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Trevor Magazine, Winter 2014 - 2015

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RM: Which we should be so thankful for—the country could have been torn apart. SR: If any of us had been asked in 1986, "What is the next step for South africa?" I would have said revolution. RM: Bloodshed. SR: yes, there could have been hundreds of thousands of people killed, but Mandela came out and had the courage of his convictions to say no. e practical use of nonviolence—this is what we have to teach our children. Not that might makes right, because it doesn't. But that violence just continues and continues until someone has the courage to stand up and say, "I'm not going to strike back." RM: It does take courage. It takes courage to put aside a life of suffering and injustice and take the high road. NR: And to work with your oppressors. at was a situation where there was a black majority by far, and they could have asserted their power in other ways. SR: ey could have, and they chose not to. NR: What do you think are the big civil rights issues of the early 21st century? SR: e role of women is still a huge civil rights issue for us. RM: Good answer! SR: e fact that within our lifetime we have not passed the equal rights amendment—shame on us. at women are paid 75% of what men are for the same job. at's not right. and some will argue that it is because women have to leave to raise children and all these kinds of things…. NR: and those studies have been debunked, of course. SR: So I think the role of women is a huge issue. e role of our gay and lesbian and transgendered brothers and sisters is huge still. of course, I am coming from Massachusetts, where we were the first state to rule that same-sex marriage is constitutional. I think this is going to continue to be a very, very divisive issue. RM: Nina told me the other day that a recent survey making the rounds on youTube suggested that students at a particular college are unable to answer the question "Who won the civil War?" although they knew who was married to Brad Pitt. SR: Now see, I don't know that. . . . RM: at's good, that's a good thing. So the question is, should we be concerned? SR: I really think we should be concerned. I think there ought to be—and I don't know how to do this—but there ought to be some basic fundamental literacy that is taught. I may not be conservative on certain points, but I am about this one. It's important for kids to know their history. It's important for them to know the players in history. It is important for them to know essential trends within their own history. RM: I couldn't agree more. NR: I was about to say the exact same thing! RM: It defines their lives in so many ways. NR: If you were to teach an elective in the history Department, what would it be? SR: I would love to do something on the history of american religion or race. For years I taught advanced Placement history, and I didn't do it the way they tell you to. I was having my kids write 20- to 25-page papers, and somehow we still managed to fit it all in, and they still got their 4s and 5s on the exam. RM: Well really, it's learning how to learn. and it's learning how to do things that we value at this school. It is about inquiry, and it is about making an argument, and about analysis. and not just reading to read, but reading for arguments. SR: at's right. and that is why in history, among all disciplines, we start everything from a question, don't we? e thesis is the answer to the question, we hope. RM: and there can be different answers to the same question. SR: how many papers over the years have we graded where a student takes a position that we essentially don't agree with … NR: I've even found myself with an argument that I completely disagree with, helping a student make that argument better. RM: Unfortunately, I think our time has run out. SR: is has been a pleasure. Do you think we covered everything? NR: Yes, I think we did. SR: Is the answer angelina Jolie, by the way? 2 4 T r e v o r D ay S c h o o l n W I N T e r 2 0 1 4 – 2 0 1 5

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