The Inspiration Behind Dracula, Vlad the Impaler

Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia (1431–1476), also known by his patronymic Dracula (son of the Dragon (Vlad II) Dracul), and posthumously dubbed Vlad the Impaler (Romanian: Vlad Țepeș pronounced [ˈvlad ˈt͡sepeʃ]), was a three-time Voivode of Wallachia, ruling mainly from 1456 to 1462, the period of the incipient Ottoman conquest of the Balkans. His father was a member of the Order of the Dragon (Dracul) and Dracula means son of the Dragon to indicate his father's title within the Order of the Dragon.

Vlad III is remembered for spending much of his rule campaigning efforts against the Ottoman Empire and its expansion^[3]and for the impaling of enemies.^[4] Already during his lifetime, his reputation of excessive cruelty spread abroad, toGermany and elsewhere in Europe. The total number of his victims is estimated in the tens of thousands. The name of thevampire Count Dracula in Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula was inspired by Vlad's patronymic.^{[4] (Taken from Wikipedia)}

For a Vlad Tepes PowerPoint click HERE.

Nosferatu (1922), Directed by F.W. Murnau & Starring Max Schreck 

Dracua (1931), Directed by Tod Browning & Starring Bella Lugosi

Bram Stroker's Dracula (1992), Directed by Francis Ford Coppola & Starring Gary Oldman

Occupy Wall Street

If anyone is interested I created a power point presentation that attempts to make the Occupy Wall Street protest more comprehensible.  It can be found under the "Power Point" tab.  This presentation is not meant to influence anyone's thinking in one direction or another.  Rather it is my attempt to turn a real life event into a teachable moment.  Creating it also helped me to gain a better understanding of the protest myself.  Teaching is funny that way, most of the time I learn more than I teach.

The PowerPoint is based on a lesson written by Jinnie Spiegler that has been posted on teachablemoments.org.

This American Life Does A Show About Middle School!!!

 

This American Life  is a weekly public radio show on more than 500 radio stations to 1.8 million listeners.  It is produced by Chicago Public Media, distributed by Public Radio International, and has won all of the major broadcasting awards.  It is often the most popular podcast in the country, with around 700,000 downloads each week.  


It's format is simple.  There is a theme to each episode and a variety of stories told about that theme.  It is mostly true stories told by regular people.  There are literally 100s of episodes on millions of different topics.  Some are funny, some are sad, some are informational, etc. etc.  I LOVE this show and HIGHLY recommend it!!!


There are a variety of ways to listen to the show...

• Stream radio episodes for free from the archive
• Listen on the radio
• Subscribe to the free weekly podcast
• Download the most recent episode a la carte, free, from the homepage
• Download old episodes for $0.99 on iTunes or Amazon MP3
• Stream episodes through our apps for iPhone, Android or iPad
• Purchase greatest hits collections on CD
• Purchase DVDs of our TV seasons
• Download TV Season One or Season Two on iTunes
• Rent TV Season Two on Netflix 

This week's episode is dedicated to middle school!  It will air at 10 am, Saturday morning on KCRW 89.9.  Check it out.


Click HERE to learn more about it.

The History Behind Halloween

Halloween…  All-Hallows-Eve… the night before All Hallows Day… Hallows means saints… Halloween or The Eve of All Saints Day

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:

What we think of as Halloween can be traced back 2,000 years ago in Britain and Ireland.  The Celtic people celebrated a giant festival every November 1^st called Samhain.  This festival celebrated the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter. 

·      It would begin on the evening of the 31^st

·      Bonfires were lit

·      Sacrifices of livestock and crops were made to the gods

·      People dressed in animal skins and furs for the event

·      It was thought that the ghosts of the dead along fairies and goblins visited the earth on this day, so food was left outside homes to satisfy them

During the 1^st century C.E. Rome conquered Britain and two Roman holidays were combined with Samhain. 

1.     Feralia: honored the dead

2.     Pomona: celebrated the goddess of the harvest (Pomona’s symbol was the apple and it is hypothesized that this is where the tradition of bobbing for apples comes from.)

Christianity spread to the British Isles during the 4^th and 5^th centuries C.E. and the Pope insisted on giving all pagan holidays Christian themes. 

*      November 1^st became All Saints Day and celebrated the lives of saints

*      November 2^nd became All Souls Day and celebrated the lives of dead Christians

COSTUMES & JACK-O-LANTERNS

Were both initially used to scare off the ghosts, ghouls, and goblins that traveled the earth on that night.  The costumes would help the living blend in with the supernatural and the jack-o-lanterns would protect homes.

TRICK OR TREATING

Derives from a practice known as souling, whereby poor beggars went door to door during the two Christian holy days (holidays) and promise to pray for the household in exchange for food.

Scottish and Irish immigrants brought these wonderful traditions to America.

Happy Halloween!

more on..... The Boston Tea Party

On the evening of December 16, 1773, a group of men calling themselves the "Sons of Liberty" went to the Boston Harbor. The men were dressed as Mohawk Indians. They boarded three British ships, the Beaver, the Eleanor and the Dartmouth, and dumped forty-five tons of tea into the Boston Harbor.







BACKGROUND...
The British East India Company had controlled all tea trading between India and the British colonies. As a result of the tea tax, the colonies refused to buy the British tea. Instead, they smuggled tea in from Holland. This left the British East India Company with warehouses full of unsold tea, and the company was in danger of going out of business.

