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  • Patricia S. Cowings: African American Scientist


    Patricia S. Cowings is another great African American woman. She was the
    first woman to take astronaut training at NASA. Although she never took off,
    she has helped many astronauts through her research.

    Patricia Suzanne Cowings was born in New York City on December 15, 1948. Her
    father owned a grocery store, and her mother earned a degree at the age of
    sixty-five, becoming an assistant teacher for the New York Board of Education.

    She first became interested in science at the age of eleven. She was
    fascinated by astronomy. She carried on with her interest throughout high
    school, and studies psychology in University. She won a scholarship to conduct
    research at NASA. She left NASA for a while after that to teach, but returned in
    1977.

    She conducted very important research into zero gravity sickness. This is
    something that affects astronauts in much the same way as motion sickness
    affects people on earth. She set up a biofeedback program. Biofeedback is when
    you teach your body to control things which you normally have no control over,
    like reflexes, heart beat, etc.

    Her program was a great success and has helped many astronauts overcome the
    sickness completely. Some astronauts haven’t been able to get over it totally,
    but all have been helped by the research. She also helped set up a program to
    prevent muscles wasting in space. This happens because there is no gravity to
    make them work hard. She made up exercises to work all the muscles that would
    normally be unused in space.

    She has received many awards for her work. All of this is a great achievement
    for anybody, but especially a woman and African American. Patricia Cowling
    believes that her success is as a result of her father telling her that her
    color didn’t matter. Read what she
    has to say about it.

     

  • Vikings and Religion


    Two of the most famous Vikings are Eric the Red and Leif Ericson.
    In the late 900’s Eric the Red was exiled from his homeland in Scandinavia to Iceland for 3
    years. While living in Iceland he decided to do some exploring and discovered
    Greenland! Although it had a rather harsh climate he wanted to attract
    settlers so that’s why he named it Greenland. He and his family built a home
    there. There were 2 main settlements on Greenland. It was on their farm that Eric
    the Red’s wife built the first Christian church in Greenland.

    There
    were Eskimos on the other side of Greenland and they never discovered each
    other!

    Leif Ericson was responsible for the spread of Christianity in Greenland.
    His mother started many churches.

    Vikings called Jesus the White
    Christ.

    Most Vikings worshipped several gods such as Thor and Odin
    and believed when they died the would go to a place called Valhalla if they died
    in battle.

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  • Theodore Roosevelt


    Theodore Roosevelt (October 27, 1858- January 6, 1919) was the 26th president of America. He was the engineer of a modern era in American politics. On June 26th 2006 Roosevelt, adoringly called Teddy appeared in the cover of Time magazine with the lead story “The Making of Modern America-20th Century Express”: which says “at home and abroad Theodore Roosevelt was the locomotive President, the man who drew his flourishing nation into future.”

    The Life Of The Mandarin

    Theodore was the Assistant Secretary of the US Navy. In 1898 he organized the war with Spain and helped to command the first US Volunteer Cavalry Regiment, “The Rough Riders”. Upon Theodore’s return in New York, he was elected the Republican Governor in 1898.

    Roosevelt was the first person to grasp the significance of Panama Canal. He bargained for the control of its construction for the US in 1904. The canal was completed in 1914 after Theodore left office.

    Roosevelt, The Progressive Leader  

    Theodore was a progressive reformer who wanted to bring the Republican Party within the realm of Progressive Party. But his attack on Judiciary created a rift between him and his friend and successor William Taft. A new political party, The United States Progressive Party was formed out of the split in the Republican Party in 1912 Presidential Election. Theodore Roosevelt lost his Republican nomination to Taft and pulled out to form this new Progressive party nicknamed Bull Moose Party.

    Majority of Republican Congressmen, Governors and leaders refused to join the new party even if a large percentage formerly supported Roosevelt. Though many independent reformers joined Bull Moose. The party backed many sympathetic Republican and Democratic candidates during federal and state elections from 1912 to 1916.

    Out of the 15 most prominent progressive Republicans, 5 supported Theodore and 3 backed Woodrow Wilson. Many political supporters of Roosevelt endorsed Taft. Even Longworth, son in law of Roosevelt supported Taft. Many people deemed it safe and sound to be with Woodrow Wilson and some were suspicious about Theodore’s progressive ideas.

    The rise of the Democratic Party posed new problems. The Bulls Moose had dreamt of victory of Theodore by pulling out progressive elements from the Republican and the Democratic. But the Democrats nominated their most efficient and outstanding leader Woodrow Wilson.

    Scarcity of funds was another problem. The businesses that funded Republicans distrusted Roosevelt because with his ‘Trust Buster’ image he had broken large businesses. So, the Bull Mooser had to spend a lot on publicity.

