rips the heart to see your own children so deeply distressed, yet we are powerless to truly make everything alright.   

Be happy there are people who love you

Grasp at the chance to help the living--love and adore you kids--smile at strangers--and observe the wonder all around you, for it will not always be there.  Change happens--the circle of life is filled with every emotion and with every pain and joy. 

great link for students studying USA Wars

Simthsonsian War Exhibit

The above link is an awesome aid to help students follow the great tragedy of American Wars.

What is important

Camille, Dan and Eric

Lovina Gulotta

Santi Gulotta

Brian, Alison, Liam, Summerly, and Deb

Some things in life are much more important than the Small stuff.  Is winning a game more significant the a grandchild's smile? Is being first in line for lunch more gratifying than a kind compliment from you to a loved one?  Do not believe the people who say there is always tomorrow--for today may be the most important day of your life.  Life is an amazing gift that is fabulous and fragile.  Live it--protect it--make the most of it, but while you are doing that: never forget the people around you.  

The real lesson one learns from observing happy people is that they offer acts of kindness more frequently than they display selfishness.

In 6 days my 34th year as an educator begins: may I be up to the task of being an example of how to treat people, and of how to live a life that touches others with lessons of respect, love, and integrity.

Cookbook odyssey

My wife Deborah is on a mission to create every one of the recipies in the "ONE WORLD VEGETARIAN COOKBOOK" by Troth Wells.  (sounds like a movie, and it is a bit disconcerting to eat recipes made by a man named TROTH: are we to line up with our hands behind our back and dig in like we are after holloween apples?) Last night we had # one  "Baba ghanoush", or eggplant dip. It was fluffy and pretty good.  The blender was in use during its creation for 20 minutes, but the results were better than satisfactory, for it was very nice.  It would go with many things -- Italian Sausage -- hot sauces could be added -- and any dipping chip or bread.  Anyways I am sure to be tasting many different vegetarian dishes in the next few years so I am prepared to have the courage to tell her if they are not pleasing, because why should I eat something that I do not like twice and the truth will set one free. I am lucky to have a good chef in the family who is willing to experiment, and I am happy to taste away.

still without pc

I have been unable to to post in my normal fashion for my computer died and my good wife's pc does not offer the same options.  We have made changes to our house in Sandwich--two new blinds--new air conditioner which will cool the entire downstairs to be installed on 16 August 2012--dead tree in the back of the yard will be removed using a 50 / 50 deal with the abutter--I am receiving an estimate for a porch on the front of the house--new oven because the old one would not bake above 175 -- new fridge--we keep trying to make it the home we want.

It is amazing to experince the difference between competent and incompetent contractors.  The team of dilivery men who brought the fridge dented it in three places and broke one of the shelves.  They also took paint off of our entry way.  It is now a bigger hassle for a new dilivery team is bringing the replacement on friday.  Humans make mistakes and all of us must try to remain civil, but it is a difficult thing at times.

worried

My computer died and it is very difficult and stressful to think about what will happen if the good people in the school tech office can not rectify the situation.

still learning

My son Dan, his wife Camille, and my grandson Eric are with us in Sandwich for two weeks.  Eric (two months) has a cold and it is amazing how it makes a grandparent feel to see their little loved one under the weather.  Life is full of emotional peeks and valleys and a sick little boy is an incredibly deep valley.  The silver lining is observing how wonderful Camille and Dan are at parenting.  It must be love that makes them good parents for their is no other way to go about becoming one.  Think only of the welfare of the child and things work out best.  What a great lesson for grandfather to learn.

Life is good

Dan and Camille

I am on Cape Cod with my son, grandson, and daughter-in-law. Life is good to those who are lucky enough to have great parents and Eric (born 6/15/12) has great ones. It warms the heart to watch my son and his wife with their son, for like the theme to the movie, "Love Actually," love is actually all around them. Take stock of the wonderful moments in life and remember that it is better to be good to the people you are with than to hope they do something for you. Today we will go to the beach and eat lobster for supper--there may even be a Cape Cod beer involved.

