Lessons From History Biographies

"You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain."- Two-Face   One of my teaching mottos is, “never feel like you’ve figured it all out, you can always learn more and do better.” As a (somewhat) successful community college teacher, I felt I knew what I was doing, until a teaching credential program forced me to confront how all of my old teaching philosophies simply did not connect with the current digital generation of students. Since I entered high school, I have tried hard to be open to new ideas and approaches for teaching students in a way that can reach them, and I’m certain there are many ways I can improve on what I do ; I personally believe that ineffective teachers are those who cling to philosophies from 25 years ago, in spite of evidence that students simply do not respond to them anymore . That leads us to J ohn Edgar Hoover, and the blog title I have, yes, ripped off from Dark Knight . It truly is one of the best quotes in al...

  Be willing to change your mind when faced with new evidence.   Is there a more prominent symbol of science than Albert Einstein? He’s one of the most beloved historical and scient ific figure s worldwide , and yet in his own way, has become a blandly friendly logo without context, similar to the process that has befallen so many other historical titans (see also Washington and Lincoln). I knew only the most basic details of Einstein’s life before reading Einstein: His Life and Universe , the acclaimed biography from Walter Isaacson. Through this reading, I learned the fascinating story of a man who was quite polarizing in his heyday (and who himself bemoaned people turning him into the Santa Claus of science even in his own lifetime), and who had intense moral and scientific struggles over his own discoveries. Through Einstein, we learn the importance of always being open to changing your mind when confronted with new evidence, a lesson that is a central one to his li...