Sherman's Raid

Class was so great this week!

You all amazed Gen. Schmieder and myself, with being prepared to participate in our discussion of the Lincoln biography. WHAT a DIFFERENCE it makes, when you come armed with great thoughts, ideas, the book fresh in your mind! I loved it. I also LOVED the donuts Gen. Schmieder brought to reward your combined efforts. THANK YOU General!  Because our book discussion was cut a little short, I hope we get to squeeze in some more time after Thanksgiving break to share more of our favorite quotes and insights from President Lincoln's life.

This week we also discussed Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, and Sherman's Raid. The devastation that the battles brought to the nation, by the very soldiers' lives claimed, is almost unfathomable. But the total war tactic Sherman laid to the South is even more severe. I would LOVE to know your thoughts on it. Please complete the writing assignment listed at the end of this post. And feel free to read, watch, and learn more about Sherman's March to the Sea, so that your opinion paper will be THAT MUCH MORE informed, interesting, and passionate.

I emailed you all a spreadsheet showing you basically a snapshot of our poster in class where we've kept track of everyone's assignments. PLEASE look to see how much you have left to do. You have 1 month and four days in which to do it! Some things are hard to do with limited time....like MEMORIZING.  :-)

Gen. Schmieder and I are so GRATEFUL to be learning about this amazing period in history with you. Thank you for striving so hard to let this information inform and change who you are and how you see the world.

As always, please feel free to email or call with any questions.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

-Gen. Walk

Letter Home

Hello Sword Scholars!

Thank you to General Schmieder for her awesome lecture on the battles of Chickamauga, Chattanooga, and the Wilderness. The tremendous fortitude both sides exhibited, even as they endured great difficulties in such perilous circumstances, was a great example of courage and perseverance!

Speaking of perseverance, PLEASE REMEMBER the FOLLOWING assignments for next week:

-Finish Abraham Lincoln - FOR REAL this time!

-Write your letter home, as if you have just fought in the battle at Gettysburg.

-Finish any outstanding papers - check the blog for papers already assigned...they should all be listed in previous entries.

-MEMORIZE, MEMORIZE, MEMORIZE!!!!

Good luck, and see you on Thursday!

-Gen. Walk

Abraham Lincoln

Hi Sword Scholars-

Yesterday we talked a lot about the requirements you are all working on to earn your sword.

Last year, the Sword class had almost every person earn their sword.

I hope this year we can improve the record with 100% of all of you scholars passing off every single requirement.

The hardest parts will be the memorization pieces.

We worked on this, and I ENCOURAGE you all to work on it EVERYDAY! Practice makes perfect....or so they say.   :-)

In class we reviewed what we learned (or didn't!) about Gettysburg with a quiz from General Schmieder. Thank you! It was awesome! We then reviewed what habits and behaviors we could use to better study the information and material we are learning about in this class. I particularly appreciated Archie's 3 study tips:  1 - Take better notes.    2 - Study those notes!   3 - Participate in conversation in class, regarding the lecture topics.

SUPER FANTASTIC Archie. All I can say to that is AMEN!


For next week:

Finish reading Abraham Lincoln before class - we will have our book discussion!

Work on your papers

Work on your memorization pieces


Please let us know if you need any help. That's what we're here for.

Thanks!

-General Walk and General Schmieder

Hero Report

Sword Scholars-

Yesterday in class, we did our poetry recitation. It was great! You guys did very well, and I appreciate the time and care that you took to prepare a way in which to share your thoughts and feelings on this period in history. Thank you!

We finished analyzing the Emancipation Proclamation. It was a very PIVOTAL document that changed the course of our nation: morally, politically and economically. I believe God blessed our nation for the

progress that was made after than pronouncement and policy change.

Then we simulated the Battle of Gettysburg on Teacher Lisa's AWESOME hand-drawn map!  It was very cool to see all of the different generals and brigades involved. To hear how each individual general's decision and movements affected this happenstance battle.

Benjamin provided MUCH detail and assistance in mapping out who/what/where/when for the battle. We SO appreciate your expertise in history, Benjamin!

Unfortunately, we weren't able to finish studying the battle because the class mostly consisted of TOO MUCH unrelated side conversation!!!!

We also discussed the Hero Report (requirement) and encouraged you to CHOOSE your hero from the Civil War Era. We will work on these in class next week so BRING resources to assist you in your report!  Books, articles, etc...

Next week we will revisit the battle, talk about the major figures, and possibly play a Gettysburg game. We'll also analyze the Gettysburg address.

Have a great week! And come prepared next week to better participate in class. Thanks!

Assignments

Choose hero and assemble resources to begin research - bring resources to class next week

Finish (or get close to finishing) Abraham Lincoln

Work on Memorization requirements

Complete/turn in lagging writing assignments

Poem on a Civil War Subtopic

Hello Sword Scholars!

