Some easier ways to access resources

College is hard enough without the tedious job of creating citations. After Googling, “What is a citation!?” at 2:00 AM the morning of the due date, it can seem like a daunting task. But do not fret! To help you finish off the semester strong, we created this short list of tips and tricks to help you access and use sources, so the last thing in your paper is the last worry in your mind.

1) How to find reputable resources
The internet is full of information…and misinformation. Sometimes it can be hard to distinguish between a worthwhile source and misinformation. How do you make the distinction?

The research guides on our website, which contain quick, how-to instructions on various topics, are a great start. We have a specific research guide dedicated to evaluating sources. This guide will help you distinguish between a credible source, and one to avoid. Many of these techniques will work both for your coursework and help you spot misinformation on social media.

2) How do I create a citation
I kept a dog eared MLA citations pamphlet from high school. This booklet was clearly a copy of a copy and was probably 15 years old when I received it in 1999. Citations had to be typed out “by hand.” Nowadays it is much easier to create a citation and all you have to do is copy and paste. Please cite your sources to give credit to other scholars’ work and avoid plagiarism.

(This is real btw.)

Method 1: Use our citation guide

This research guide is for creating citations. There are two main types of citation styles you’ll use during your time at PSC. The first is MLA, which stands for Modern Language Association, and is typically used in humanities courses. The other is APA, which stands for American Psychological Association, and is more common in the social sciences, business, and education. Our guide shows you how to cite in both formats.

Method 2: Generate a citation using OneSearch’s tools

When you search for something in our collection you can create a citation from the Detail Record page. The Detail Record page gives more descriptive information about the book, article, video or whatever it is.

Below is the detail record page for an ebook copy of our next book club pick, The Fifth Season by N. K Jemisin.
On the right hand side of the page you’ll see a list of tools. These tools allow you to save the detail record page a number of ways (but not the actual book). Click cite and you’ll generate a citation in the style your professor would like.

Then simply copy and paste the citation that you would like to use into your Google or Word doc.

Method 3: Use a citation creation tool like the one from Excelsior University OWL

Excelsior University in upstate New York has an Online Writing Lab (OWL get it!?) that has multiple great tools to help you with citations. They walk you through the writing process, talk about why we cite, and help generate citations. Take a look at this video to learn their tools.

Try some of these methods and see if one works better for you. Remember that we are always here to help with any questions on citations, whether that be their formatting, when to do so, or something else!

3) Citation mining

Maybe you’ve found one or two good articles for a research project, but your professor wants you to have more. How frustrating! There is a trick called citation mining to find more sources. Citation mining means taking the citations used in your two “good” articles and seeing if those articles will work for you.

Scholarly articles will have a massive list of citations at the end. It might be called a works cited, or references page and will look like this:

Jona R. Frohlich, et al. “Examining Co-Patterns of Depression and Alcohol Misuse in Emerging Adults Following University Graduation.” Addictive Behaviors Reports, vol. 8, no. 40–45, Dec. 2018, pp. 40–45. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.abrep.2018.06.002.

The references in your perfect article are a goldmine. Copy and paste interesting titles into OneSearch to see if we have access to them. Here I’ve copy and pasted the second title from the above references into OneSearch:

If we have access to it, then start reading. If not, you can request the article through interlibrary loan, or ILL for short.

Select “article” on the ILL page and copy and paste the information from the citation directly into the Google form. The article will be emailed to you.

Librarians love nothing more than sharing tips and tricks to help you better navigate the research process. The time is quickly approaching when you’ll have big projects, so please reach out at Ask a Librarian with any and all questions. As my dad used to say, “The only dumb question is the one not asked.”

Library HELP!: a monthly blog to help you student

Study Tips from a Nerd
Growing up I desperately wanted to be cool. I thought that by wearing the right jeans (Guess at the time this picture was taken) or watching the right shows, I could somehow purchase the good graces of the cool kids. It didn’t work.

At some point I stopped trying and slowly accepted that I was a nerd. I played the viola in orchestra. I liked to read and study. Peers aside, I liked school. As a result, I learned a thing or two about being a student that served me well. These study skills took years to acquire and would like to share those skills with you. As a side note- I did my library science degree online, so I learned how to be an online student.

