| |
From Ballot Tokens to Voting Machines: The Technology of Elections
Gerald Ford was not elected to the Presidency, but became President upon the resignation of President Richard M. Nixon, the first (and so far, only) time a sitting President has resigned. Although he got his party’s nomination for the office in 1976 and ran for election, he was defeated by Jimmy Carter. All of which leads us to thinking about voting, and ballot boxes, and, now—voting machines.
|
“Just a Little Bit Different”: Inclusive Classrooms, Inclusive Schools
In 1975, during the Ford administration, Congress passed Public Law 94-142, the Education of All Handicapped Children Act, which was a giant step forward in the education of children with disabilities. That law has been followed by a number of other improvements in laws governing the education of children with disabilities, and today, in many schools in the nation, children with disabilities are educated, for the most part, in regular, so-called inclusive classrooms.
|
A Fun Mistake! Silly Putty
Did you ever make a mistake that turned out really well? That happened to James Wright in 1943, the year that Gerald Ford asked Betty Bloomer to marry him! Mr. Wright was trying to find a substitute for rubber, which was desperately needed during the Second World War. Instead, he got this stuff that…bounced! But all turned out well; Silly Putty now makes a fortune for Binney & Smith, the makers of Crayola Crayons!
|
E.T. Phones Home: The History of the Telephone
In 1982, in the blockbuster film, E.T., the Extra-Terrestrial, E.T. grew so lonesome for his planet that he tried to “phone home.” Not surprising—isn’t that what we all want to do when we’re worried or scared? But the notion of even having a telephone is a fairly new one as history goes; and our current love affair with cell phones is barely on the historical timeline!
|
The Medal of Freedom: The Nation's Highest Civilian Award
President Gerald Ford awarded 28 Medals of Freedom during his years as President, but perhaps the one closest to Betty Ford’s heart was the award given to Martha Graham, the world-famous modern dancer, founder of both a Dance Center and a School of Dance, and early teacher of Betty Ford.
|
Exploring the Work of the World Health Organization
Betty and Gerald Ford were married in 1948, the same year in which the World Health Organization, a specialized agency of the United Nations, was founded. The mission of the World Health Organization is as simple as it is enormous: “the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible levels of health.” Health is defined in WHO's Constitution as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. WHO has its work cut out for it!
|
See Those Golden Arches? Globalization and the History of McDonald’s
Although globalization is a term that has become familiar only within the last decade or so, the process of globalization has been occurring over the past forty years. When Gerald and Betty Ford accompanied President and Mrs. Nixon to China in 1972, they were witnesses to a major breakthrough in the internationalizing of American business and the creation of a global economy.
|
Michigan vs. Ohio State: A Serious Rivalry!
Sports rivalries, particularly among schools and colleges, often are exciting ways in which to create a sense of community and belonging among students at the respective schools. Participating in these rivalries is often fun, and builds school spirit. President Ford played football for the University of Michigan, and experienced first-hand, one of the great college rivalries of all time, Michigan vs. Ohio State.
|
Women on the Wall: A Vietnam Memorial
In the years leading up to Gerald and Betty Ford’s stay in the White House, the Vietnam War was a major cause of the turmoil of the 1960s and early 1970s. In 1973, eighteen months before his resignation from office, President Nixon oversaw the final withdrawal of American troops from Vietnam. One little-known part of the Vietnam story has been the role that women played in Vietnam. This lesson hope to address that “hole” in the history of the Vietnam War.
|
The Double Helix: The Alphabet of the Human Genome
In 1953, when Gerry and Betty Ford had been married for five years, something really important in the world changed. In England, Francis Crick and James Watson discovered the structure of the DNA molecule. They called it the Double Helix, and said it was the alphabet that would open the book of life to the world. They weren’t far wrong. Fifty years later, the “book of life” of human beings was mapped—the result of a major effort called the Human Genome Project. And it could be done because we understood DNA.
|
ETS and the “Big Test” – The SAT, Past, Present, and Future
In 1948, the same year that Gerald and Betty Ford were married, the Educational Testing Service came into existence and began to promote the SAT as a means of separating the wheat from the chaff in college admissions, especially in elite colleges and universities in the east. ETS has since become the world’s largest private testing and measurement organization, with a budget of $900 million.
|
Pop Culture: Images of Women in Advertising
One of the causes that Betty Ford was most interested in was the cause of equality for women. Although her campaigning for the Equal Rights Amendment did not result in its passage, she nevertheless championed the rights of women to run for high office, encouraged President Ford to nominate a woman to the Cabinet, the Foreign Service, and the Supreme Court, and in many ways lent her support to efforts to change the image of women in popular culture.
|