Hello, World!

Colleagues, friends, strangers, welcome to The Blog. These 650 posts represent the collective work of the thirty-five young scholars in my Modern World History classes for the 2008-09 school year. Over the course of three months, seventeen assignments, and a century's worth of history, these kids grew the blog from an experiment in homework collection (driven largely by the theft of my bag – and two weeks of homework – from my car) into a lively, conversational, and truly collaborative historical text.

Assignments on the blog were generally based around independent research – the idea being that, hey, we're on the internet, let's use the damn thing. To that end, students read New York Times articles and opinion pieces off of Slate. They browsed image caches hosted by universities and national archive centers. They combed the World Health Organization databases. They reflected on their own historical experiences in the pop culture of novels and movies. The goal of each blog post was to parse the myriad online resources and turn out an informed, analytical chunk of writing. It was to muse on the strange and wonderful puzzle that is the web.

The most recent posts you'll see, directly below, are end of year reflections. Ungraded, these reflections had students ponder the single most important thing they learned over the course of the year in MWH. They weren't meant to be about the blog – they didn't even have to be about history. Overwhelmingly, however, upon stopping and reexamining the research and writing they did this year, students wrote about the blog and the particular way it made them think about academic tone, opinion and organization, historical arguments, and, most importantly, scholarly conversation and debate with their peers.

So – welcome. Have a look around. You just might learn something (I know I did).


Ms. P, over and out.

D Block History

This class has definitely been my rowdiest history class ever. But I think that fit in nicely with the tone of the class and the way we learned together. The connections we made as a class and by ourselves from the unit we were studying to something happening today were astounding. I know that my ability to recognize those connections and then convey them eloquently whether through speech or writing has drastically improved since the beginning of the year. I think this is due to the unique format of the class whether it was watching a movie like the Battle of Algiers or reading a current New York Times article. I also know for a fact that I would not have learned or grown as a student nearly as much without our exceptional teacher, curriculum, or class dynamic.

D Block MWH with Mama Pugs :)

D Block MWH was like no other class. It was a class I always looked forward to. It was a class in which people expressed their thoughts and opinions . It wasn't just a class were you sat down and took notes. Ms. Pugliese provided us with more engaging ways to learn the incredible amount of material we learned in such a short amount of time. There's one very important thing I took from this class. This is the ability to write a proper essay, not like the ones I wrote freshman year but to-the-point, argumentative, and connective essays. There's one person I should thank for this. It's Ms. Pugliese. Whenever I was stumped on how to begin or end an essay, she somehow always managed to help me succeed. 

This class provided us with different ways to express our knowledge of Modern World History than just memorizing important information and taking dreadful tests in which you had to analyze each multiple choice question in order to be able to answer it.  The idea of having a blog was genius. It allowed me to truly express what I felt about a certain issue or certain events and it also helped me think and connect certain issues with events from modern times. 

D Block MWH with Mama Pugs was MUCH more than just a plain old history class.

A look back on the year

History this year has been a true inspiration to me. Up until this year History was something that I only took because I had to. However, through learning about modern world history, as well as the atmosphere of the class I have become extremely interested in the subject. History is no longer something, which I consider a chore to do the reading homework in, as nerdy as it sounds it actually excites me to have to do reading, and learn about different aspects of history. Apart from learning history, this class also taught me a lot about myself, and the subjects that interest me.  Another change for me in history this year was the fact that I become comfortable with expressing my ideas, and sharing them with the class. This would've never been possible if it wasn't for the comfortable atmosphere of the class. I honestly love coming to class everyday because it isn't a class that I dread going to, and it is extremely fun. Each day is filled with activities, which not only test our knowledge what we have learned but plant new ideas in our minds. I am extremely sad that the year is over because I have enjoyed the time we have spent as a class, learning history together. 

