New Site for Social Studies Information

Due to the amount of time necessary to maintain blogs in various places, Social Studies news can be found on the History Politics and Justice Blog and also on the department's website.

Caitlin Kegley Named Honors Council Secretary

Caitlin Kegley, a senior majoring in Social Studies and History, with a minor in Public History/Museum Studies was named Secretary of the Honors Council last week. As part of her duties, Kegley will be charged with reading the roll of organizations during the spring Honors' Day celebration. Caitlin is a member of Phi Alpha Theta, is president of Studia Socialia Americae, and is also active in several other campus organizations.

Well done Caitlin!

Several of the Social Studies students, along with Dr. Crawford and Dr. Lomax gathered last week for the Winter Quarter gathering. They enjoyed pizza, although maintaining that they prefer cheese pizza to vegetarian, and talked about issues in the major and the profession. Jennifer Sherman reported on her student teaching experience, and talked about opportunities for presentations, among other topics. This was also a chance for freshmen to get to know the other majors who can help them avoid the various pitfalls that can befall students.

Thanks to Student Senate for buying the pizza and Mock Trial for providing the drinks - left over from the Polar Bear Invitational. We will do this again in during Spring Quarter.

Jones Named Mr. ONU

Trey Jones, a Junior majoring in Social Studies, was recently crowned Mr. ONU last week. The event was sponsored by Kappa Alpha Theta and was held to raise money for the sorority's philanthropic efforts.

Well done Trey!

Eleven students and Dr. Crawford went off to the Metzger Nature Center for Teacher Licensure Orientation last weekend. While there, they watched the documentary Harvard beats Yale 29-29, and discussed how sports can be used to teach the Social Studies. On Sunday, the students presented lesson plans that they made to accomplish that goal, and all did a great job! Another purpose of the weekend was to familiarize Social Studies candidates with the Ten Themes of the National Council for the Social Studies. Dr. Crawford also went over the requirements of the Center for Teacher Education and discussed opportunities and challenges that students will face as they make the transition from student to teacher.

As always, the food, supplied by Nature Center caretakers Wayne and Carol King was first rate, and the class traveled to a local mall to forestall cabin fever. It was a fun and productive weekend!

Pictured above are (L-R) Kevin Obarski, Scott Russell, Dustin Scott, Dr. Crawford, Lawren Neeley, Ben Buehler, Amarilla Fair, Jasmine Goldsmith, Annie Hertzler, Aaron Craft, Michael King (back), and Sadie Wiley (front).

Fleming Named Ohio Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week

Ryan Fleming, a senior Social Studies major, was named OAC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance against Baldwin Wallace. Ryan had 4 catches for a career high 201 yards and scored 2 touchdowns, one of 54 yards and the other that went for 49 yards.

Ryan will be doing his student teaching next quarter and will be back on campus for spring quarter to run sprints for the track team.

Well done Ryan!

Social Studies students gathered at Dr. Crawford's house for pizza and enlightenment during the third week of classes. The pizza was supplied by Crawford, while the enlightenment was provided by Jennifer Bazell and Katherine Gualtiere, who are doing their student teaching this quarter. Jennifer, who is at Kenton HS, and Katherine, who is at Riverdale HS, told the students of their adventures so far as student teachers. The experienced students also shared tips with the new students on how to effectively make their way through the program at ONU. Fortunately, the deck, that Dr. Crawford built with the help of friends and family, was able to stand up under the stress.

The social studies candidates will meet at least once per quarter, to build esprit des corps, and to hear the tales of those who have experienced the next step in the process toward becoming a teacher.

Tutoring Opportunity at Lima Senior High

Looking for a job opportunity that will enhance your resume? Here is one.

Study Abroad Opportunity

Interested in Studying Abroad Outside Western Europe? Boren Scholarships Webinar - Monday, September 13

The Boren Scholarships provide a unique funding opportunity for U.S. undergraduate students to study world regions critical to U.S. interests (including Africa, Asia, Central & Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Latin America, and the Middle East).

During this webinar, we will explain the eligibility requirements for the scholarship along with the award preferences for country, language, and field of study. We will also discuss the service requirement and give an overview of the application.

Be prepared to listen closely and to ask questions.

Michael Loughlin, ONU Boren Scholarship and Fellowship Representative

m-loughlin@onu.edu ; 419-772-2092

This Monday, September 13 at 2 p.m. eastern time, we are offering a Boren Scholarships webinar. Please let your students know about this opportunity, as it will give them an overview of the award, and it will also offer them the opportunity to ask questions. To register for the webinar, please visit https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/587681568

All that is required to participate is a computer and a phone or headset.

Matt Fox Accepts New Position

Matt Fox, who graduated from ONU in 2009, recently accepted a position at Darby High School in Hillard, OH. His new position involves teaching Early World History and Social Psychology at the school that is near Dublin, OH.

