News Display: 26th Amendment Is Ratified, Monday, 6/29
The Everett Cafe features thematic news displays on a wide range of educational topics, in addition to daily postings of headlines from around the world. Stay tuned into current events and consider how the news may impact teaching and learning.
News Display: World Environment Day, Friday, 6/5
World Environment Day is celebrated each year on June 5th. It was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972 to mark the opening of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment, with the following goals: 1) Give a human face to environmental issues; 2) Empower people to become active agents of sustainable and equitable development; 3) Promote an understanding that communities are pivotal to changing attitudes towards environmental issues; and 4) Advocate partnership which will ensure all nations and all peoples enjoy a safer and prosperous future. This year's theme is entitled “Your Planet Needs You-UNite to Combat Climate Change” and it will be held in Mexico to bolster the fight against climate change, including carbon markets and global greenhouse gas emissions, with improved management of forests.
The Gottesman Libraries will post stories relevant to World Environment Day, its history, place and impact on the evolving global agenda. In addition be sure to watch the slideshow featuring images of our planet accompanied by the music of Mozart.
Amelia Earhart's First Trans-Atlantic Flight, Thursday, 6/18
Amelia Earhart in her early days was a pre-medical student at Columbia University, but aviation fast became her calling. On June 18, 1928 Earhart became the first woman to cross the Atlantic by plane as a passenger, invited on the journey by her future husband, the publisher George Palmer Putnam. On May 21, 1932, Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. In addition to setting record speeds and altitudes and receiving numerous awards, Amelia Earhart was the first female, and one of a select few, to wear the Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross. She became an aviation editor for Cosmopolitan; leader in women’s flying clothes for the Ninety-Nines; and proponent for an organization of women aviators. A symbol of daring and courage, Earhart’s accomplishments were many. Join us as we tribute the achievements of Amelia Earhart, including her last historic flight: 22,000 miles circumnavigated around the equator towards Howland Island in the Pacific.
In addition to the headlines, be sure to check out the Amelia Earhart Birthplace Museum website, as well as our slideshow which draws images from there.
GI Bill Is Signed by FDR, Monday, 6/22
The G.I. Bill of Rights, officially known as the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was signed by Franklin Delano Roosevelt on June 22, 1944. A landmark legislation that opened up exceptional benefits for veterans, college education was no longer only for the wealthy and home loans were easier to obtain. In 1947 veterans accounted for nearly half of college admissions, and by 1956 nearly 7.8 million of 16 million World War II veterans had participated in an education or training program.
Stories will show the controversy and development of the bill, including the latest revisions in 2008; the new law gives veterans with active duty service on or after, September 11, 2001, enhanced educational benefits that include educational expenses, living allowance, money for books, and the option to transfer unused educational benefits to spouses or children.
Enhancing the news coverage is a slide show highlighting involvement mostly in World War II by select faculty and students of Teachers College and Columbia University.
26th Amendment Is Ratified by the State of Illinois, Monday, 6/29
On June 29, 1971, the amendment to lower the voting age to 18 was ratified in the state of Illinois. Alabama and Ohio followed suit the next day. The proposed legislation, already ratified by New York and numerous other states, was largely in response to student activism against the Viet Nam War (i.e. drafting eighteen year olds) and to overrule the Supreme Court decision in Oregon versus Mitchell, a case that held that states could set their own age limits for state elections. The law was formally adopted on July 1, 1971, marking a significant change that afforded youth the duty and/or right to greater participation in the political process.
Trace the fastest ratification of a political amendment in United States law by catching the headlines in major newspapers from across the country, beginning with Connecticut on March 23, 1971 and ending with Georgia on October 4, 1971. Why have eight states (Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Utah) held fast in not ratifying? The stories will present the debate.