What A Year

Mama Pugs made this a really memorable year. History became an extremely fun class to go to as the year progressed and I thought that this year taught me some new, valuable skills that I don't think the rest of the other classes had access to. I felt like this class was very much more based around learning how to take information and create your own, original ideas around that information, instead of just getting tested on it and forgetting it once we return from summer, or even before that. Instead of doing that, there were fun ways to apply that to our own work: whether it was through the blog, or any other kind of writing expressive assignment that we had throughout the year. Because of activities like these, I think I learned to make history a much more creative class than I always perceived it to be. Most importantly, I think that I learned two extremely relevant, connected things. The first is that the two major research papers that we did taught me how to find good information. The second thing that I learned was how to take that information and instead of just spitting that back out again in my own words, I got really good at picking out specific research to go with an argument that I was trying to prove, using my research more as evidence to support my claim rather than just write about what others have researched as well. All in all, I think that the most important thing that I can take out of this class is how to take factual history and get more creative to turn it something interesting and original that I could call my own work.

Just one important thing I learned

Although this year as a whole has brought a whole different meaning to History Class, I think the most important thing I learned this year was to discover history through modern day uses of technology as well as using not so modern tools. It is important to combine the two, because they feed off of each other, to contribute success. The best stories from Modern World History will come from live accounts (which we have access to) and may even be posted on youtube! A first account of the situation is a great, personal, and entertaining way to learn about a topic in history. I also have learned how having history class after two o'clock is an accident waiting to happen. 

I Promised Myself I Wouldn't Cry

Ok, my title is a little dramatic, but I have had a lot of fun this year in Modern World History with Mama Pugs. Though Mama Pugs teaching style is far different than any other history teacher I have ever had I feel like I am going to remember more from this class that any other. I loved the second semester whether it be blogging, reading Maus, or doing the final project. The most important thing that I learned this year was that history is sometimes hidden and you have to go and look for it. But once you find it, it is the best feeling in the world. I learned to articulate my argument and take criticism (a lot of it). To conclude, I feel that not only has my analytic writing improved but also my argument creation and my ability to take criticism.

Thanks Mama Pugs for a great year and I wish the best to D-Pugs...

--Ryan "I Complain A Lot" Stastny

Definition of History

At the beginning of this year a set some goals for both my writing and my research in history and I feel like I was able to accomplish them. For writing I wanted to able to write argumentative in a concise fashion. Even from my first essay I felt like I was improving, but it did take a couple more tries for me to be able to find the balance between being argumentative and factual thoughts. This was especially hard when we kept switching between the kinds of essays and reports. However, I feel like I have a pretty good idea of how I want to balance these two things for my final project. Research wise I think I was also able to improve through out the year. I found that when researching for a certain subject you need to gather all the sources you can and then start weeding through. This was very important lesson for my final project. I found this a lot easier than trying to weed sources out from the beginning (which is what I did for our first research paper). So overall my research paper writing skills improved drastically.
Apart from this writing improvement, I also learned how to like history. I was not a very big fan of history because to me it was just boring facts and dates I needed to memorize. Now I learned that history is not the study of the past but rather how we remember and record events. It actually made learning about these events a lot more interesting and exciting. This was, in fact, my favorite part about this class.

A Block Unofficial Awards

MVS (Most Valuable Student)= Estefania

Most Analytical= Megan Brown

Biggest Smart-Allick/ Most Pessimistic= Sam Parker

Lil' Pugs Award= Christophe

Blue Collar Jerber= Justin Lannin

MHM(Most Honorable Manchu)= Kevin Ji

Biggest Abuser of the "No Question is a Stupid Question Rule"= Connor "Rathist Bonist" Radlo

Comeback Student of the Year: Kyle Hutchinson

Most Likely to Become Villain in A James Bond Movie=Sasha Badrenkov

Class Jester=Priyanka

Brett C'plan Enthusiam Award: Ms. Pugliese

First Team All Pugs A Block:

Sam Fancher, Robert Wickers, Eliza Adams, Rebecca Friedman

Second Team All Pugs A Block:

Justin Wong, Sarah P, Jack Suiter

May I add that no award is any higher ranking or better than any other award.