Last year, Matt taught Social Studies part time at Lima Senior High School and also coached football at another area school.

Best of luck in your new job Matt!

Another Caution for Future Teachers

Girls Bugged Teacher Staffroom

NewsCore - A pair of mischievous Swedish schoolgirls ended up in court for bugging their teachers' staff room in a bid to get better grades, local media reported Tuesday.

The girls were only caught when one of them was so excited about the scam that she blabbed about it on her Facebook page, according to news website The Local.

The teenagers, who were not named, came up with the plan after finding a key to the teachers' lounge. They then went to a spy shop, bought bugging equipment and planted it in the staff room the day before teachers were due to have a meeting about how to grade students' work.

The pair reportedly thought the plot would give them an advantage on upcoming tests and school work -- but after one of the girls mentioned their clever plan on Facebook, teachers found the bug.

The girls were charged with trespassing and fined 2,000 kronor ($270) each in Stockholm District Court.

original story found at MyFoxNY.com

Social Studies Grads Return in Triumph to Talk to Current Students

On Wednesday April 28, Matt Fox, Joy Kessler, and Ashley Reiff who teach in the area, and Rick Ingold, who is currently student teaching and interviewing for jobs, returned to ONU to talk with current students about their first-year experiences and the job search process. They joined current Social Studies students Jennifer Sherman, Beth Miller, Katherine Gualtiere, Lawren Neeley, Caitlin Kegley, Andy Zaebst, and Dr. Crawford for pizza, supplied by the HPJ Deparment in the Conference Room of Hill Building.

Fox, who teaches at Lima Senior High, Joy, who is at Lima Central Catholic, and Ashley who is teaching at Elida High School regaled the students with the adventures they have been encountering during their first year, some good and some not so. Fox mentioned breaking up fights, Joy told about an academic competition that she successfully brought to her school, and Ashley told them about her interview process when she faced questions from administrators and teachers who had taught her in the same school only a few years earlier. Ingold joined in, talking about his student teaching experience and his recent interviews. Crawford mostly sat back and listened with awe to see what professionals these graduates have become.

This was a great experience for the current students and a nice chance for the graduates to give advice to those who will soon join them in the field. Among the pertinent tips for finding a job were:

• Network with former teachers and coaches to get job leads
• You may want to identify where you want to teach, then bookmark their Human Resources page and check it each week. Job postings are sometimes very brief and not publicized on national sites, so one must watch them closely
• Make use of web services such as REAP, which allows teacher candidates to register online and makes resumes and credentials available to schools with openings in your subject area. REAP also has state specific sites, so you may want to narrow your focus to those states in which you would like to teach

Crawford told the gathered professionals and students that he was setting up Finding Social Studies Jobs, a new page for ONU students that brings together web sites that offer potential jobs in a single spot. Hopefully this will be helpful in finding positions for our students.

It was great to see all our grads who could come back and to see the teachers they have become. They provided a super example for our current students to emulate. Well done Matt, Joy, and Ashley!

Drs. Schul and Crawford accompany Students to OCSS Annual Meeting

Ten students, along with Drs. Schul (Education Department) and Crawford, traveled to Worthington, OH on Friday April 16 for the Ohio Council for the Social Studies Annual Meeting. Schul and Crawford, along with students, presented sessions to the gathered teachers.

Schul's session dealt with using desktop documentaries to engage student interest in history. He was joined in his presentation by Beth Miller and Lawren Neely, both Social Studies students, who told the audience of the process they went through to make their documentaries and then screened them. Miller's documentary was created as an assignment to place oneself in the shoes of another and consisted of a rap song intermixed with the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.'s words and images of children. Neely's video was a mix of Depression Era songs by Woody Guthrie and images of the Dust Bowl years.

Crawford presented on the National Football League and Integration, and was joined by Rick Ingold and Andy Zaebst, who presented their lesson plans for making this a part of discussion of the Civil Rights Movement. Zaebst presented a lesson plan for discussing the reasons why integration happened relatively quickly in the NFL, but took longer for high schools. This led to a lively discussion by the audience and presenters. Rick Ingold then presented his lesson plan for discussing the Rooney Rule, which mandates that African-American candidates must be interviewed as part of the process of hiring a new head coach in the league.

All of the student presenters did a bang-up job in their presentations, and they were joined by several other students who also attended. Those students included Katherine DeMars, Jennifer Sherman, Trey Jones, Ryan Fleming, Jennifer Bazell, and Emily Spangler (Middle Childhood).

In addition to presenting and attending sessions given by practicing educators, the students also brought home a lot of free materials that they might use one day in their classrooms. This was a valuable experience for students, both in the ideas that they gained, and also in the chance to interact with professionals in their field, some of who may one day be in a position to hire them.

