Thomas L. Dynneson

Character is like genetics. It travels from one generation to the next; one never knows what he or she will inherit, as one’s parents are very different individuals. You can hope for the best, but ultimately it is up to you. Character is tested and revealed in both the public and the private  Read More 

In recent years, the school library seems to have diminished in importance, but shelf books are an essential aspect of the social studies. As a hands-on resource, there is still something special about a book that cannot be substituted by a computer. A book is intimate; it is a private world that, for a  Read More 

The struggle that faces each person in life is the struggle to create something meaningful and positive out of the chaos. In other words, to seek and find a peace of mind by looking, first of all, within - a conversation with the soul - a positive faith helps, but no one can really  Read More 

Aristotle thought a lot about the things that children ought to be taught
He though about ideas and natural laws that were to be sought

He spoke about the laws that direct our existence and gained great wisdom from the human condition
He tried to build a better world for all Read More 

We both stepped into life, I will try to explain my life to you and you will try to explain your life to me. When we leave this life we will leave our lives behind, so try to live a good life.

Global Warming

If the cold weather is getting you down
Remember global warming is coming around

Al Gore will tell what you should do
He has invented something called the stay at home flu

If it’s cold and cloudy and not so nice
The world is spinning on very thin ice

Global warming means winter is no more
Put on your shorts and open the front door Read More 

The Cemetery Glade

In the spring the birds will sing
Flying high across a clear sky carried aloft on a feathered wing
Not caring about the boys who will die
Beside their comrades in a battle cry

Brave boys just out of school
Full of hope and the golden rule
Their cause is just and in courage they trust
Some of their broken bodies will soon lie in the dust  Read More 

(a) Religiosity – The interpretation of events, or the outcomes of events, due to a strong religious outlook. It includes actions and arguments that are predicated on the belief that to follow certain pathways will curry the favor or the disfavor of god(s) of the supernatural realm or those realms that are deemed sacred, including Fate; it also includes oaths and pledges that are designed to evoke the favor of the spiritual realm.  Read More 

What had I learned about reading in a social studies class?

1. Older students with low reading ability will avoid reading.
2. Students are aware of the inability to read and they tend to hide this problem from others.
3. A lack of reading ability in an older student can produce a large degree of hostility.
4. Although older students with poor reading skill may seem to be a lost cause, they are not a lost cause.
5. For many, if not most students, assigned classroom materials are inappropriate for instructional purposes and must be modified and/or supplemented.
6. Older students, like younger students, learn to read or improve their reading skills by reading. Reading, like any other skill, can become a habit that improves with practice.
7. Reading can become a social affair in a social studies classroom, and can be used to build relationships.
8. The inability to read at an expected reading level does great harm to a student’s confidence and a student’s sense of self-identity that may follow them through life.
9. Social studies learning demands a certain level of reading comprehension; thus these skills become social studies skills.
10. Most surprising of all, students with weak reading and comprehension skills can learn to read relatively well in a short period of time, provided that they read on a regular daily basis and have supervision.  Read More 

In 1968 I was teaching American history in Edina High School in Edina, Minnesota when I learned that I was the recipient of a Coe fellowship at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. At this time I was married with three children so we would be housed in the married student-housing complex on the Stanford campus. After arriving at Stanford I learned that the Coe Fellowship, for high school social studies teachers of American history, focused on modern trends in history and revisionist history. I took a course from Professor Kennedy, a young and eminent scholar and a course from a visiting Professor from The University of Washington.

While at Stanford, I learned of an exceptional Professor of Social Studies Education who had been elected as the president of the National Council for the Social Studies. He was Professor Richard E. Gross, who was called Dick by almost everyone. He was married to Jane, and he liked to make reference to “Dick and Jane,” the famous reading primer. One day I decided to go by the School of Education to meet Professor Gross. I checked his office hours and came back at an appropriate time. Several students were lined up outside his office were waiting to meet with Dick to discuss their unit projects. I stood in line and waited my turn and when it came I was ushered into his very large and long office. I was greatly impressed by the fact that the long wall consisted of a huge bookshelf that was completely full of books related to the social studies. Dick also taught a course related to the study of the history of education from a world perspective. Read More