My friends and I sometimes had to study and practice under some pretty subpar circumstances. One friend practiced her flute in the barn and I in the garage. I once studied in an unfinished attic. You shouldn’t strive for this. The point of this blog entry isn’t to shame or encourage you to “make things happen” no matter what. I wanted to share some things that work for me. The fact that you are doing the thing even under these circumstances is quite enough. As always- take what works for your life and leave the rest. Here is my advice from one online student to another in no particular order.

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  Write down everything you need to do. This is simple, and it works. In fifth grade I was generally a good and conscientious student and then I started forgetting to do one of many homework assignments for a few days in a row. My teacher asked me if I wrote down my homework and I said that I didn’t. So I got a small notebook and got positive results. If pen and paper isn’t your thing, now I create blocks of time on my calendar for what I need to do, which acts like a to do list. My Homework (https://myhomeworkapp.com/) is a student planner app that can provide reminders, track classes, and assignments for free.

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  Find a good time of day to study. I know you don’t always have a choice when you study; keep reading if you do. I majored in music during college. This meant hours in a practice room alone, doing the work. Most people picked a time of day to practice when they were at their best. Some strange people liked getting up early and getting it out the way. Others would stay in the building all hours of the night, closing the day with their practice. I do my best work in the late afternoon, and if I had any say, I would get a cup of water, a diet soda, and practice at that time, going from 3-6 or so, and then having dinner. Do the work when you are at your best. If you are a morning person, do it then. If you are more of a night person, pick that time. And for those of us in the middle? Find the time that works for your circadian rhythm

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  Set a timer and block out distractions. I recommend setting a timer. It can be an old-school egg timer, a kitchen timer, or one on your phone. Start setting it for a small amount of time (20 minutes, or even less) and only do your work during that time. Then take a couple of minutes, and restart. You’ll be able to gradually increase your time, but most people can’t do this deep work for too long at a time. Continue resetting until you are done. If the internet is too tempting, then you can use a plugin on Chrome like BlockSite, or even turn off the WIFI connection on your computer.

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  Figure out how to prioritize deadlines. If there is anything that I have learned from my years of music training, it is how to take a big project, and break it into smaller tasks. What does this have to do with studying? If you have a research project in the form or a paper due at the end of the semester. How are you supposed to know what to do when!? This guide (https://www.lib.umn.edu/ac/research-paper?d=2021-02-03.2021-02-10) can help you figure out what steps you need to take to break down a long project into smaller tasks. Schedule a regular slot of time to dedicate to just this longer project on those days. As for shorter-term deadlines, I would prioritize them in order of deadlines, provided everything is of equal importance. For example, I have 4 classes that meet Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Each has weekly readings. Read them in chronological order. Don’t overthink this.

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  This one is hard, if not impossible according to your living situation, and I want to recognize that. Also some people do well with some noise- to each their own. Here are some things that have worked for me to create quiet when I couldn’t get it. I’m a big fan of ASMRs to calm myself. Put on your headphones (not too loud) and do your best. Another are ear plugs. These are cheap and safe, whereas cranking up your headphones can damage your hearing. If you need to double up, you can easily use ear plugs and put larger headphones over them to block out even more sound. White noise machines are great, but they do cost money. If you already have a fan, exhaust fan, air purifier, or dehumidifier you can create some white noise to block out others.

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  Have a ritual for your studying. When I start my work day, I make my bed. I never did this before the pandemic, (ever), but my choices of places to work were limited to the kitchen table or the bedroom. I picked the bedroom, but it felt overly personal to have an unmade bed in the background. I drink my second cup of tea and do a short mindfulness exercise to get my head ready for work, and then I read my email. Create your own set of rituals to get ready to work. They don’t have to be big things, in fact- small ones are better since they can’t be used as easily to procrastinate. Pick some small consistent gestures to set the stage for your work. Maybe wrapping up in the same blanket, because it is February and you are at home. Or pouring yourself the same beverage, or starting the day with the same music. I highly recommend starting your session with this song (https://youtu.be/UbxUSsFXYo4). Find what works for you.

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  Read the syllabus. The syllabus will give you a list of expectations for the class. It will tell you exactly what you need to do, so use it as a way to manage your expectations throughout the semester. It should include a weekly list of things for you to do, use that to schedule what you need ahead of time.