    Roosevelt defeated Taft in the Popular vote and by 88-8 margin in the Electoral vote. But Woodrow Wilson won due to the crack in the Republican. With this mishap the fantasy to win the White House was ripped apart.

    After poor performances in 1912 and a pathetic showdown in 1914, The Bulls Moose disintegrated.

    The Progressive Manifesto

    The Progressive party voiced for easy amendment of the US Constitution, women suffrage, social welfare legislation of women and children, recall of Judicial decisions, compensation for workers, limited injunction in strikes, revival of banking to promote an elastic currency, farm relief, Health insurance in Industrial arena, new inheritance and income tax structure, improvisation of in-land waterways and limited naval armaments.

    Roosevelt propounded ‘New Nationalism’, which speaks of a sturdy government to protect the interest of middle and worker classes as opposed to Woodrow Wilson’s individualistic ‘New Freedom’.

    The Other Facet Of Roosevelt

    Roosevelt believed in equality and in his ‘Square Deal’ he determined to protect the rights of middle classes and working classes. He promulgated the conservation of natural resources. As a professional historian his biography boasts of a bright academic career strewn with many books. He was the first American who was awarded the Noble Prize in 1906. He own the Peace Prize for his contribution in the peace process between Japan and Russia.

    Thus, stands the tall figure of Theodore Roosevelt pointing towards a future nation he dreamed of. As historian Thomas Bailey says, “Roosevelt was a great personality, a great activist, a great preacher of moralities, a great controversialist, a great showman.”

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  • Surprising Geographical Facts


    Do you know which is the tallest mountain in the world? I bet most of you would be surprised to know that it is in the United States. Almost everyone talks of Mount Everest, in the Himalayas, as being the tallest mountain, but it isn’t. It has the world’s highest peak, but it isn’t the tallest. Why?

    Mountains are measured from their base to their tip. Mount Everest stands on the Asia continental shelf. It is measured from the ground to the tip, and stands at 29,035 feet, to its summit (tip).

    Mauna Kea on the U.S. island of Hawaii is 32,000 feet tall. Because it is measured from the ocean floor, it doesn’t reach as high as Mount Everest, but is actually taller from base to tip.

    Here are some more geographical facts that may make you wonder.

    Highest Peak:
    The tip (peak) of Mount Everest is the world’s highest point. It is 29,035 feet (8,850 meters) above sea level.


    Tallest Mountain:
    Mauna Kea on the U.S. island of Hawaii is 32,000 feet (9,750 meters) tall. Because it is measured from the ocean floor, it doesn’t reach as high as Mount Everest.

    Largest Lake:
    The Caspian Sea, at 143,244 square miles (371,000 square kilometers), is the largest lake in the World. It is a salt-water lake.

    Largest Freshwater Lake:
    Lake Superior on the U.S.-Canada border is 31,700 square miles (82,100 square kilometers) and the world’s largest fresh water lake.

    Longest River:
    The Nile River in Africa is the longest at 4,241 miles (6,825 kilometers) long. It only just beats the Amazon in length.

    Largest River (system):
    Although it’s not quite the longest, the Amazon River is by far the biggest river system in the world. Its drainage basin is almost 2.4 million square miles. It lets almost seven million cubic feet of water into the ocean every second.

    Highest Waterfall:
    Angel Falls, in Venezuela, drops 3,212 feet (979 meters) from Devil’s Mountain.

    Widest Waterfall:
    Khone Falls stretch 6.7 miles (10.8 kilometers) across the Mekong River, between Laos and Cambodia.

  • Sidney Poitier: Black American Actor


    Sidney Poitier was the first black man to win an academy
    award for best actor. Throughout his film career he has taken on roles that
    highlight the situation of the black man in a white world. Poitier’s interest in
    the plight of the black people goes far beyond acting. He is a writer and
    director as well as a humanitarian and a diplomat.

    His first great acting success was in the film Cry The
    Beloved Country, about Apartheid in South Africa. He later went on to play in
    other films about Black Americans. The film “In the Heat of the Night” was a
    classic movie about a black detective from the North. He was sent to solve a
    murder in a Southern town at a time when blacks were still addressed as
    “boy” in the South, and segregated. His performance made a lot of people
    sympathize with the plight of black people in the South. Until then, many people
    had considered that they were treated equally, or at least fairly. Another
    controversial role he played was in “Guess Who is Coming To Dinner”. That
    was a film about interracial marriage. Sidney Poitier was going to marry a white
    girl, and he went to dinner at her parent’s house for the first time, to meet
    them. Her parents were absolutely horrified at the thought of their daughter
    marrying a black man. It was the first time that an interracial marriage had
    been the subject of a Hollywood film, and the film had a happy ending.

