Articles written by Tom Ontis - Page 5

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About me - Tom Ontis

I am a retired social studies teacher. I attended San Francisco State University, graduating with a Bachelor's of Arts in Political Science in 1976. Subsequently I obtained my teaching credential from Califoria State University, Sacramento in 1989.

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Education > Educational Philosophy Thoughts on teachers: 30 of 45
We all have our teacher stories, both positive and negative. I teach and I am on the downside of my career. I have always had a good memory and I could probably tell the names of most of my teachers in my 13 years of formal education. Some of them stand out, though. I lived in a semi-rural area of Northern California. When I... More..
Arts & Humanities > 20th & 21st Century US History The Dust Bowl migration of the Great Depression: 2 of 3
As a history teacher, I have taught about the Great Depression in the US on a number of occasions. The hardships that the people of the Dust Bowl were unimaginable. We see the photos of the dust in our history books, in films and videos and every place we looked for that kind of information. I must report right off that I am... More..
Politics, News & Issues > Government & Policies What really happens to the president when he leaves the office: 2 of 3
What does happen to the President of the United States after he leaves office? Many write books, many join the lecture circuit for semi-obscene amounts of money. Some start foundations to promote world peace. Heck even some have wom Nobel Peace Prizes for trying to promulgate peace throughout the world. Few, if any, just ret... More..
Food & Drink > Bread & Baking Recipes Recipes: Irish soda bread: 2 of 3
It was about 15 years ago, while taking a college world history class that I discovered Irish Soda bread. The assignment was for groups to research and make presentations of European immigrant groups and the group that were assigned the Irish, brought the bread. It was warm and soft and tasted really good with real butter. B... More..
Politics, News & Issues > Political & Economic Theory What will happen if the gap between the rich and poor continues to grow?: 9 of 13
Karl Marx may have said it best: The world is made up of 'haves' and 'have nots,' with most of the people falling into the latter category. Just before the Russian Revolution of 1917, about 2 per cent of the people owned well over 90 percent of the land. That and other reasons led to the bloody revolution and ushered in near... More..
Education > High School Humanities Why history education needs improvement: 16 of 22
I am a history/social science teacher in Northern California and I believe that history education needs to be improved in, not only my state, but around the country. History has to get away from being seen as the rote memorization of names, places and events, and into a realm of why these names, places and events are importa... More..
Education > Alternative Education (Other) Alternative to what?: 16 of 22
Let's face it: Traditional school from 8-3 is not for everyone. For a variety of reasons, some students cannot or do not benefit from a traditional form of education. Reading things out of a textbook, or even looking information up on-line is not for them. There must be alternatives for them. I teach in a small program in No... More..
Politics, News & Issues > Political & Economic Theory Lessons learned from the 2008 election: 3 of 4
If there is anything to learn from the election of a few days ago: 'It is the economy stupid." Those lines were uttered half in jest by former President Bill Clinton more than a decade ago. Clinton had it right and research has shown that people vote their pocketbooks first, then everything else. Barack Obama offers a bold t... More..
Politics, News & Issues > News Industry Whatever happened to quality journalism?: 14 of 18
It seems since we entered the world of the 24 hour news cycle a dozen or so years ago, the quality of journalism in this country has seen a marked decrease. Now it seems that anyone with a computer and a few contacts can call themselves journalists. I grew up with Huntley/Brinkley, Walter Cronkite and that generation of jour... More..
Parenting & Pregnancy > Parenting Tips Tips for parents dealing with difficult teachers: 7 of 9
Now, for the rest of the story. As a teacher, I have been on he other side of this situation more times than I can count on all my fingers and toes. Kids insist that teachers are 'picking on them,' 'that teachers don't like them,' 'teachers want to see them fail,' and they 'don't understand.' I have taught mostly high school... More..