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  Figure out how to prioritize deadlines. If there is anything that I have learned from my years of music training, it is how to take a big project, and break it into smaller pieces. What does this have to do with studying? Say that you have a research project in the form or a paper due at the end of the semester. How are you supposed to know what to do when!? This guide (https://www.lib.umn.edu/ac/research-paper?d=2021-02-03.2021-02-10) can help you figure out what steps you need to take to break down a long project into smaller tasks. Once you get into the routine of the semester with work and any other commitments, you’ll have an idea of how much you can dedicate to one class and when. Schedule a regular slot of time to dedicate to just this longer project on those days. As for shorter-term deadlines, I would prioritize them in order of deadlines, provided everything is of equal importance. For example, I have 4 classes that meet Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Each has weekly readings. Read them in order and don’t overthink it.

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  Find ways to bond with your fellow students. This is tricky right now. When I got my library science degree we were online, it was perfectly safe to gather in person. That isn’t the case now. I can give you these tips, but I’m not going through this experience with you in the same way. Only your classmates really understand what it is to be a student at PSC during a pandemic and what that means. They get it, so get to know them and lean on one another. Study groups. With your PSC Gmail account you have access to Google Meet, which is free and can allow you to get together and figure out a difficult assignment. Or study together to hold each other accountable. I had a friend I studied with most Sundays and couldn’t have gotten through without my study buddy. Video games. Want to bond with classmates online while staying in the comfort of your own home? Play Among Us, or whatever you want! Social Media. Form a group on social media with your classmates, study group, friends, or those in your major. We had a group for my cohort and later it became a support group as we job hunted. It started out as sage advice, a place to form study groups, a forum for complaining, and turned into a support group as we were job hunting.

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  Review your notes after each class. After every class, take a quick look at your notes. This will help you to retain what was covered and make sure you understand it. If something isn’t clear, either email your professor, or you can put it in the class discussion board on D2L. I would encourage you to put it out there, because someone else probably had the same question. If you don’t feel comfortable doing either, then your group on social media can be helpful.

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  Ask for help early. If something is unclear, ask for help sooner rather than later. Of course we can help you at the last minute; that’s why we are working during finals week. It does give us more time and the ability to help you more if you don’t wait. This includes help at the library, help from your professor, or help in the form of an extension.

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  Get to know the library. The library has information and a collection that was built with your needs in mind. We have the research, the books, the information that you need. We also have staff to help you use it because we know sometimes finding information can be complicated. We aren’t just for the end of the semester. We’ve got resources online 24/7 too. Want to check out an eBook at 2 a.m.? The library is here for you. Need to delve into some research? The library is here for you. Want to read something for pleasure? The library is here for you.

Interested in reading more? Cal Newport talks about the paradox of productivity in the modern office. We have more technology to make tasks easier, but what if this is just creating more make-work? Check out his article in Wired. We also have some of his ebooks, including, Digital minimalism Choosing a focused life in a noisy world.

How Did that Start: Halloween

October is upon us and that means it’s that time when the leaves start turning red and gold, days get shorter, and nights get colder. It’s a time where brisk winds bring upon noises you’re not sure you’re really hearing, and where shadows dance around with your fears. With October comes one of the very best holidays, in my opinion, Halloween. Halloween is the one day of the year where everybody confronts their fears and fantasies by dressing up in costumes, sneaking off into the night, and performing mischief. It is also a time where mother nature sets the perfect mood for you to sit down with a scary book or horror film. Likewise, kids get to experience the ultimate of sugar rushes as they go door-to-door collecting gumballs, candies, and gelled popcorn creations. Like most holidays, Halloween did not just spring to life in America; it came to us through thousands of years of growth and change, passing from culture to culture, from the Ancient Irish to the Roman Empire and several others all putting their stamp on it.

For the most part, Halloween was believed to start as part of the Celtic religion’s New Year celebration, Samhain, which occurred on November 1st. It was on the day before Samhain, that the Celtic people believed the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became paper thin and blurred. During this time the ghosts of the dead could return and once again walk the face of the earth. To ward off the spirits, Druids would build huge sacred bonfires and offer sacrifices of corn and animals to the deities. Citizens, likewise, would dress in costumes of animal heads and skins to hide themselves from the spirits. People would also burn effigies depicting their fears, and since the reality boundary was so thin, they felt that it was a prime time for fortune-telling.

