“History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.”

Maya Angelou

History is a larger way of looking at life. It is a source of strength and inspiration. It is about who we are and what we stand for and is essential to our understanding of what our own role should be in our time. History is human; it is about people as they speak to us across the years. Our history, our American story, is our definition as a people and a nation. It is a story like no other—our greatest natural resource. 

History is not a fairy tale or a bedtime lullaby. There was never a “once-upon-a-time,” and there will never be a “happily-ever-after.” There is though, the wonderfully American drama of seeking to ensure that hope can overcome fear, that light can overcome darkness, and that we can open our arms rather than clench our fists. Virtually every aspect of human experience and of human aspiration—money, freedom, love, power, fear, and hope—played a role in the drama of American history, a drama that still unfolds. As Walt Whitman so beautifully expressed in his poem To A Historian, we “celebrate bygones” in order to “project the history of the future.”

To be a fully engaged American citizen, an advanced understanding of the processes and intricacies of history and our system of government is required. For as much as the Founding Fathers set forth in the documents that form the foundation of our democracy, there is still ambiguity and room for changing interpretations. My passion is to have my students acquire the skills and learn the knowledge necessary so that they are informed, critical thinkers and participatory citizens.