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.

Dorie Miller Portrait

Dorie Miller was born in Waco, Texas.  He joined the Navy as a third class Mess Attendant.  During the attack on Pearl Harbor, when the U.S.S. West Virginia, was shot at he immediately went into action.  He came up from his spot in the Mess Hall, and carried his injured captain to safety, manned a gun, along with shooting down at least one enemy plane.  Due to his heroics, he was awarded the Navy Cross in May of 1942.  In 1943, when the Liscome Bay went down, so did he.  His legacy helped to increase the African American moral, and the amount of African Americans in the military.

Year Made: 1943

Artist: David Stone Martin