The Importance of Journals

A few years ago, I had the pleasure of working with a parent who remembered me as her tour guide on her eighth grade trip! She was accompanying her son, who was part of his school's trip!

After the initial shock that I had been in the business long enough, and old enough, for such an encounter, I asked her what she remembered from the trip.

"Oh, I remember you! I have a photo of you with the boys; on July 4th, you dressed up as the Statue of Liberty! You said they were shower curtains and you were sweating! It's here, in my journal!"

She had kept the looseleaf journal of the trip since 1986 and had brought it on her son's Washington, DC trip!

Her journal was the requirement of one of my most beloved teachers from Corona, CA, who tragically, died last year. (The above photo was sent to me by my teacher's husband.)

But this journal was a very thoughtful one that covered not just the background history and events of the trip, but her feelings concerning each stop, her budgeting, her purchases, the new foods she tried, the weather, news reports on TV, and headlines in the newspapers, revelations about her friends (one snored loudly and kicked while she slept), and the interaction amongst her roommates and classmates.

Each evening on the way to the hotel, I had her read something from the journal that applied to what we had done. We had discussions about the social interaction amongst the roommates on her trip as well as the one we were on.

I was impressed by the engaging way it was presented, the perspective of the trip from an eighth grader, and the life lessons learned.

There's a real difference between a group that has a journal and one that hasn't. As a rule, the ones with journals are far more appreciative of the trip and more focused during it. I don't have the discipline problems with a journal group as opposed to the non-journalers.

It's also nice that they can reference what they are about to experience in advance so that there aren't blank faces staring at the guide, docent, or ranger; journal groups get more respect and content from these providers.

Journals also give some busy work on the bus during long drives as well as help to get the students settled in their rooms in the hotel. There is less likely to be horseplay in the room if they have a paragraph or two to write, or need to get their budgets in order.

Journals come in all sizes and shapes; the presentation of information and the required work all varies according to the respective teachers.

Some journals were put together during the school year by the students themselves and contain reports on the sites and aspects of history. Others are put together by the teachers. Some are strictly academic, others have crossword puzzles and games attached. Many of my faith-based groups include scripture and prayers for each site.

I have just received the journal for Rosemont. Mrs. C-C has compiled a wonderful one that also includes a 'Getting to Know You Bingo', since several classes are combined. There is background information which can be reviewed five minutes before we reach the site and questions.

And there are pages for their thoughts.

I reinforce the importance of journals and even talk of some of the great diaries and journals. students today understand this concept more than they did ten years ago before MySpace, Xanga, and blogs existed.

But it is bittersweet to reflect that the first teacher I encountered that had journals for her students is now gone, although she is remembered in at least one of those journals.

Her name was Nancy Lynde from Corona, Ca. and I miss her.

New York State History, Facts, Figures, and Jamestown Controversy

New York State History from Infoplease

Giovanni da Verrazano, an Italian-born navigator sailing for France, discovered New York Bay in 1524. Henry Hudson, an Englishman employed by the Dutch, reached the bay and sailed up the river now bearing his name in 1609, the same year that northern New York was explored and claimed for France by Samuel de Champlain.

In 1624 the first permanent Dutch settlement was established at Fort Orange (now Albany). One year later Peter Minuit purchased Manhattan Island from the Indians for trinkets worth about 60 Dutch guilders and founded the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam (now New York City), which was surrendered to the English in 1664.

New York's extremely rapid commercial growth may be partly attributed to Gov. De Witt Clinton, who pushed through the construction of the Erie Canal (Buffalo to Albany), which was opened in 1825. Today, the 641-mile Gov. Thomas E. Dewey Thruway connects New York City with Buffalo and with Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania express highways. Two toll-free superhighways, the Adirondack Northway (linking Albany with the Canadian border) and the North-South Expressway (crossing central New York from the Pennsylvania border to the Thousand Islands), have been opened.

The great metropolis of New York City is the nerve center of the nation. It is a leader in manufacturing, foreign trade, commerce and banking, book and magazine publishing, and theatrical production. A leading seaport, its John F. Kennedy International Airport is one of the busiest airports in the world. New York is also home to the New York Stock Exchange, the largest in the world. The printing and publishing industry is the city's largest manufacturing employer, with the apparel industry second.

Nearly all the rest of the state's manufacturing is done on Long Island, along the Hudson River north to Albany, and through the Mohawk Valley, Central New York, and Southern Tier regions to Buffalo. The St. Lawrence seaway and power projects have opened the North Country to industrial expansion and have given the state a second seacoast.

The state ranks seventh in the nation in manufacturing, with 586,400 employees in 2005. The principal industries are printing and publishing, industrial machinery and equipment, electronic equipment, and instruments. The convention and tourist business is also an important source of income.

New York farms produce cattle and calves, corn and poultry, and vegetables and fruits. The state is a leading wine producer.

Major points of interest are Castle Clinton, Fort Stanwix, and Statue of Liberty National Monuments; Niagara Falls; U.S. Military Academy at West Point; National Historic Sites that include homes of Franklin D. Roosevelt at Hyde Park and Theodore Roosevelt in Oyster Bay and New York City; the Women's Rights National Historical Park in Seneca Falls; National Memorials, including Grant's Tomb and Federal Hall in New York City; Fort Ticonderoga; the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown; and the United Nations, skyscrapers, museums, theaters, and parks in New York City.