From Knowledge to Opinions & Beyond

Writing research a paper is something that every highschool student has to go through, however, this year I felt I was able to turn an onerous activity into a genuine learning experience. In the first, I was able to create a stellar (in my opinion) thesis on Hidalgo & Morelos, and connect their characteristics with the leadership qualities of the ideal leader. The second essay was bit more difficult for me for I had to create love letters between two Russian lovers of the early 1900's and 1910's, one of which was a Bolshevik follower, while the other a citizen of a rioting industrial city. In a way I guess I mastered the process of creating characters, but from there I had no idea where to go. 

Research -- a beginning step to creating a paper -- came into play, and I had to dig deep. Collecting research material is tough, and I still have trouble finding the exact information I have my mind set on. Throughout the year though, I was able to improve on my techniques in acquiring research information by taking advantage of our school's library and the databases that our school website houses. With my paper, I had to point out the specific information I would need, and turn it into my own words, but the research is pointless without the most important component -- being a historian.

When writing, I try to think of each non-factual sentence as a mini-thesis. All of these sentences are opinions, and I feel that this year was a year for opinions for me. No offense to world religions, but you cannot have an opinion in that class without being pegged by the political correctness police. Throughout this year, and especially in the blogs, I was able to express my opinions in a scholarly environment, which will be helpful for next year. The blog was like a database of its own. From it gushed facts and the writers interpretation of those facts. Every class should have some type of public display like our class blog, because lets be honest, we should have outgrown the "I am self-conscious about my writing" phase after this year in history. 

To A block, you guys are awesome. I am intimidated by how much knowledge you guys have, and how energetic you guys are at all times. I hope to be your classmate again next year. Great year in history on the whole. 

Looking Back

I have always considered history to be an important subject because, in my mind, there are not many things that are more educational than knowledge of the past as a foundation for the present. This philosophy, however, has been difficult to maintain because history is typically taught in a way that is extremely difficult for me to grasp and enjoy. This apprehension was ramified when Mama Pugs took charge of the class. With Mrs. Gertmenian, I was sure to endure another year of drowning in history. I learned a ton under Mama Pug's tutelage, in fact i wanted to learn in her class. My participation improved because I actually understood what she was asking us and I wanted to jump in and contribute.

I used to think of history as linear and one dimensional, but this year, I learned that history is still widely open to interpretation. I learned how to write opinion pieces about history, which was enjoyable because it gave me something to explore and taught me to be interpretive. I believe I have a better handle on the present better because I know a bit about the events that brought us here.

What is really cool, is that I find myself reaching for the New York Times, which didn't happen that often before we started blogging and writing on current events. I feel a desire to be informed. I used to avoid books that had historical foundation, but now I am not afraid to tackle them because i have a bearing as to where to put that information in my mind. I know this class was worth my time, and an asset to my future as a writer.

I owe all my enthusiasm for history to Mama Pugs: thanx for an amazing second semester!

A Final Toast

This has been an amazing year for me. History started out not so well, but this second semester has been incredible. As I look back, feeling more than a touch nostalgic, I realize I learned far more than I thought I did. And what I learned wasn’t just facts, like so often I feel history is. History has never been the most engaging class for me, because my experience of it up to date has been a class made mostly of memorizing dates and facts, with the occasional exercise that involves thinking and making connections. But this semester forced me to rethink my impression of history.
I have been forced to think in new ways, to make connections and see patterns hidden in the layers of facts. I learned how to write both analytically and from the heart, so that I care about what I’m saying enough to put true thought behind it. This is probably the first year I have consistently found history to be an engaging, challenging, and most importantly, interesting. So many classes over the years, and so few I remember. It is never the material that defines a class, it is always the teacher. And when you look back you realize that it is the teachers who make you want to learn a subject, who plant seeds and ideas in your mind, who make you redefine just a little part of how you view the world; those are the ones you remember. I have been blessed with a few teachers like that.
My fourth grade Jewish studies teacher Alona who taught us history from archeologist’s points of view, while showing us how to make olive oil for lamps and how archeologists piece together the pieces of a broken pot. My 8th grade science teacher, Mike, who showed that science was in the real world and not in textbooks. Last year’s English teacher, Bourbon, who opened my eyes to a whole new level of thinking, and for whom I will never be able to view a movie the same way again.

