"America I Am"

     After viewing the exhibit "America I Am" we think that it gives an insight on what Americans and America is like and was like. Also it talks about what America and Americans fought for and believed in. Thurgood Marshall said America has no choice but to do better and it shows how America can only move up they were already failing or at the bottom. Also Martin Luther King Jr said "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere" and that quote talks about how blacks went through racism and when one person has injustice the whole world has injustice. American Martin Luther King extended peace to other countries which shows that Americans are good people. Also Fredrick Douglass said that serving in the army shows that blacks are citizens because they fought for their country. Also the Union League was a political group formed by black men and they educated black men and gave them power to campaign for their rights. These show what Americans fought for what they believed in by using their rights. America made the 13, 14, and 15 amendments and they gave slaves citizenship and the right to vote to black. This shows what America is like and they realize that America cares about their citizens. The "America I Am" exhibit talks about citizens and America.

American I Am

         After viewing the exhibit "America I Am", I  think that it means that we are the past, present, and future of our country.  I think this because all of the events and time periods (mainly African American events) that other African Americans had to go through led up to us, and it is us who will continue to help this country succeed.  I know this because in the exhibit it talked about how MLK's speech had "all men are created equal, which was from the Declaration of Independence.  Also, many other African Americans used the quote from the Declaration of Independence that all men have certain unalienable rights showing that they think deserve certain rights.  Also, in the exhibit the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments basically freed slaves and gave them major rights showing how we made major steps in becoming free.  Another example is that Shirley Chisholm ran for president which is another major step leading up to us.  The last example is of Michael Jordan's jersey because he achieved a lot both on and off the court through his play and endorsements, showing the success of African Americans in this country.

         Overall, I think this exhibit is worth seeing because it allows us to learn about our pasts.  At times, it seems boring and seemed sort of long, but maybe that was just me.  Some points were interesting like when I saw the jersey of Michael Jordan.  If I could add something I would add more hands-on activities.  I would recommend this to other people, but I wouldn't go again because to me things aren't as fun after you've seen it once.

The Possibility of a History Standardized Test

     If we were to have a standardized test in History I wouldn't agree with it.  Although, having a history test has a lot of pros it also may have a lot of cons.  One of its pros is that it tests our knowledge in that subject, and helps teachers find better ways to get certain objectives across to the students, so they can better understand it.  It also helps contribute to the administrators who determine, which teachers may be effective or ineffective.  Another pro is that it helps students' test-taking skills.  Lastly, it helps students be able to focus on what they need to study, and may motivate some students to work harder.

    There are many pros but also many cons to standardized testing.  One of the major cons to standardized testing is that students may feel stressed or over tested, possible causing them to do worse on tests.  Also, this may affect the curriculum because the teacher would have to focus more on the test than on curriculum. That already happens in a lot of my core classes that have standardized tests because they begin to focus more on the tests than on anything else.  Also, like many other tests the items on the test may not have actually been taught or may not even be in the curriculum.  Overall, a standardized test in history may cause more stress among students and teachers, and can limit teaching time.