Wow--Running and the Olympics are Inspiring

Below is a post from boston.com - sports - (the link so you can read the entire article is posted below) 

I found this race to be so inspiring.  These young men trained so hard together, and Galen Rupp has been USA's best for years.  Running is pure competition, and these men were awesome.

LONDON — Midway through the men’s 10,000 final Saturday night, medal contenders from Ethiopia, Eritrea and Kenya were surging. Again. American Galen Rupp started to feel anxious about his position. He wondered if he should go with the African runners. Then, amid the almost-deafening cheers of 80,000 spectators at the Olympic Stadium, Rupp heard the familiar voice of his training partner, British runner Mo Farah, in his ear. At that critical moment, Farah, 29, was the prophetic voice of experience. “Relax mate, everything’s fine,” Farah told Rupp. “We’ve just got to play it cool right now and save everything until the finish.” And that was exactly what they did. The Somali-born Farah broke away from a 12-runner pack at the bell, outkicking the field over the final lap. Spurred by the home crowd, he accelerated down the final straight to capture gold in 27 minutes, 30.42 seconds. Rupp moved from fourth to second in the closing sprint for silver, finishing in 27:30.90. Ethiopia’s Tariku Bekele took bronze in 27:31.43, besting his older brother and two-time defending Olympic champion, Kenenisa, for a spot on the medal stand. “Today’s the best moment of my life,” said Farah. “It doesn’t get better than this. Being an Olympic champion is the best thing in the world. This is what we train for, why we put in all the hard work week in and week out, put in over 100 miles a week. Then, to have the Olympics right on your doorstep and to become Olympic champion, it doesn’t get any better than that. If it wasn’t for the crowd and the support I got today, I don’t think I would have won that gold because it was a very close race.” Farah crossed the line in wide-eyed shock, put his hands to his head in an expression of disbelief, then collapsed to the track, overwhelmed by the moment. In an event dominated by Ethiopians and Kenyans at recent Olympics, it was a history-making race for Farah and Rupp. Farah became Britain’s first Olympic champion in the 10,000. Rupp became the first American to win a medal since Billy Mills took home gold at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. And Rupp is only the third American to ever medal in the event with silver for Lewis Tewanima coming at the 1912 Stockholm Games. Rupp acknowledged it “was a little weird” seeing Great Britain and the US at the top of the finish board in the 10,000. “I still haven’t wrapped my head around the race and what just happened,” said Rupp. “I remember sitting down with Alberto [Salazar] when the Nike Oregon Project was started. We came out with the audacious goal that we were going to put Americans on the podium in distance races, in events that have traditionally been dominated by Africans. That’s something we’ve always been pointing towards.’’

link to complete article

sportsmanship

I played in the Kare Bear Golf Tournament with good friends yesterday and once again it became clear to me that winning is not as important as the play.  We had three players with 17 or higher handicaps and one player with about an 8 or 9.  In a scramble format we ended up 6 under par which was great.  All of us hit shots that were impressive at times when the other 3 did not, and this shared success was very satisfying.  Compete at you top - but know your potential.  Treat your opponents and team mates like family and play fair.  Sports equals companionship, so always strive to turn companionship into friendship.  The badminton teams who tried to lose to improve their opportunity in future rounds showed very poor judgement and sportsmanship in the olympics.  Did their country's force them to do this?  I can not imagine trying to lose unless you are playing a very young child at a childhood game. If I lose to my 2 year old grandchild at marbles I believe the world will not be a worse place. Do your best and you are always a winner.

grandchildren

Wow these children represent the future--the future looks BRIGHT!! I will see Eric soon and continue on this new trip of being a grandparent

Ending

Yesterday the Head of School accepted my resignation as the Head Cross Country Coach at Berkshire School after the 2012 season.  I was an assistant under Twiggs Myers for 16 years and will have been the Head Coach for 18 years.  As the realization of not being actively affiliated with cc hits me I am a bit emotional because having run for 5 years in high school and junior high, trying to run successfully in college, finishing a 26 mile 385 yard obligatory marathon, running for 35 years recreationally, coaching 4 New England Prep School Championship teams, and having 6 undefeated seasons I know that I am not the young man who started my coaching at Berkshire in 1979.  We had a 63 meet win streak during the 6 years that my two sons ran for me and those heady days were wonderful, but the most important memory is of the harriers who persevered for whom running was very difficult.  Imagine finishing in 30 minutes in a race that was won in 16 minutes. Parents of the boy struggling to the finish line were always just as proud as the parents of those who completed their trek as like Mercury.  It is the effort that matters.  

