ABSTRACT
Ask most history teachers about Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, and you’re likely to get a response that invokes the name of John Brown and his October 1859 raid on the federal armory and arsenal. Brown’s goal was to secure arms and munitions and start a slave uprising along the Appalachian Mountains, and his raid is considered one of the major triggers of the Civil War. Like many teachers the author struggled with the issue of homework. He believed in its use as a pedagogical practice, but as his high school demographics dramatically changed, he encountered more and more students who simply would not do homework. It’s a good, quick way to check on student learning and retention. Most students over the years have reflected Becky’s sentiments. Today our young people are sensitive to race and to people in the United States who are marginalized and maligned simply because of who they are.