    All of these things may seem very ordinary today, but in those days black
    people were still shunned and considered inferior. Sidney Poitier played a big
    part in changing those views. He was not afraid to play in roles that would
    cause controversy, or even put him in danger from extreme racists. Nearly fifty
    years after his first success with Cry My Beloved Country, Sidney Poitier went
    to an apartheid free South Africa, to star in a film as Nelson Mandela. The
    world is slowly changing and people are beginning to realize that color,
    nationality and religion have nothing to do with whether a person is good or
    bad.

    To learn more about Sidney Poitier: his life, his ideals
    and his films, visit
    this link    .

  • K 12 Education


    The K12 education is one of the many educational models that have been developed in order to achieve the perfect educational setup for children in their growing years. The K12 educational system uses a format which includes every educational step that a child undergoes from kindergarten to the twelfth grade, hence the name K12.

    The K12 educational curriculum has the distinction of being one of the most time tested and researched educational model available. It is a widely adapted curriculum and, in the United States and in English Canada, the K12 series of grades from Kindergarten to 12th grade are the free education grades supported by the government.

    The K12 educational curriculum includes comprehensive courses for all levels of education. Each grade also offers 700 lessons for instruction. The K12 education program covers six subjects which are Math, Science, History, Language Arts/English, Music and Art. The lessons in the K12 educational curriculum are based on the Core Knowledge sequence of education. In recent years, the K12 educational curriculum has also been mainstreamed and is now offered as an online school curriculum with corresponding school worksheets, lesson plans and teaching guides available for those who are interested in the course work.

    The development of the K12 educational curriculum is based on three guidelines. These are:

    • Providing a content rich and consistent skills instruction which is built up in a sequence for each year of the K12 curriculum. This allows for the child to learn the subject matter in a continuous manner from his or her earlier years up to young adulthood.
    • Encouraging the learning process in children through the use of a variety of teaching methods which can include activities such as calculating, writing, reading, listening, speaking, singing, acting, painting, drawing and a host of other activities.
    • Using technology where fit in order to encourage education.

    The K12 virtual school has gained popularity due to its focus on helping children cope with continuing their education amidst the special difficulties some of the face. The K12 virtual school addresses the special educational needs of children such as gifted children or highly talented children, slow-learning children, children with medical issues, children with limited funds and children who require special schedules.

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  • Printable Kindergarten Worksheets


    You simply cannot help blessing those who came up with the printable kindergarten worksheets that bring you the opportunity of introducing your kindergarten-attending kid to a fun way of learning. Really, printable kindergarten worksheets are fun-filled and very user-friendly. The best part is that some websites offer these print-ready worksheets free of cost and you can save precious penny.

    Different types of printable worksheets are available for kindergarteners these days – right from clock worksheets to Christmas worksheets, coin worksheets to alphabet worksheets, spelling worksheets to drawing worksheets, and the rest. They are just perfect for older toddlers, preschool, kindergarten and first grade students and match their comprehension-levels.

    Printable worksheets for kindergarteners are being widely used in schools; as parents, you too can make use of these worksheets for the benefit of your child. All you need to do is download and print them. With their colorful look and innovative approach, the printable worksheets will appeal young minds in such a way that the contents will forever be embedded in their minds.

    Printable Kindergarten Worksheets – Their Contents and Effectiveness

    Alphabet printable materials essentially incorporate Preschool Alphabet Activities and Handwriting Printable Materials. Meant for giving handwriting practice, these materials are available in the form of free coloring pages, color posters, flash cards, mini books and activity worksheets.

    Printable worksheets are effective because they involve the learners in the learning process thoroughly. This gives them good practice. In printable kindergarten worksheets, children are made to act and create. For example, when a child is taught to learn A for apple, instead of being introduced to a picture of an apple with a huge A letter beside it, he or she is made to draw or color an apple together with the letter A.

    Similarly, there are some print-ready kindergarten worksheets (spelling, number and drawing worksheets) wherein children are made to learn, trace and print letters, numbers and shapes, etc.; children even learn to spell and write their names. Again, coin worksheets are printable kindergarten worksheets that help a child count and identify money. All these are simply great fun/ thrilling activities for children.

    So, wait no more! Get hold of some printable kindergarten worksheets and introduce your child to an effective and practical way of learning.