I am sad that my time is up in this endeavor, but I know it is time.  Teaching in the classrooms of Berkshire Hall has become a passion that inspires me and the use of technology to engage the students is a new challenge that excites me. Old guard teachers/coaches need to let the young take over--but teaching is my domain and the young, bright, history teacher in the wings will have to wait to replace me for a few years, while I try and try and try to not ever be boring.

News

I am sitting in my home in Sandwich Mass after writing a letter to an educator who worked at Berkshire School with me during my first 4 years.  He has four kids and is dying of cancer.  Life is never dull if you step out of your safety zone and reach for challenges.  I say challenge for this teacher and I did not get along for reasons of arrogance and ignorance.  He did not think Westfield State College grads should be at private schools as teachers.  I was not good enough, and I had a wife and son while he was single so we were at different social levels.  Anyways I wrote him a letter on plain notebook paper . (the contents are personal)  I write this for it is a short life that we have - and reaching out to a fellow educator in need, even if that person would not invite you into his house, is the right thing to do.

Be considerate of others and your conscience will be good to you.

patience

I have a new cell phone--I just got back from a tech in the classroom workshop, and we have a new Internet TV.  This amazing amount of Technology can be overwhelming so my advice is to keep trying a little bit each day and remember that trial and error really works.

Peace

PEACE

Seeing the shooting in Colorado makes one realize the short time we spend on this earth.  It is important to notice the trees, the sky, the ocean-stream-lake, the stars, but most of all the people .

I teach history and I always tell my students that "War is the ultimate insult to the intelligence of man kind."  This shooting is a vivid example of the complexity of the problems caused by violence, and I hope that some how the leaders of the world become less centered on their own wealth and power and begin to think about the people they actually govern.

Peace should not need to be written in stone: it should be imprinted on every person's brain.

Inspiration

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=aw-nt0eTb2w
This is an inspiring short film about seeing the glass half full not half empty.

fatherhood

Just wanted to end the day with two pictures of which I am proud.

How could anything be better!!!

Cape Cod Day

We had a wonderful day in Sandwich--we biked the canal to Flynn's Pub which was just awarded the title

Best Pub on Cape Cod - 2012

I had a beer and Deb drank a glass of wine.  The seafood on the grill was great and the beach walks were peaceful--July is one fantastic month to begin to prepare the mind for my 34th year as a teacher.

 These pictures display the day.

77

Friday the 13th worked out well for my golf game.  I played WCC and posted the best score of my life.  43 on the front nine which is not bad, but not spectacular.  I thought I was on my way to an 88 to 90.  Then Birdy-Par-Birdy-Par-Birdy and I got nervous.  Playing with Tim ( manager of Stadium Systems) and his son was fun for they were getting excited also.  Any ways I ended up with a 34 on the back nine and a 77.  My best this year had been 83 prior to that round.  After lunch I took off for Cape Cod with my wife and the Yankees won in the last two innings.  A great day.

 These good people celebrated my "77"

After my First Kayak Trip

I successfully launched and used the new kayak on Twin Lakes and I am ready to take my wife.  I am still not sure how to get out of it if we flip over, but I looks like you should calmly push your legs out from under and let the floatation life jacket bring you to the surface.  The lake was very calm so no problem today. As you can see my grandson Eric was never worried.

Before the Kayak attempt

How to get into and out of a Kayak

I have just posted the link from the REI school that I watched before going to try our new Kayak on Twin Lakes in Ct.  If it worked I will come back alive and report how my first kayak trip went. 

