Dec 16, 2024
1 min
Newsday talked to Professor of Education Alan Singer about a recent survey of Long Island high school students that found little more than half knew the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor launched the United States into World War II.
The article said that historians and educators agree the touchstone event must be remembered, honored and learned from.
“While FDR said Dec. 7, 1941, was ‘a date which will live in infamy,’ every generation has a date that will live in infamy,” Dr. Singer said. “When I was in school in the 1960s, World War II was fought by my father’s generation. Now, it is an event related to this generation’s great-grandfathers — and it’s been eclipsed by other events.”
He added that though the New York State Department of Education dedicates just a few paragraphs in the ninth- and 10th-grade social studies curriculum to the World War I-World War II era and just a sentence on Pearl Harbor in the guidelines for 11th- and 12th-graders, teachers must continue to connect the dots between historic touchstones, to explain why Pearl Harbor remains important.
Alan Singer specializes in social studies education and United States history.
1 min
Lawrence Levy, associate vice president and executive dean of the National Center for Suburban Studies, is featured in the Politico report “Suburbia’s ICE Shift,” about voters – particularly those in suburban counties – souring on President Donald Trump’s aggressive deportation campaign. This is significant because the suburbs are a key indicator of how the national mood has dramatically shifted over the last month.
1 min
Dr. Jase Bernhardt, associate professor of geology, environment, and sustainability and director of Hofstra University’s meteorology program, was interviewed by Newsday about the use of virtual reality technology to teach the public about the danger of driving in a snow squall.
1 min
Education Professor Alan Singer was interviewed by WCBS-TV News about the Connetquot School District on Long Island school being threatened with funding cuts if it does not reinstate its old mascot name, the Thunderbirds. The name change to T-Birds was made in 2022 to comply with a state ruling that mascot names like “Chiefs” and “Warriors” are demeaning and offensive to Native Americans. The U.S. Department of Education has ruled that these changes are a violation of federal law. Dr. Singer said Connetquot is “caught in the crossfire with the Trump administration, which is at war with blue states and diversity,” and the district’s mascot is part of a much larger political fight.
Check out some other posts from Hofstra University
1 min
Lawrence Levy, associate vice president and executive dean of the National Center for Suburban Studies, is featured in the Politico report “Suburbia’s ICE Shift,” about voters – particularly those in suburban counties – souring on President Donald Trump’s aggressive deportation campaign. This is significant because the suburbs are a key indicator of how the national mood has dramatically shifted over the last month.
1 min
Dr. Jase Bernhardt, associate professor of geology, environment, and sustainability and director of Hofstra University’s meteorology program, was interviewed by Newsday about the use of virtual reality technology to teach the public about the danger of driving in a snow squall.
1 min
Education Professor Alan Singer was interviewed by WCBS-TV News about the Connetquot School District on Long Island school being threatened with funding cuts if it does not reinstate its old mascot name, the Thunderbirds. The name change to T-Birds was made in 2022 to comply with a state ruling that mascot names like “Chiefs” and “Warriors” are demeaning and offensive to Native Americans. The U.S. Department of Education has ruled that these changes are a violation of federal law. Dr. Singer said Connetquot is “caught in the crossfire with the Trump administration, which is at war with blue states and diversity,” and the district’s mascot is part of a much larger political fight.