In 43 AD, the Roman Empire finished conquering the lands of the Celtic people. Always good for taking someone else’s traditions and combining them with their own, Rome, decided to merge Samhain with two of their own festivals. The first was called Feralia, which usually occurred mid-October. Romans usually took this day to formally commemorate the passing of the dead. The other festival they merged Samhain with was Pomona, a day dedicated to the honor of the goddess of fruits and trees (it is widely believed that the tradition of bobbing for apples on Halloween came from Roman tradition).

When the Roman Empire fell, the holiday that would eventually come to be known as Halloween, once again evolved, this time thanks to the Roman Catholic Church. Early on in the Church’s history they started a day in mid-October to celebrate the saints and martyr’s. Eventually that celebration would move to November 1st and become known as All Saints’ Day; a day to honor the dead. The day before (October 31^st) would come to be known as All Hallows’ Eve, and similar to Samhain, people would celebrate with bonfires and costumes. In fact, in France during the 14th and 15th centuries, the tradition of dressing up, evolved into a reenactment of a custom called the Danse Macabre (The Dance of Death) which started during the plague known as Black Death, wherein party-goers would dress up so that demons could not tell who they were.

In the mid-19^th century, Halloween, came to America with British and Irish immigrants. One tradition had the adults of families go door to door asking for food or money and people gave gifts because it was thought to be good luck and kept spirits from performing mischief. Later in the early to middle part of the 20^th century, Halloween became the secular community-based holiday that we know today, where kids go door-to-door asking for treats and threatening tricks, families display Jack ‘O Lanterns, and both grownups and children dress up in costume and attend parties and dances.

In celebration of the spirit of Halloween, you can find frightful, horrifying, and haunting tales both true and fictitious on the Monthly Book Display.

Using Research Starters

If you want to find out an overview of a topic, where do you go? Many people try Wikipedia first. It has a lot of information. Now what if you need an overview of a topic but would like one you could cite for a paper? That’s where our research starters come in. They are shorter than Wikipedia entries but can still get you started. The sources are usually from encyclopedias, as well.

For example, let’s say I go to library.prairiestate.edu and type adhd in the search box. I get 205,000+ results, but the top one before the numbered ones says Research Starter.

Now I can click where it says “Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)” and read approximately five pages about ADHD. It comes from Magill’s Medical Guide, a quality source. At the bottom of the research starter it lists a bibliography that you can also use including sources from the DSM-5 and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

There are more than 62,000 research starters (1), so your topic has a great chance of having its own research starter. I’ve found them for microeconomics, wicca, the sinking of the Lusitania, zebras, the solar system, cloning, and more.

(1) Enis, Matt. “Industry: EDS Research Starters Debuts.” Library Journal 139.5 (2014): 22. Professional Development Collection. Web. 27 Feb. 2015.

The History of Deadwood: Told through Library Resources

Recently I’ve been rewatching the HBO original program, Deadwood which you can order to the Library for free here. Doing so made me wonder how much of the show was true and how much was made up by the show’s creator, David Milch.  With this in mind I went to the Library’s resources with the research goal of uncovering Deadwood’s history. The first place I started was OneSearch.

When I submitted the search I found out that the Library has a bunch of eBooks on the subject, two of which are talking about the TV show, the other, Old Deadwood Days by Estelline Bennett is a first-hand account of growing up in Deadwood, which was written by the daughter of a Judge who was friends with the lead protagonist of the show, Seth Bullock.

While finding the eBooks was great, I did want to look at some actual print books in the Library, so I refined and added some new searches to the mix. The first thing I did was broaden my search to the “Black Hills“ which was the area that Deadwood was located in. Doing so allowed me to find The Lakotas and the Black Hills, a book on the struggle between the Sioux Native Americans and the settlers that claimed the land around Deadwood. Next I tried researching some of the historical personas that were represented to which I found an autobiography on Calamity Jane. And finally, I broaden my search even more by typing “wild west” into the search box.

Next I looked through my results list for articles. In it I found two really good articles from magazines and one from an academic journal.

With these articles in addition to my books I feel that I have a firm foundation to begin to read up on the topic of Deadwood. After I finish I may want to go back and try out searches on other databases such as Harper Weekly (a weekly magazine that has articles dating back to 1857). There I will be able to find actual articles on Deadwood that were being printed during the timeline covered by the show. I may also want to venture off and try out some websites like official website for the Adam’s Museum (museum located in Deadwood dedicated to the town’s history) or some videos on YouTube.

This is an example of ways to perform research. When the time comes around to begin research on your own unique topic, stop by the Reference Desk in the Library and a Librarian will be happy to help you out.

