Art Appreciation Observe the artwork here. What do you notice? What do you wonder? What is happening? Write your thoughts.

Music Appreciation Life Is a Highway The Fear Born for This Never Give Up ​​Unstoppable

GEORGE WASHINGTON WAS UNBREAKABLE

There is no less incredible account of the making of George Washington than his experiences in the following year.  In 1755, Washington soldiered on in the French and Indian War (in England known as the Seven Years War), now under the leadership of Major General Edward Braddock.  Washington, now a colonel, became sick and chose to remain on the side of the trail for some time before rejoining the unit.  Once he did, British Forces were confronted by the enemy in what is now known by many names:  the Battle of Monongahela, Battle of the Wilderness, and the Battle of Braddock's Field.  This last title assigned due to the events of the day.

GEORGE WASHINGTON WAS SENTIMENTAL

As indicated, the sash was given to George Washington when Braddock died.  Today it is in the Mount Vernon artifact collection. Even later, when Washington posed for a portrait, he insisted on wearing the sash of his former commanding officer in tribute.  What do you notice about the portrait (left)?  What do you wonder? What are some reasons he felt compelled to wear Braddock's sash for his portrait?  Are there items in your own possession that remind you of loved or respected ones who are no longer in your life?  If so, are those items special to you?  Why are they special?  Write about one, including a description of your reasons.

GEORGE WASHINGTON DID NOT SIT IDLE

In the 16 years between the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War, George took some time to regroup, with his beloved wife Martha, at Mount Vernon.  He must have always been thinking of improving - on his plantation and mansion, as well as on the new nation that was about to form. During this time, he experimented with crop rotation and composting.  He ran a fishing operation on the Potomac River.  He wrote letters to friends and acquaintances.  He served in government posts.  He formed opinions about slavery.  In short, George kept himself busy in that interim, enjoying life at Mount Vernon and spending time with his new family, which included Martha's two children from a previous marriage (She was a widow.). And then, duty would call once again, but this time for the Continental Army against the British regulars of whom he had been a part.

I saw John Medina, author of “Brain Rules,” speak years ago and he said something to the extent of “Creation without consumption is the equivalent of playing the air guitar; you might know the motions, but you won’t actually know how to play.”  -George Couros

That the man who triggered the war by trying to project British power into the heart of the continent should have gone on to lead an American revolutionary army and then to serve as the first president of the United States is surely one of the greater ironies in a national history that abounds in them.

The French and Indian War -the North American phase of a far larger conflagration, the Seven Years' War-remains one of the most important, and yet misunderstood, episodes in American history. Fred Anderson takes readers on a remarkable journey through the vast conflict that, between 1755 and 1763, destroyed the French Empire in North America, overturned the balance of power on two continents, undermined the ability of Indian nations to determine their destinies, and lit the "long fuse" of the American Revolution. Beautifully illustrated and recounted by an expert storyteller, The War That Made America is required reading for anyone interested in the ways in which war has shaped the history of America and its peoples.

Nearly a century has passed since the outbreak of World War I, yet as military historian Hew Strachan argues in this brilliant and authoritative new book, the legacy of the “war to end all wars” is with us still. The First World War was a truly global conflict from the start, with many of the most decisive battles fought in or directly affecting the Balkans, Africa, and the Ottoman Empire. Even more than World War II, the First World War continues to shape the politics and international relations of our world, especially in hot spots like the Middle East and the Balkans.

​Strachan has done a masterful job of reexamining the causes, the major campaigns, and the consequences of the First World War, compressing a lifetime of knowledge into a single definitive volume tailored for the general reader. Written in crisp, compelling prose and enlivened with extraordinarily vivid photographs and detailed maps, The First World War re-creates this world-altering conflict both on and off the battlefield—the clash of ideologies between the colonial powers at the center of the war, the social and economic unrest that swept Europe both before and after, the military strategies employed with stunning success and tragic failure in the various theaters of war, the terms of peace and why it didn’t last.

​Drawing on material culled from many countries, Strachan offers a fresh, clear-sighted perspective on how the war not only redrew the map of the world but also set in motion the most dangerous conflicts of today. Deeply learned, powerfully written, and soon to be released with a new introduction that commemorates the hundredth anniversary of the outbreak of the war, The First World War remains a landmark of contemporary history.