 This is a test to see if I could copy and paste info for my students:  My friend and I are very glad that it worked!


Essay expectations for US History Students at Berkshire School. (Most of the students in US History are juniors)

 A. Introduction (at least 3 three sentences but often this is not sufficient.)
1. Clear description of topic
 2. A concise thesis Statement—this this will include specific historical points the illustrate the point of the paper.
3. Excellent quotations often enhance the quality of introductory paragraphs. This often separates great from mediocre papers—use credible sources!

 B. Body 1. Clearly written paragraphs that provide supporting evidence to the thesis. 2. Counter arguments should be described and disproved when appropriate. 3. Body paragraphs should include factual material and proper citations.

 C. Conclusion 1. Re-emphasize the thesis statement with more evidence to prove the author’s point.

 D. In non-testing situations a works cited page is required.

Still on Cape Cod with my Wife Deb and we are extremely happy with the food, the ocean, the canal, the outdoor activity, and the closeness it brings to us as a couple.  I have continued to check out web sites that will help me teach and the Sweet Search Site is very good.    It only lists sources that are credible so the kids will learn the best sources.

Thanks to Greg Kulowiec I can print in colors-------I am still learning options and it is trial and error that is working best in creating this blog for my students to use in September.  Right now I am still having a great summer for a teacher. 
above is a pic of the sun over Cape Cod bay that I took.   Thanks to the edtechteacher guys.

July on the Cape

I am currently enjoying Cape Cod and I am hosting two other teachers who have been married one year. Sharing stories about how we use technology in the classroom has helped me try to implement more great stuff into my planning. Sharing the 4th of July in Sandwich has been awesome. The best fireworks ever--2 hours of non-stop explosions in front of a full moon--wow. Golfing: here are the scores Young teacher 74 - old teacher (me) 97. In golf the scores do not matter if you are not earning a paycheck--so it was great fun. Once again I can not remember how to do color printing.

Due to the advice I received at a recent workshop I am rethinking the my role as a teacher. It is good to share with other educators and just yesterday I met a teacher and have sent them several web sites that help teachers. Below are two sites for helping coaches and teachers. One shows short videos of dynamic stretching which seems a better way to warm-up than stagnant stretching. The other has several great links to helpful teaching sites. I hope you give these a try if your are interested. Also here are pics of my newest Grandchild----Summerly & Eric.

One shows short videos of dynamic stretching which seems a better way to warm-up than stagnant stretching. The other has several great links to helpful teaching sites. I hope you give these a try if your are interested. http://edtechteacher.ning.com/group/thwt-workshop-harvard-2012 http://www.builtlean.com/2011/04/06/dynamic-stretching-routine-best-full-body-warm-up/

I am sitting in Sandwich thinking about the great information I learned at a three day work shop "Teaching History With Technology" that just concluded this week at Harvard in Cambridge Mass. Trying to implement all of the knowledge imparted is very challenging, but the process of trying to learn keeps me excited about teaching. Getting on the other side of the teaching desk and being in the role of a student keeps me fresh. Right now I just spent 1/2 hour trying to put a picture on this blog from my computer and I failed. This reminds the educator that failure is not that depressing it is simply the postponement of success. I was not bored during the three days of learning and not boring my students has always been my goal. As I was writing this I thought of another way to upload an image. TA DA

I am in my third day at THWT workshop at Harvard. The instructors are awesome and the use of tech in my classroom will go up 50 times. Thanks to my school for encouraging this program.

From Slave state to free state

Disaster--in the sky

Best Ever

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olympic hockey

Recommended Resources

Here are three resources I recommend

• Library of Congress 
• http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1854569,00.html
•     www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/ 

The students are so much better at this than the teacher.

welcome to my blog

I did not have an account on Google and got behind in this particular exercise--
The people are happy to help us and being behind is not a problem, but I do not wish to swim up this river again. Looking for colors...Can not find the colors---where are the colors??? I found back ground colors

found the colors

                                                 Number one Grandson --  Liam  --