Now there is one another name to add to the list.

Here’s to you, Mama Pugs. You made this year count.

Improvements

Well, This year didn't start out too well. Whether it was Ms. Gertmenian or Ms. Pugliese who graded me in the first quarter I will never know, but one thing I do know is that I didn't do so well. Interestingly enough however that was not a trend that continued on for the whole year. I got increasingly better at writing and articulating my thoughts. I think that the unusual way that this class was tought really hepled me connect the past and the present. By jumping from the Safavids to the Swat valley I was able to start to see connectinos that I didn't see before this year. Mama Pugs- Thanks for a great year...

The Most Important Thing I Learned

The most important thing I learned this year is that there is more to a history class than just dates and events.  I improved my ability to make connections between different historical events, which has allowed me to see many things in a new light.  I thought this class was very fun, and I learned a lot.

How I've Changed

This year's history class has been a lot of fun.  To go with the plethora of historic dates and names that we have been forced to mindlessly memorized, I have taken some important lessons about the subject of history and myself.

I heard recently that "History is not the old stuff in textbooks, but how we look at it."  This has taken on a huge meaning in our class this year.  On a very annoyingly ironic note, we studied old civilizations with a blog, something completely foreign, if not unimaginable, to the people we're talking about.  But more seriously, our class has taken some creative ways of looking at the past.  We played a weird version of Risk to explain the Cold War.  We made a movie to look at the Muslim Empires, China, and Europe.  We did a ton of cool stuff that probably makes no sense, but it helped us learn.  That was an amazing realization to me, because as well as being more effective at interacting with the material, it helped me learn to love history more than I did at the beginning of the year.

To go with this bountiful enjoyment, I believe that my writing style has improved and I have learned more about research papers (e.g. don't procrastinate!!!!!)  I'm sure these will be useful in RUSH next year.

Most importantly, I learned a lot about my classmates and myself.  For example, I make a lot of annoying, smart-ass comments.  Like a LOT.  But I also found that some teachers aren't totally against that, as long as it's relevant, and I can let my sarcastic side contribute to a discussion instead of taking away from it.

What I've learned this year in History:

First, I learned (started to learn at least) the balance between messing around in class (influencing the "back corner") and focusing and being extremely attentive in class. There are times when you can "mess" around in class. You can still joke around in class and still learn the material of the class and not be too disruptive.

Second, I have learned a lot about gathering and using evidence in essays (and any other writing like on the blog) this year. I need to come up with the evidence then write my thesis and not do it the other way around, because then my thesis will probably be lacking.

Third, I have learned a lot about research. Research isn't just about using wikipedia for all of my information. Research is about getting reputable sources and coming up with my own ideas, not just the easiest ideas to write about because all of the evidence is in front of me. 

Closing on a Great Year

Our class is rowdy to say the least and it can take half the period for the "back corner(s)" to settle down, but through all the chaos that it Pugliese A Block, I've learned the most about my writing skills than in any other class. English, a period based off of writing essays, has taught me nothing in comparison to what I have accomplished or more so learned over the past nine months in Modern World History. Rereading an essay that I had written back in September made me laugh. I lacked the ability to organize, use topic sentences correctly, and form a thesis. Although I still have trouble putting together a thesis, I can see that something has drastically changed. Maybe it is not shown on paper, but I notice it when going about writing a paper. For the past couple years, I've tried to use the basic thesis structure: "although -----, (claim) because (reason)." For every paper, that has been my building block and i've learned to elaborate my reasons from there. My thesis for my final project turned out to be just a claim essentially. I've now learned how to gather information from many different sources, organize it, and interpret before starting to compose an essay. I can see the difference from when I tried to do that in my Simon Bolivar project to my final project on the Brandenburg Gate. At first glance, it's overwhelming to have to deal with all the information from different sources, but I've learned how to go about it in a more organized fashion. Another issue with my writing is my analysis of the facts. I ask questions in my papers, but tend to leave them unanswered. Although I still tend to do this even now, I can now recognize this when writing and reading through my essays. I've enjoyed the class itself, but it has greatly changed the way I write for the better and helped me feel more confident when assigned a paper. 

