History of Benjamin Banneker High School Essays (1608 words)

History of Benjamin Banneker High School Essays (1608 words) Howard University College of Dentistry Dental Hygiene Department School Based Program Benjamin Banneker Academic High School Nicole Johnson 82409-406-01/Dental Health Education Methods Professor Dawn Smith 09/06/2015 School Based Program History of Benjamin Banneker High School Originally, Benjamin Banneker, in August 1981, opened its doors as an alternative public institution of secondary education. Named after the districts' renowned surveyor on the six-man team, which helped design, the blueprints for Washington, DC. President Washington appointed Banneker, making him the first Black presidential appointee in the United States. Banneker provided aid in selecting the sites for the U.S. Capitol building, the U.S. Treasury building, the White House and other Federal buildings. Banneker is ranked number 2 with the districts' public school system. The school is designed to provide students with a highly structured college preparatory program. The curriculum of the school affords opportunities for developing knowledge, skills needed for success in post-secondary experiences. Population and Demographics 1143008159750The primary purpose of Benjamin Banneker Academic High School is to serve those students of the District of Columbia who desire a highly structured four-year academic program of study beginning at the ninth grade level. The demographics of Benjamin Banneker are diverse in nature; a large percentage of the student population is labeled as black with a total number of students estimated at 450. 9th Grade 10th Grade 11th Grade 12th Grade 142 88 97 103 Student Selection The selection of each students focuses on factors such as; total record of academic achievement; grade level achievement reflected by standardized test scores; strong recommendations from the principal and supporting teachers and staff; and a student and parent interview. Experiences gained through this enrollment process will allow students to participate in a rigorous college preparatory curriculum. Once the selection committee has proposed a list of accepted students, the students must undergo placement testing. They must also attend the Benjamin Banneker Summer Institute prior to entering the academic school year. Curriculum The Benjamin Banneker Academic High School is one of the District's International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program sites and offers Pre-IB, Advanced Placement (AP) and its own summer institute as additional rigorous academic options. Students are supported by a variety of character building extracurricular activities. The intended curriculum is a college preparatory program, which includes the Advanced Placement (AP) and honors courses, that require twenty-six (26) Carnegie units for graduation and the International Baccalaureate Program (IB) requires twenty-eight and a half (28.5). Each student is also required to complete a minimum of 270 hours of volunteer service over a four-year period. In addition to high-level coursework in the core subject areas, the curriculum includes a unique philosophy course called Theory of Knowledge, a research project called the Extended Essay, and requirements in the areas of creativity, action and service. Health Care Curriculum The office of the State Superintendent of Education (OOSE) has mandated that each school have a health profile form that states the details of their wellness and fitness program. Banneker has one full time nurse, part time mental health clinician, as well as a full time qualified health teacher, who also serves as the physical education teacher. All, approx.450 students are required to complete the health education course at the school. According to the OOSE the following curriculum is offered as part of the required high school health education program: Health Promotion and Disease Prevention - where the s tudents comprehend concepts related to health promotion and disease prevention. Access to and Evaluation of Health Information - where the s tudents demonstrate the ability to access and evaluate health information, products, and services. Self-Management Skills - where the students demonstrate the ability to apply self-management skills to enhance personal health and safety. Analyzing Influences - where the s tudents demonstrate the ability to analyze the influence of family, culture, media, and technology on health and health behaviors. Interpersonal Communication - where the s tudents demonstrate the ability to utilize interpersonal communication skills to enhance and protect health. Decision-Making and Goal Setting - where s tudents demonstrate the ability to implement decision-making and goal-setting skills to enhance health. Also apart of their Wellness and Fitness program is the incorporation of the "Brainfood" program. Brainfood builds life skills and promotes healthy living to provide high school aged youth the opportunity to learn about cooking, nutrition, and community