Students Take Teacher Licensure Orientation

Eight students and Professor Crawford traveled to the Metzger Nature Center last weekend to discuss using sport to teach the Social Studies, and the National Council for the Social Studies Ten Themes. After a hard day's work on Saturday, the group went to the theater in New Philadelphia to watch The Blind Side, a heartwarming story of a family that took in a homeless teenager who became an outstanding football player for Old Miss, and who now plays for the Baltimore Ravens.

As part of the program, students created and presented lesson plans to use sport in teaching the Social Studies. Keep your eye on this blog for their plans in the coming months.

As usual, Wayne and Carol King fed us more great food than we could eat!

Students who participated in the weekend seminar were (front row L-R) Beth Miller, Caitlin Kegley, Tom Walton, and (back L-R) Trey Jones, Ben Nauman, Andy Zaebst, Ryan Fleming, Zach Esterline. Professor Crawford is at the far right.

Another Student finds Teaching Position

Ashley Reiff, who graduated in February 2009, is now teaching 10th grade U.S. History and 11th grade government, as well as coaching junior varsity volleyball at Elida High School. The district hired Ashley in mid June and she reports that everything is going well in her new job.

With Ashley's news, all six Social Studies/History majors who graduated in 2008-2009 are safely at work (4) or attending graduate school (2).

Students Find Positions

Four ONU Social Studies majors graduated this past spring, and all have found positions for the fall. Joy Kessler (pictured in an earlier post) will be teaching Social Studies at Lima Central Catholic High School. Matt Fox will be teaching History at Lima Senior High School, and is also the Head Football Coach at Arcadia Middle School. Brian Hoefel (pictured in an earlier post) will be attending Akron University, working on his Masters Degree in History. Aaron Stiger will be attending Ashland University, where he will work for Residence Life and pursue a Masters Degree in Administration. Not pictured is Ross Spencer, who will be teaching in Arizona next year.

Well done to all of them, and we wish them the best of luck as they start their new careers!

Crawford Publishes Online Article

On July 27, Crawford's article "Bowling, Basketball, BCS, Baseball, and Birdies: Obama’s Use of Sport to Connect" was published on the History News Network. Crawford argued that President Obama has expanded the presidential use of sport, interjecting games into nomination speeches, appearing on commercials for sporting events, and inserting the office of the presidency into debates over controversial issues in the sporting world. For instance:

• When the president nominated Sonya Sotomayor, he prominently mentioned her role in ending the 1994 Baseball Strike, establishing her bona fides as a true blue American.
  
• As a candidate, Obama recorded an opening commercial for Monday Night Football, and joined announcers in the booth for the MLB All Star Game, using a game analysis of the Bears' chances to further his chances for the presidency.
• He inserted the office of the president into the debate over the Bowl Championship Series (BCS), calling for its end and encouraging a playoff system for Division I Football.

Crawford argues that this represents an expansion of the presidents role in the use of sports. While presidents since Theodore Roosevelt have participated in sport as players or participants and have used their "bully pulpit" to encourage sporting behavior, the current president, so far in his administration has increased his visibility in the sporting world and in his use of sport to connect to the American people.

Crawford and Schuck grade AP U.S. History

Professors Russ Crawford and Ray Schuck travelled to Louisville, KY from June 4 to 11 to serve as readers for the Educational Testing Service’s Advanced Placement U.S. History exams. They were among 1100 readers who waded through over 300,000 exams taken by high school students from around the nation. The work was hard, but the pay was good, and it also offered a chance to network with educational professionals from around the nation and world. Crawford made contact with a fellow grad of the University of Nebraska who teaches English and History at the University of Perm in Russia, and they made plans to cooperate in online guest lectures during the next year. There was also time to enjoy the city and the two attended a Louisville Bats (AAA Cincinnati) baseball game as well as getting in some golf at one of Fuzzy Zoeller’s nearby courses.

Studia Socialia Americae Inducts New Members

During the May 9 Honors Day ceremony, five new members were inducted into Studia Socialia Americae, ONU's honorary for social studies students and practicing teachers. This year's inductees included students Katherine DeMars, Katherine Gualtiere, and Rick Ingold. The organization also inducted two practicing educators, Chad Spencer of Shawnee High School, and Drew Chiles of Lima Senior High School.

Three Students Looking for Positions

Ashley Reiff (not pictured), Matt Fox, Joy Kessler, Aaron Stiger, and Brian Hoefel have graduated this year or will graduate in May. Hoefel has accepted an assistantship at Akron College, and Kessler has already accepted a position at Lima Central Catholic, but the others will be looking for positions soon. All will be fine teachers for your school. Should you wish the contact information for these new teachers, please contact me at r-crawford.2@onu.edu