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  • Roman Catholic Church


    The Christian Church in close association with the Bishop of Rome is the Roman Catholic Church or Catholic Church for that matter. Its origin can be traced back to the Christian community brought by Jesus. It goes without saying that its traditions were set up by the Twelve Apostles. When it comes to Catholic Church, it is not only the biggest church but also the biggest organized body of any world religion.

    Saint Peter, the man who stood at the helm of the Apostles is considered as the first Pope. History tells that after an intense struggle, Christianity was finally legalized in the fourth century. And not before 27 February 380, Catholic Christianity became the official state religion of the Roman Empire, thanks to Emperor Theodosius. In the history of Christianity, the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century is worth a mention. They not only disclaimed the supremacy of the Pope but also other Catholic doctrines and practices over and above the prevalent abuses in those times.

    You will find detailed account of Catholic beliefs in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Furthermore, the Compendium of the Catechism, is the concise version and comes in question and answer form. Here, you will find seven sacraments, and it is the Eucharist that is of great importance in gaining salvation.

    The Sacred Scriptures i.e. the Bible and Sacred Tradition are the foremost sources for the teachings of the Catholic Church. The teachings of Sacred Tradition were originally derived from the Apostles by way of oral practice. In fact, a lot of writings of the early Church Fathers are a mere reflection of the teachings of Sacred Tradition.

    Putting light on the social teachings of the Catholic Churches, it is found that the teachings emphasize on forgiveness, doing good for other people, principally the needy ones and the holiness of life. Catholics are found to be peace lovers. Capital punishment is partially condemned by the Church, as John Paul II addressed that execution is only apposite “in cases of total necessity.

    Catholicism rests on the belief that there is only one God –the one and only, the eternal, omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient. God can be identified in his works as the origin and end of all created things –as preached by the Church in the First Vatican Council. ‘He, the almighty’ has also chosen to reveal himself as found in the Letter to the Hebrews 1:1-2. It is also believed that God exists in three divine persons, who are distinguished by way of their relations to one another –the father’s relation to the son, the son’s relation to the father and both of their relations to the Holy Spirit represent the single God as a Trinity.

    God the Son, the Divine Logos, the second of the three Persons of God came in the flesh of Jesus Christ, a human being, born of the Virgin Mary according to the Catholics. Jesus Christ spread the message of love, forgiveness and above all revealed God as Love. And subsequent to Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, his followers especially the Apostles left no stone unturned to disseminate their faith far and wide.

    Roman Catholic Church has made its presence felt by touching the lives of millions.


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  • Leaning Tower of Pisa


    The tower in Pisa, Italy, is famous simply because it leans. It was closed to the public in 1990, after fears that an entire busload of tourists at the top would be enough to make it fall. Eleven years later, the lean has been corrected a little, but not entirely.

    Although the tower is famous because it leans, it is an outstanding example of Romanesque architecture, and would probably be famous, even if it didn’t lean. It stands 187 feet high and until 1990 was leaning over at about a 10-degree angle, the top being 17 feet further over than was originally intended. It was estimated that the lean was increasing by one inch every 20 years.

    Construction

    In 1172, a wealthy widow named Berta di Bernado, left sixty coins in her will to buy stones to begin the construction of the tower. It is a bell tower to accompany the cathedral that it stands next to. It isn’t quite clear who the actual designer was, but construction was begun on August 9, 1173. Due to the fact that the people of Pisa were involved in a lot of wars, with several stops to fight, it took until 1350 to complete the building.


    The tower is circular, and made up of eight floors of limestone and lime mortar, covered on the outside with marble. The outside of each level has columns and arches. There is a staircase of 293 steps leading up from the ground to the eighth floor; the steps are built between an inner wall and the outer walls. The eighth floor contains the bells, seven in all.


    The first stage was the building of the first three floors; this began in 1173 and stopped in 1178, when Pisa was at war. Construction began again in 1275 under an architect called Giovanni di Simone. He built the next three floors, and again work was halted until 1319. The final two floors were added between 1319 and 1350.

    The Lean

    Only 5 years after work on the building began, it was leaning noticeably to the North. The lean was first noticed during construction of the third floor. During the building of the next three floors, the lean was corrected by building the floors parallel to the ground, and not level with the leaning building. During this phase the tower started to lean the other way. Now it was leaning to the South.

    Why the lean?

    The tower is built on unsuitable ground for such a heavy and tall building. It is only about 6 feet above sea level and built on a riverbed. The underlying ground is made up of layers of sand and clay. The layers are not even and the weight of the building has compressed them. Because the layers are not even, as the ground has compressed, it has sunk more in some places than others.

    Why hasn’t it fallen over?