For more research help check out these posts

• 5 ways to tell if an article is Scholarly (or Peer-reviewed … or Academic)
• The Sources are Strong with You: Understanding Scholarly Papers with Star Wars
• The Shark Still Looks Fake: Understanding Scholarly and Popular Sources during Shark Week 2012
• Critical Thinking Skills 101: The Danger of Perceived Expertise

Advice for New Students

In an earlier blog post (Come Weigh In!) I mentioned our real life blackboard next to the computer lab.  Each week, we post a new question.  This past week we asked PSC Students, “What advice would you give to new PSC students?”  There were some excellent responses, here are a few of my favorites:

• Study!
• Manage your time wisely.
• Go to class.
• Do your very best.
• Know what you want and don’t stop till you get it.
• Relax, you are already here.
• Don’t stress out.
• Get involved.
• Study, meet other students, and make sure to have fun!

After seeing all this great feedback, I started to think about what advice I would give to a student using library resources for the first time.  For new students, or anyone who hasn’t taken advantage of PSC Library yet, here are a few tips on using the Library:

1. Ask a Librarian! If you’re having trouble finding what you need, we’re happy to help.  Come visit us at the Reference Desk (across from the computer lab), call us at (708) 709-3552, or email librarians@prairiestate.edu.
2. Subject Guides These online guides are written by librarians to help you find the resources you need in various subject areas.  There are guides for Nursing, Education, Biology and more! We even have a few guides for specific classes like COMM101 and ENG102.
3. Access After Hours – Students and faculty can access online library resources anytime, day or night.  Browse books in the Ebrary, or search for articles in our databases from the comfort of home.  Simply go to the PSC Library Website, click the resource you would like to use, sign in, and begin!

Critical Thinking Skills 101: The Danger of Perceived Expertise

If you have taken English 102, here at Prairie State College, then chances are that you came down for a Library Session, and learned about applying critical thinking when doing research. One of the major topics covered is the Expertise of the Author and agendas that they or a company publishing their material may have.

When doing research, finding sources that demonstrate Expertise is very important because it can lend credibility to your argument.  However, when you are performing research, determining the answer to whether or not an argument made by an author is credible is not always black and white.  Here is an example …

The Kefauver Hearings and the Birth of the Comic Book Code

Perhaps, if you have long been a fan of comics, you’ve already heard this tale, but if not then let me introduce you Dr. Frederic Wertham and his mission to get comic books out of the hands of children.

Wertham’s tale begins in the mid to late-1940s when he began counseling juvenile delinquents in New York. At this time, comic books were all the rage with kids and an average of 15 million issues were sold each month. Now, Wertham,  a cognitive psychiatrist who studied violent behavior and the effects of mass media, began to notice that a large percentage of these the juvenile delinquents he worked with read comic books (he also may have noted that they all drank Coca-Cola, but that did not fit with his narrative, and was thus ignored). Previous to this there was a growing national rebuttal to comic books and editorials were written in magazines such as Catholic World, The National Review, and Reader’s Digest which singled out comics as being distasteful and contributing to increased cases of illiteracy. These cases, it is important to note, were not scientific and did not purport to be, but instead built their cases strictly in regards to taste.  So, Wertham, capitalizing on this growing criticism of the medium, published a book entitled The Seduction of the Innocent, which was a full-length psychiatric exposition of the damaging effects of comic books on children. In the book, Wertham presented out-of-context clips of violent and sexual images and concluded, without any scientific backing, that these images aggravated emotional problems of children.

Think Green… Start with What You Know

Think Green. Go Green. Green Economy. Green Energy. Green. Green. Green.

These days it seems like you can view any subject through green-tinted glasses. But like so many other cultural phenomena that lose their sparkle from overuse, “thinking green” comes dangerously close to being a fad that we will all laugh about in twenty years along with Crocs, awareness bracelets and The Macarena. The danger of course is that trivializing something as important as thinking green — a genuine desire to collectively adopt radical changes in our outlook and lifestyle in order to promote sustainable living — cannot be abandoned for a return to our short-sighted views of the past. The current popularity of this concept is also evident in the frequent instances of “greenwashing”, whereby industries, companies or people deceptively present themselves as environmentally-friendly in one respect, while masking other, less favorable positions or actions. Between the hype and the deception it may seem easier to just do nothing, not stand up for anything.