Capital: Albany

State abbreviation/Postal code: N.Y./NY

Governor: Eliot Spitzer, D (to Jan. 2011)

Lieut. Governor: David Paterson (to Jan. 2011)

Senators: Charles E. Schumer, D (to Jan. 2011); Hillary Rodham Clinton, D (to Jan. 2013)

U.S. Representatives: 29

Historical biographies of Congressional members

Secy. of State: Lorraine Cortés-Vásquez (apptd. by governor)

Comptroller: Thomas P. DiNapoli

Atty. General: Andrew M. Cuomo, D (to Jan. 2011)

Entered Union (rank): July 26, 1788 (11)

Present constitution adopted: 1777 (last revised 1938)

Motto: Excelsior (Ever upward)

State symbols:

animal	beaver (1975)
fish	brook trout (1975)
gem	garnet (1969)
flower	rose (1955)
tree	sugar maple (1956)
bird	bluebird (1970)
insect	ladybug (1989)
song	“I Love New York” (1980)

Nickname: Empire State

Origin of name: In honor of the Duke of York

10 largest cities (2005 est.): New York, 8,143,197; Buffalo, 279,745; Rochester, 211,091; Yonkers, 196,425; Syracuse, 141,683; Albany, 93,523; New Rochelle, 72,967; Mount Vernon, 67,924; Schenectady, 61,280; Utica, 59,336

Land area: 47,214 sq mi. (122,284 sq km)

Geographic center: In Madison Co., 12 mi. S of Oneida and 26 mi. SW of Utica

Number of counties: 62

Largest county by population and area: Kings, 2,486,235 (2005); St. Lawrence, 2,686 sq mi.

State forest preserves: Adirondacks, 2,500,000 ac.; Catskills, 250,000 ac.

State parks: 176

Residents: New Yorker

2005 resident population est.: 19,254,630

2000 resident census population (rank): 18,976,457 (3). Male: 9,146,748 (48.2%); Female: 9,829,709 (51.8%). White: 12,893,689 (67.9%); Black: 3,014,385 (15.9%); American Indian: 82,461 (0.4%); Asian: 1,044,976 (5.5%); Other race: 1,341,946 (7.1%); Two or more races: 590,182 (3.1%); Hispanic/Latino: 2,867,583 (15.1%). 2000 percent population 18 and over: 75.3; 65 and over: 12.9; median age: 35.9.

Read this! This is a controversy concerning Jamestown, VA versus New York!

This is a difficult call for me - since I was born in New York City and have lived in Virginia (where my father's family lives) for over half my life. The article seems rather unfair to Jamestown; I feel that both places are significant and should be celebrated! What's your opinion?

2009 will be a watershed year,

marking the 400th anniversary of Hudson and Champlain's voyages along the river and lake that bear their names -- and the 200th anniversary of Fulton's successful steamboat voyage and establishment of steam commerce on the Hudson River. From the Canadian border to New York harbor, a wealth of exciting events and activities is being planned for you. We invite you to join this spectacular extravaganza that will draw people from all over the world.

Hudson's and Champlain's voyages laid the groundwork for Dutch settlement of the Hudson Valley and French settlement of the Champlain Valley and Canada. Soon this region would become the center of a trade network linking the New World with the old. New traditions of freedom were forged here. And countless immigrants first set foot on these shores pursuing the American dream. Nearly 200 years later, Fulton's journey would strengthen the region's ties to the world, while heralding a new era of innovation which distinguishes the Northeast to this day.

Erie Canal Resources

"The Marriage of the Waters" by C.Y. Turner, 1905 -- A mural decoration in the DeWitt Clinton High School, N.Y.C . depicting Governor DeWitt Clinton pouring water from Lake Erie into the ocean at New York in a ceremony celebrating the "Marriage of the Waters" between Lake Erie and the Atlantic in 1825.

We will also be partaking in our own Marriage of the Waters ceremony. On the second day of the trip one student from each bus will take water from the Niagara River and empty it into Upper New York Bay at Ellis Island. The bay flows into the Atlantic Ocean.

Unfortunately, current airline restrictions prohibit water to be transported on the airline - or the students could have brought water back from New York and emptied it into the Pacific!

For the history of the Canal, please consult this site.

We will also be partaking in our own Marriage of the Waters ceremony. Please consult this site for the music that accompanies the following poem.

"Monument of Progress"

Yet it is not that wealth now enriches the scene
Where treasures of Art and of Nature convene;
It is not that this Union our coffers may fill:
Oh! No! It is something more exquisite still.
‘Tis that Genius had triumphed and Science prevailed
Where prejudice flouted and envy assailed
It is that the Vassels of Europe may see
The Progress of Mind in a Land that is free.

-- from The Meeting of the Waters of Hudson and Erie, by Samuel Woodworth, 1825; sung by Mr. Keene at the Grand Canal Celebration, respectfully dedicated to His Excellency, DeWitt Clinton.

Here's a famous song about the Erie Canal:

I've got a mule and her name is Sal
Fifteen years on the Erie Canal
She's a good ol' worker and a good ol' pal,
Fifteen years on the Erie Canal.
We've hauled some barges in our day,
Filled with lumber, coal, and hay,
And we know ev'ry inch of the way
From Albany to Buffalo.

Chorus:
Low bridge, ev'rybody down!
Low bridge, for we're comin' to a town!
And you'll always know your neighbor,
You'll always know your pal,
if you've ever navigated on the Erie Canal.

We better get on our way, old pal,
Fifteen years on the Erie Canal.
'Cause you bet your life I'd never part with Sal,
Fifteen years on the Erie Canal.
Get up there mule, here comes a lock,
We'll make Rome 'bout six o'clock,
One more trip and back we'll go,
Right back home to Buffalo.