Until the government shut down, I was not aware how frequently I rely on government websites to teach American History. It just so happens that I’m teaching the Revolutionary War to my 10th graders, and the Civil War to my 11th graders (I love teaching history). There have been three occasions where I opened up a map online to show my students about a battle or campaign, and the map doesn't open. Twice, students have come up to me at the beginning of class to tell me they had a similar experience. I’m tired of running into this, when I’m trying to educate:
Come on, Congress! Reopen the government so I can run my classroom with the resources I need to teach students the finer points of American History. If not, when I foray into contemporary politics (which I do frequently), my civics lessons will highlight (and maybe contribute to) your dismal approval rating, which, on October 9th, was polled at 5% according to the AP-GfK.