Recap on this week's assignments:

1 - Start reading "Abraham Lincoln" by Wilber F. Gordy - book discussion in 3 weeks, so try to read at least 1/3 of the book by next class period

2 - Write your poem about something you have studied about this time period - turn it in next week!

3 - Make, use and BRING your To-Do List to show General Schmieder!

4 - Catch up on any old papers you haven't turned in

5 - MEMORIZE your scriptures re: govt, songs, and the Gettysburg Address!

This week in class, we had an awesome presentation by Hannah on "The Underground Railroad." GREAT JOB Hannah! It was really interesting learning about the quilts that may have been used as guides to help the slaves on their journey to freedom in the north. And the great courage of the conductors! They were a great example of breaking the law when the law was immoral. What an awesome illustration of moral courage! Thank you to Hannah for that enlightening presentation.

We did a quick study (started anyway) of the Emancipation Proclamation. We will continue this next week, so look forward to it!

And General Schmieder gave us an awesome lecture on the battles at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. It is incredible to think that there were 200,000 soldiers fighting in the first urban combat of the war.  

The Battle of Fredericksburg VA in December of 1862 led to the worst looting in the war thus far, embarrassing the troops and their generals.

The Battle of Chancellorsville from April to May of 1863 was the bloodiest to date in the war. Over 30,000 casualties resulted from the terrible skirmish. 

We learned that the Red Badge of Courage (book and movie) was based upon this actual battle! The courage the men showed in these events is remarkable, and character building for all those who bravely fought.

All right....get ready next week for a Gettysburg immersion.

Work hard, and we'll see you in a few more days!

-General Walk

Is it Ever Wrong to Follow the Law; If so, When & Why?

Hello Sword Scholars!

I am so looking forward to tomorrow. Movie day is going to be the best! Don't forget to bring a sack lunch, snack(s) to share, and maybe a pillow/blanket.

Class was really great today. I LOVE having YOU ALL give the LECTURE! You were so GREAT! I learned a lot more about Antietam, Shiloh, and the Unconstitutional Acts occurring throughout the Civil War. It is amazing to think about the huge sacrifices our forebears made during this time, and about the fear that they would experience as they faced their countrymen in battle.

Remember the definition of casualty? Not just one who died in battle, but one who was wounded as well, right? It is incredible to learn that roughly 25% of the battles' participants would become wounded or dead at Shiloh or Antietam. Not great odds!

And we all love President Lincoln. But, just as others before and after him, this president wielded his power in ways that didn't always preserve the freedom of the people. How did it make you feel to learn some of the slick/seemingly necessary actions he took that were not upheld by the constitution? Did their "necessity" justify Lincoln's actions? This is an important question on which I ENCOURAGE you to ponder.

DO THE ENDS JUSTIFY THE MEANS?

Okay...I know...and you thought class was over!

So...assignments:

**Finish Across Five Aprils  - book discussion is next week!

**Write your paper on "Is it ever wrong to follow the law; if so, when and why?

**HANNAH - finish prepping your presentation on the Underground Railroad - you present next week!

**Continue working on MEMORIZATION of music, Gettysburg Address, and Scripture re: government (you were supposed to choose this on your own).

If you need help choosing scriptures on government, your parents would be excellent resources.

If you still need some direction on this after talking to your parents, let me know and I will try to help you identify some you can use.

Have a marvelous week, and we'll see you on SATURDAY, 9 am at my house!

-General Walk

Is Secession Constitutional

Hey Sword Scholars!

We had an awesome time in class today. 

Thank you to ADAM who gave a GREAT presentation on the life of a slave! We learned of some of the severe hardships the slave populace had to endure before our nation made the slave trade illegal. We are SO grateful to live in times of enlightenment and equal treatment and opportunity!

Remember, ARCHIE - you are up next week for your presentation!

General Schmeider helped us learn some of the turbulent political history surrounding the secession of the Southern states. Seen through the lense of "great economic disparity", we can understand why the South would want to part ways with the North, in order to sustain their quality of life.

We discussed Uncle Tom's Cabin! We talked about our favorite characters, their individual motivations, the villains and heroes, and how reading this life-changing volume affected us each personally. YOU WERE ALL SO GREAT during discussion today! You have such meaningful observations, insights into the connections and meanings found within the text, and most importantly, real convictions found or deepened by reading such a great work. KUDOS to you for coming prepared to discuss with us!

If you didn't finish the book, please do so, and then discuss the book with either General Walk or General Schmeider.

ASSIGNMENTS for the Week

*Write your paper on "Is secession constitutional?"

*Being reading "Across Five Aprils" - book discussion is only 2 weeks away on this!!!!!!!

*Work on memorization 

*Catch up on any delinquent papers/assignments

*Continue being the awesome, hard-working scholars you are!

-General Walk