Focus on the change YOU can make 

The answer instead may be to focus more closely on the small changes that you can make in your daily life. An excellent way to set this course of action is to read up on green initiatives related to a topic that already interests you. The Library is currently featuring a fascinating collection of books on how green thinking is being applied across many disciplines. Check out interesting reads on medicine, beauty, careers, spirituality, energy, architecture, and more.

     

Exploring the green perspective on a subject you already know and care about is a great way to expand your knowledge base.

Earth Day, April 22nd, is a great time to step up your commitment to sustainability. PSC will be hosting a number of events on campus during an Earth Week Celebration (April 22-27) where you can kickstart your green thinking. Just don’t overdo it.

Post-Oscars Wrap-Up: 5 Things You Can Learn About Argo with the Library

1. The Great Escape by Joshua Bearman

The script for Argo was developed from an article (“The Great Escape”) by Joshuah Bearman published in Wired in 2006. Bearmen currently has new movie in production based on his December 2012 Playboy article, “The Big Cigar”, which covers how Bert Schneider, a well-heeled Hollywood producer with a coke problem and a soft spot for radical politics, smuggled Huey Newton, the leader of the Black Panthers who was awaiting trial on a murder charge, into Cuba in 1974.

2. The Iranian Hostage Crisis 

The background of the movie was set during the 1979 Iranian Hostage Crisis, which lasted 14 ½ months. The crisis began on November 4, 1979 when a group of about sixty Iranian university students scaled the wall of the U.S. embassy compound in Tehran, and bound and blindfolded fifty-two Americans whom they deemed to be spies working against their newly established Islamic Republic of Iran after their revolution. Their demands were that the United States hand over to the newly established Revolutionary Guards of the Ayatollah Khomeini the ousted despot Shah Reza Pahlavi who was in the United States receiving treatment for cancer. This stand-off would last for 14 ½ months and may have cost President Jimmy Carter a second term. To read more about the Crisis and its aftermath check out the Atlantic Monthly article, “Among the Hostage-Takers” by Mark Bowden. 

3. The Movie Script for the Fake-Argo Movie

The Movie Script used by the CIA as they cover was based on the book by Robert Zelzany, Lord of Light. The movie was initially in development by producer Barry Geller, who not only wanted to create the film but also an amusement park called Science Fiction Land. Legendary Comic Book Artist, Jack Kirby, designed the initial storyboards for Geller’s movie. You can order a copy of the book, Lord of Light, for check out in the Library here.

How Did That Start: The History of Black History Month

Sometimes we just take something for granted … like how and when a movement started. So sometimes you must go back and research its beginnings. In the case of Black History Month it began with a man whose contribution to African-American History, while being substantial, is often overlooked. That man is Carter G. Woodson.

Carter grew up, the son of two former slaves, in rural Virginia in 1875. His mother taught him how to read at a young age and his father, an unlettered Union Army Veteran, honed that skill by having Carter recite to him the newspaper every morning. It was through this education that Carter became familiar with the value of knowledge and the importance of learning about current events and of history. Additionally his interests and desire to learn grew around stories of African Americans who were resisters and runaways. That curiosity was nurtured when Oliver Jones, the owner of the mine Woodson had worked at since he was a young child, offered the literate young scribe free meals during lunch if he would read Jones the daily newspaper. The position quickly grew and Woodson’s duties would begin to include using Jones’ personal library and newspapers to research issues that individual African American would come to him with. Through his research, Jones would begin to learn about the history of his people and crucial aspects of how it was affected by reporting, self-knowledge, and the economics of the time.

“If a race has no history, it becomes a negligible factor in the thought of the world” – Carter G. Woodson

Eventually, Woodson would outgrow Virginia, and advance his education all the way to Harvard where he earned a teaching degree in History. But as time went on Carter began to notice a troubling pattern in history. It turns out that Black history was intentionally being omitted from history books and if it was being mentioned it was being done to advance a misconception about Africa (usually as an effort to affirm some false sense of European superiority and African inferiority). This disturbed Woodson because he felt the African Americans were suffering from the fact that their true history was not being told correctly. This suffering manifested itself in self-esteem issues that came from lack of self-knowledge and awareness of one’s past and was constantly perpetuated by a lack of a meaningful education. So to correct this wrong, Carter G. Woodson, retired from his life as a teacher and rededicated himself to bringing full attention to the African American’s rightful place in history.