What I've Learned

Before this year, I think that my writing was argumentative, but I think that my thesis statements were not very strong and did not well represent my persuasive, argumentative writing. I think that this year I learned to develop more concise, argumentative,  and representative thesis statements.  This overall makes my papers much stronger and makes it easier to organize my evidence in a way that makes sense and makes it easy to read. I also think that I consistently provided too much background information and factual evidence before getting to my point. One example of this was in my paper about feminists this year. I had about a page an a half of unneeded background information. After cutting this, and reforming my thesis, my written paper was much stronger. This year my writing improved, but it was mostly my organization of my papers and making it concise so that it was easy to read and made sense, that improved. My ideas also greatly improved this year. I feel as though the things that we learned were much less factual and memorizing than history classes in the past. I think that our class discussions made me really think deeper into the surface of these historical events. Mostly I think that this new outlook showed up in my writing. One of the papers that I was most proud of this year actually occurred at the beginning of the year. We had spent time in class discussing current events and we had to write a paper linking some of these events into a common theme. The theme that I chose was ethnic nationalism. I think that this beginning of the year paper really helped me to think of history in a new way for the rest of the year, and the years to come. Before this class, I would have probably just read these current events off of my Yahoo page and absorbed them, but not thought much about them. Now I am able to see connections between different things happening in the world at different times and how these patterns have repeated throughout history. I think that this new outlook makes me appreciate history even more, and makes it a much more interesting class.

Final Review- A Last Post Salute

Ms. Pugliese  A block. What a year. With A block being the most enlightened block (for obvious reasons), I was able to grab the reins of world history in an incredibly unique way. The improvement I am most proud of in this class is my new approach/perspective upon history as a whole. The history classes in years previous have seemed like a routine of going through the motions, compared to my engaged and thoughtful experiences as a sophomore in World History. Because of the way we go about class, history has provoked an interest that goes beyond facts and dates. I discovered that the past is ultimately a connection to the contemporary themes in politics, society, and economics that dominate our lives today. Although I cannot say I fully understand the mysterious power of history in our world, I feel that I have drastically improved my ability to comprehend what it means to me as a white teenager in suburban America. I feel in some way that Ms. Pugliese A block has taught me more about analyzing the blur that is life and academics, and how to approach this blur with an open mind and an opinionated voice. I now have a better idea about how history affects the patterns and form of my lifestyle- I am ready and able to question anything that comes my way. As Ms. Pugliese warned us, our ideas and beliefs will change with the seasons, but the most important part of this is that we allow our beliefs to change. And with these components of new knowledge in history, I have seen my writing transform from a plain piece of paper w/ facts on it to a crafted essay that strives to find ideas lurking in  the corners of historical elements. I now find the desire to explore on my own, to simply deepen my understanding of the world around me. History isn't just history, basically. So to conclude, I thank Ms. Pugliese for opening these doors and I enthusiastically thank my fellow classmates of A block (reppin' for life) for helping to ignite the classroom. It really was fun. Thank you, and goodnight.

What I Learned

This year, the most important thing that I learned was how to be more argumentative in my writing. In the beginning of the year my writing was almost purely factual and my arguments were weak with little evidence. Now I'd like to think that I provide a lot more evidence and my arguments are stronger and I inject my opinion more into my writing subtlety. I can attribute most of this progress to the blog posts. In most of the blog posts we have been required to post our own opinions on whatever the topic is, and in the beginning of the year we wrote op-eds. Writing these, and reading other people's op-eds helped me develop my own way of presenting my argument.