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Dr. Dan White
Head Lines with Dr. Dan White

 

Headmaster Dan White shares his thoughts about education and the school community in weekly letters. Click on a title below Dr. Dan's most recent Head Lines to read individual letters.

Friday, February 17, 2012

Monday is President's Day. When I was growing up, we had two school holidays in February honoring Presidents; on February 12 we celebrated Lincoln's birthday and on February 22, Washington's. I don't remember exactly when the two holidays became one or why. Maybe someone thought that taking two holidays in the already-shortest month was encouraging indolence. I'm certain I could Google the answer but it does not matter that much. We have one day when we celebrate all 44 Presidents (actually 43 people, because one fellow served non-consecutive terms and gets counted twice.)

I have biographies and/or autobiographies for 34 of those gents. My only published book is about American Presidents. My Ph.D. dissertation is about President Eisenhower. To say that I am interested in the Presidency is understatement.

Americans accept that the President plays more differentiated roles than similarly titled offices in most of the rest of the world. Some roles, such as Head of State and Head of Political Party can be at odds with each other at times. I am intrigued by how the 43 have come to be President, how each has reacted under the demand to play many roles, how each has responded to the pressures of the job and how history regards the legacy of each man.

The facts suggest that the American public takes more interest in Presidents than in any other public office; though the percentage of eligible voters actually voting is appallingly low for a democracy, more people vote in a Presidential election, on average, than in any other kind. The media obviously thinks Presidents are important and that readers want to know about...

Feb 10 2012 Transitions On my recent return trip from China, I chuckled when my Sprite, served by a United Airlines flight attendant, sat on a napkin with the phrase...
Feb 3 2012 Religious Literacy and IPA Recently I had the time to read a book given to me by Caprice Avis, IPA Class of 2011. Caprice is now majoring in religious studies at the...
Jan 27 2012 One Day at a Time “One day at a time” has become my mother’s mantra these days. You might recall that she is 91 years old, of lively mind but...
Jan 20 2012 Elect IPA The evening before the New Hampshire, IPA hosted the weekly meeting of the Rotary Club of Kapolei Sunset, the sponsor of our Interact Club....
Jan 13 2012 Memory and Remembrance Judy and I read books together. More often than not, this involves keeping a book in the car from which she reads snippets as long as the time...