    The fact that it took such a long time to build may be the main reason it hasn’t fallen. Between the periods of construction the ground had time to settle and become compacted, making the foundations stronger. Another important factor is the material it is built from; the limestone and lime mortar are able to bend and resist the forces that would make other, more brittle rocks, crack.

    Why won’t it fall in the future?

    Several plans have been tried over the years to stop the tower from falling. Some of them have been almost disastrous. In 1934 an Italian engineer drilled 361 holes into the base and filled them with mortar. The tower promptly leaned over some more. In 1993 650 tons of lead were hung from the North side of the building to try and stop the lean increasing. For a while it worked.


    In 1995, they decided to try and increase the foundations under the South side of the building. They froze the ground using liquid nitrogen, to stop it moving, and then started to remove stones, so they could insert metal rods. What they didn’t know was that the stones they were removing were part of the original foundation of the building. That is the nearest the tower has come to disaster. In one night the lean increased as much as it normally increases in two years. They quickly added another 250 tons of lead and decided to rethink the whole thing.


    At this point everyone was just about ready to give up. Then a British engineering professor came up with yet another idea. His plan was to remove ground from under the high side, instead of trying to add ground under the low side. In 1999 work began, and was done very slowly, so that the building wouldn’t get a sudden shock. At the beginning of June 2001, the work was complete, and the tower had been straightened up by about 16 inches, which returns it to the position it held in 1838. The engineers believe that it is safe for at least another 300 years.


    So, if they know how, why didn’t they just straighten it up all the way? The answer lies in the tower’s name. It is the Leaning Tower of Pisa and just wouldn’t be the same if it didn’t lean! Some of the residents of Pisa say it would be better to let it fall down, rather than to straighten it all the way.




  • The Nile


    The Nile is one longest river of the continent of Africa. Though some sources credits Nile to be the longest river of the world but others give the title of the longest river to Amazon of South Africa. The Nile like Amazon is a dangerous river being infested with the perilous river game, the crocodile.

    Nile is about 6,695 kilometers long, beginning in the mountains of Burundi of central Africa it flows north to the Mediterranean Sea. The river flows through Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan and Burundi. Aswan, Luxor (Thebes), Goza, Cairo and Khartoum are some of the prominent cities on the Nile.

    The name Nile is derived from the Greek word ‘Neilos’ which means a valley or river valley.

    The Tributaries Of Nile

    The two main tributaries of the Nile are the Blue Nile and the White Nile. Blue Nile originates in Ethiopia at Lake Tana and the White Nile, which is bigger, originates in equatorial East Africa at Lake Victoria. After meeting in Sudan the two rivers flow northwards towards the sea.

    Role Of Nile In The Growth Of Ancient Egyptian Civilization

    Greek historian Herodotus wrote “Egypt was the gift of the Nile” and from this truth we will start our discussion.

    Nile was the mother of ancient Egypt. The banks of Nile with first-rate soil for farming and water of the river sustained ancient Egypt. Nile was called ‘Iteru’ in ancient Egyptian language.

    Every year the banks of Nile were over flown by heavy summer rains in the Ethiopian Highlands. After the floods left, the banks got covered with thick rich mud (black silt), which was most fertile for cropping. ‘Hapi’ was the Egyptian god of Nile who was credited as the bringer of fertility.

    Not only cropping, Nile provided ancient Egyptians with foods like fish of the water and birds that flew close to the water.

    Along the coast of the Nile reeds called papyrus grew from which the Egyptians made paper and boats.

    Ancient Egypt prospered in trade, as Nile was the most convenient waterway for traveling from one place to another and cruise expeditions.

    The grand history of ancient Egypt owes its life to the Nile.

    The Flood Situation Of Nile Now

    As I have said earlier that heavy summer rains in the Ethiopian mountains caused yearly floods in Nile. But now the Nile experiences no flood because of the construction of Aswan dam in 1960. From 1970 onwards floods were controlled.

    What Is Eonile?

    From the pictures of satellite imagery dry watercourses has been identified in the desert map of west of the Nile. An Eonile canyon filled by surface drift stands for an ancestral Nile that flowed during the later Miocene.

    The Nile Now

    Still today Nile sustains people living along its banks, it is still the lifeline to the Egyptians living in the infertile stretches of the Sahara. Yearly flood deposits fertile soil in its banks. But today the flow of Nile has become slow due to various obstacles impeding navigation by boats. One of the most alarming blockages is the sudd of Sudan and the alarm was so strong that Egypt once took an attempt to dig a canal, the Jongeli canal to improve the flow.

    But Nile till date remains the watercourse that allows convenient navigation and transportations.

    This is the present story of the Nile and thus ends the anecdote of the utilitarian river.


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