The British government was determined to prevent the British East India Company from going out of business. It was going to force the colonists to buy their tea. In May 1773, Prime Minister North and the British parliament passed the Tea Act. The Tea Act allowed the British East India Company to sell tea directly to the colonists, bypassing the colonial wholesale merchants. This allowed the company to sell their tea cheaper than the colonial merchants who were selling smuggled tea from Holland.  This act revived the colonial issue of taxation without representation.

The Boston Tea Party

The Boston Tea Party was a political protest against the British government and George III. The disguised protestors (probably) led by Samuel Adams, called themselves The Sons of Liberty, and they objected to "taxation without representation". This was one of the key events which led up to the American Revolution, and independence. 

Click HERE for a great video short on the Boston Tea Party.

The Boston Tea Party poem for kids, by Paul Perro.

Sammy lived in Boston
And he loved a cup of tea.
But one day something happened
That made him very angry.

A king in a faraway land said
"From now on every time
Someone drinks a cup of tea
They have to give me a dime."

This did not seem fair to Sammy.
The king lived so far away
Why should he care what Sammy drank?
And why should Sammy pay?

Lots of people agreed with Sammy
There was a lot of frustration.
People made speeches with long clever words
Like “taxation” and “representation.”

So Sammy got some friends together
And the rebellion began.
They knew where the king kept his tea
And they came up with a plan.

Sammy was a little worried
That they’d be recognised.
So they dressed up as red Indians
And then went out disguised.

The tea was kept on three ships
Docked in the harbour
The ships were called “The Dartmouth”
“The Beaver” and “The Eleanor.”

They climbed aboard the Dartmouth first
And quickly found the tea.
They found hundreds of boxes
And threw them in the sea.

Next they boarded the Beaver
And found where the tea was stored.
Just like they had done before,
They threw it overboard.

Then they moved to the Eleanor
And did the same thing there.
They spoiled all the king’s tea
Because he’d been unfair.

They hadn’t wanted to steal the tea
Because stealing things is wrong.
They’d wanted to teach the king a lesson
That was the plan all along.

The next day everyone was talking
About the tea that Sammy had sunk.
They called it the Boston Tea Party
Even though no tea had been drunk.

The Boston Massacre

     The Boston Massacre, also known as the Boston riot, was an incident that led to the deaths of five civilians at the hands of British troops on March 5, 1770, the legal aftermath of which helped spark the rebellion in some of the British American colonies, which culminated in the American Revolutionary War. A heavy British military presence in Boston led to a tense4 that boiled over into incitement of brawls between soldiers and civilians and eventually led to troops discharging their muskets after being attacked by a rioting crowd. Three civilians were killed at the scene of the shooting, eleven were injured, and two died after the incident.

Click here to see a scene from the HBO mini series John Adams,

"Taxation without Representation"

East Whittier Middle School

14535 E. Whittier Blvd, Whittier, CA 90605
(562) 907-5900

Parents, Students, and Staff

We are all aware of the current budget crisis facing California.  Recently, funding for education has been drastically reduced due to shortfalls in state revenue.  As a result, monies that ordinarily would be granted to East Whittier Middle School will not be forthcoming. The school faces severe financial problems, and the administration has been forced to consider alternative funding sources.

Therefore, a new policy is in immediate effect. Each student in social studies classes will be required to pay for all photocopied materials. The fee will be 10 cents per page. There will be no exceptions. Any student who does not pay the 10-cent fee will receive a zero for the assignment. While this may seem a burden, it is absolutely necessary. We must all work together to solve this temporary financial  

problem.

A sincere thanks for your efforts and patience,

The Administration of East Whittier Middle School

Principal, Tim Strand
Assistant Principal, Gabriela Aldana
Assistant Principal, Daniel Ruiz

The Slave Trade from the Slave's Perspective

Equiano, Olaudah.  "The Slave Trade." Readings in World Civilizations: The Development of the Modern World. Kevin Reilly. New York City: St Martin's Press, 1995.  pages 44-52.

     The consequences of the European arrival in the Americas were devastating for the human inhabitants of three continents: North America, South America, and Africa.  The inhabitants of the Americas were decimated by diseases, especially smallpox, form which they had no immunities.  The inhabitants of Africa, especially western africa, were decimated by the European slave trade.

     This selection is part of the autobiography of one of the Africans who was enslaved, Olaudah Equiano. He was born in 1745 in what is today Nigeria.  Sold to British slavers at the age of eleven, and shipped off to the British West Indies.  In 1766 he was able to buy his freedom and become involved in the antislavery movement in England.  What was slavery in Africa like and how was it different from slavery in the Americas  For those, like Equiano, who survived, what were the worst aspects of the Atlantic slave trade?  What do you think Equiano's criticism of "nominal Christians"?

To read a primary source about slavery from a slaves perspective click here!!!

Columbus Day

Columbus Day, which is annually on the second Monday of October, remembers Christopher Columbus' arrival to the Americas on October 12, 1492. This holiday is controversial because the European settlement in the Americas led to the demise of the history and culture of the indigenous peoples.


Officially, the people of the USA are invited to celebrate the anniversary of the discovery of their country with church services and other activities. In some towns and cities, special church services, parades and large events are held. Most celebrations are concentrated around the Italian-American community. The celebrations in New York and San Francisco are particularly noteworthy. In Hawaii Columbus Day is also known as Landing Day or Discoverer's Day.

Not all parts of the United States celebrate Columbus Day. It is not a public holiday in California, Nevada and Hawaii. Moreover, Native American's Day is celebrated in South Dakota, while Indigenous People's Day is celebrated in Berkeley, California. 

For more information on Native American's Day click here.

More on the Colonies

More on Jamestown

The 13 Colonies

The Lost Colony of Roanoke

Click here to see a History Channel video.

Video provided courtesy of Berit Bontems.