I thought this web-site brought out some heplful and interesting tips for teachers. Specifically, I thought that the guest speaker was a great idea. I am a history major, and I think (I am sure a lot of other people agree) that there is no better source than an actual person. Students need a break from the normal routine and I think that having guest speakers is very effective. This could be applied to any lesson.

I definitely agree with you. I think guest speakers can be very affective for the classroom. These people are very informed and educated about their subject and have many experiences to share with the class. Plus the children get a break from listening to us talk all day.

I agree totally with you about the guest speaker. Children learn in so many different ways (Howard Gardner's MI theory) i think that giving them a break from the regular hum-drum lecture and worksheet routine will really help them retain the information better.

As for the poll-- i think that question depends on who you are talking to. I know many people who think that calling people black is offensive, and i know many people who say that it does not offend them b/c that's what they are. I really think that you would have to talk to an actual person of that race to get their opinion.

i always wonder about the "politically correct" terms for races. i definitely know that some african americans don't like the term black while others don't mind it at all. i also know though that all people with black skin are not necessarily african american. i have also heard the growing concerns dealing with the terms hispanic and latino...which is preferred by whom is quite confusing to me. as far as native americans, i had previously thought that indian was not a good choice, but in our reading, the indian father refers to his child as an indian quite often, not a native american. i guess it all depends on the person and as far as the correct terminology to use in the classroom, i'm not sure i've made up my mind about that yet...
a history teacher that i once had explained that he felt as long as you used the more "proper term first" (i.e. african american or native american), then it was ok to use the less proper afterwards (i.e. black or indian). for instance, when lecturing, as long as the proper term was used first, after that it didn't matter. i thought that was interesting and something just to throw out there.

I was wondering if "Indian" is offensive to people also. I hear it so often, I hardly ever give it a second thought. Every year we have "The Indian Festival" at the community college at home. It's always Indians and pilgrims at Thanksgiving and then there are the Indian reservations. Has anyone ever known somebody that was called an Indian and found it offensive?

Emily, I agree with you. Some Native Americans would find being called an Indian very offensive while others would not. I know a lady who is Native American and she would not give it a second thought to be called an Indian. She is always going on and talking about scalping her husband when ever she is mad at him, but I am sure if some Native American heard her say that they would be outraged.

i asked my roommate what she prefers to be called: african american or black. she said a definite no to african american b/c shes not african at all! she thinks black is too simple on its own, so she basically came up with "black american." in her opinion, she said, thats the most comfortable term she knows of. i know the "n word" is definitely out of the question, but i also asked her about the word "negro" because i know to some black americans that word is bad too. she said she didnt really like that word, either.

in terms of indian, i dont mind it. columbus named the people here "indian" b/c he mistook this place for india. it was historical mistake but it didnt stem from anything racial, so it shouldnt have a bad connotation to it now. i mean, when you think of the term "native american," it's usually a person native to america. well, if you were born here, arent you a native here? so i mean, come on... we're all native americans if that's the case. (i know im reading this very literally but sometimes one has to)

so lets move to hispanic or latino labels. i dont think calling someone hispanic is bad. calling someone from mexico "spanish" isnt very smart b/c theyre not - theyre mexican. people from spain are "spanish." just because they speak the same language does it mean theyre the same nationality. just like we're american, and people in the u.k. are british. we're not all "english" just because we speak it!

I think that the word Indian is probably offensive to those who are direct descendants of the people native to the Americas. The name Indian was given to natives of this land falsely by Christopher Columbus. He assumed that he had reached the Indies and so named the people he encountered. This name was one that placed these people below the Europeans and therefore was derogatory. These people should be properly named as the native peoples of this land.

I think it all depends on what region the person is from. Some things are offensive to people while others are not. I think it is all a part of the culture or hertiage.

I'm sort of with Kristie on this one. It may be offensive to some and not others. It all depends. I mean, in Cherokee the indians have signs to have their photographs taken with tourists that read: Indian poitrates $5. Some were false advertisement because they read Cherokee indian photos and if they were Cherokee indians, then the headdress was all wrong. Oops! How did I get off on that info? Anyway some address themselves as indians and have no problem with that.

I totally agree with Casey here. I mean I am not WHITE! I'm lots of different colors, it's just much easier for me to be put into the demographic of white because compared to others, I am indeed somewhat white. I dont think people should take offense to these stupid terms of reference. I don't see the big deal at all, we all know what black, white, indian, (& let's not forget that all latinos are mexican) really mean from a young age. How many test forms have we had to fill out stating our race in a single word? I mean from age 5 on, I think we know that we are not a single color & that the terms black, white, asian, and indian are just easier than saying african american, milato, japanese american, caucasian, laousian, ect. I personally take no offense, like I said in an earlier rant- WHY MUST WE BE SOOOO POLITICALLY CORRECT!?!? Like Casey said Native Americans were called Indians because Columbus thought they were in INDIA! I mean come on give the guy some credit, he meant well!