Cyrus McCormick, Inventor of the Mechanical Reaper

Cyrus McCormick, Inventor of the Mechanical Reaper Cyrus McCormick (February 15, 1809–May 13,  1884), a Virginia blacksmith, invented the mechanical reaper  in 1831. Essentially a horse-drawn machine that harvested wheat, it was one of the most important inventions in the history of farm innovation. The reaper, which one observer  likened to a cross between a wheelbarrow and a chariot, was capable of  cutting six acres of oats in one afternoon, the equivalent of 12 men working with scythes. Fast Facts: Cyrus McCormick Known For: Invented the mechanical reaperKnown As: The Father of Modern AgricultureBorn: February 15, 1809 in Rockbridge County,  VirginiaParents: Robert McCormick, Mary Ann HallDied: May 13, 1884 in Chicago, IllinoisSpouse: Nancy Nettie FowlerChildren: Cyrus McCormick Jr., Harold Fowler McCormickNotable Quote: Indomitable perseverance in a business, properly understood, always ensures ultimate success. Early Life McCormick was born in 1809 in Rockbridge County, Virginia, to Robert McCormick and Mary Ann Hall McCormick, who had migrated from Great Britain. He was the eldest of eight children in a family that was influential in the area. His father was a farmer but also a blacksmith and an inventor. Young McCormick had little formal education, spending his time instead in his fathers workshop. His father held patents for inventing such farm machinery as a clover huller, a blacksmith’s bellows, a hydraulic power machine, and other labor-saving devices for the farm, but after more than 20 years he had failed to come up with a workable, horse-drawn mechanical reaping machine. Cyrus decided to take up the challenge. Seeds of the Reaper McCormicks invention would make him prosperous and famous, but he was a religious young man who believed his mission was to help feed the world. For farmers in the early 19th century, harvesting required a large number of laborers. He set out to reduce the number of hands needed for the harvest. He  drew on the work of many other people in developing the reaper, including that of his father and Jo Anderson, one of his fathers slaves, but he ended up basing his work on principles entirely different from those employed by Robert McCormick. After 18 months, he came up with a working model. His machine had a vibrating cutting blade, a reel to pull the grain within reach of the blade, and a platform to catch the falling grain. He had succeeded, and he was only 22. The first version was rough- it made such a clatter that slaves were assigned to walk with the frightened horses to keep them calm- but it clearly worked. He received a patent for his invention in 1834. Ironically, after he had received the patent, McCormick set aside his invention to focus on his familys iron foundry, which failed in the wake of the bank panic of 1837 and left the family deeply in debt. So he returned to his reaper, setting up production in a shop next to his fathers house and focusing on improvements. He finally sold his first machine in 1840 or 1841, and business slowly took off. Moves to Chicago A visit to the Midwest convinced McCormick that the future of his reaper was in that sprawling, fertile land instead of the rocky soil in the East.  Following more improvements, he and his brother Leander opened a factory in Chicago in 1847 and sold 800 machines that first year. The new venture, the McCormick Harvesting Machine Co., eventually became the largest farm equipment manufacturing firm in the country. In 1851, McCormick gained international fame when his reaper won the Gold Medal at the landmark Great Exposition in Londons Crystal Palace. He became a leading public figure and remained active in Presbyterian causes as well as Democratic politics. In 1871, the  Great Chicago Fire  destroyed McCormicks company, but the family rebuilt it and McCormick continued to innovate. In 1872, he produced a reaper that  automatically bound the bundles with wire. Eight years later, he came out with a binder that, using a knotting device invented by Wisconsin pastor John F. Appleby, bound the handles with twine.  Despite fierce competition and legal battles over patents, the company continued to prosper. Death and Tragedy McCormick died in 1884, and his eldest son, Cyrus Jr., took over as president at only 25 years old. Two years later, though, the business was marked by tragedy. A workers strike in 1886 that involved the McCormick Harvesting Machine Co. eventually turned into one of the worst labor-related riots in American history. By the time the Haymarket Riot ended, seven policemen and four civilians were dead. Charges were brought against eight reputed anarchists: Seven were sentenced to death; one committed suicide in prison, four were hanged, and the sentences of two were commuted to life in prison. Cyrus McCormick Jr. continued as president of the company until 1902, when J.P. Morgan bought it, along with five others, to form the International Harvester Co. Legacy Cyrus McCormick is remembered as â€Å"The Father of Modern Agriculture because he  made it possible for farmers to expand their small, personal farms into much larger operations. His reaping machine brought an end to hours of tedious fieldwork and encouraged the invention and manufacture of other labor-saving  farm implements and machinery. McCormick and his competitors continued to improve their products, leading to such innovations as self-raking reapers, with a continually moving canvas belt that delivered the cut grain to two men riding on the end of the platform, who bundled it.   The reaper was eventually replaced by the self-propelled combine, operated by one man, which cuts, gathers, threshes, and sacks the grain mechanically. But the original reaper was the first step in a transition from hand labor to the mechanized farming of today. It brought about an industrial revolution, as well as a vast change in agriculture. Sources Cyrus McCormick. InventionWare.com.McCormick, Cyrus Hall. American National Biography.Cyrus McCormick: American Industrialist and Inventor. Encylopedia Brittanica.Nancy Fowler McCormick. Revolvy.Cyrus McCormick Biography. TheFamousPeople.com.