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Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who led Turkey to independence in 1923, enacted many country-wide reforms that he hoped would modernize Turkey, which was then known as the “sick man of Europe,” according to the Council on Foreign Relations.

In addition to separating “mosque and state,” and giving women the right to vote, Ataturk mandated that every child attend primary school, the Council reported. He also changed the script from Arabic to Latin, to facilitate Turks learning other European languages. Decades later, in 1997, Turkish Parliament passed a Basic Education Law and lengthened compulsory education from five to eight years, according to UNICEF.

In Turkey, schools are coeducational but boys have higher rates of enrollment and literacy than girls across all grades. Although a 2002 study showed increased enrollment of girls since the 1997 reforms, “[t]raditional reluctance to send or keep the girl child in school still persists in the lower income bracket and rural areas,” UNICEF reports. Gender differences in schooling are also more pronounced among certain ethnic groups. For example, “43% of Kurdish-speaking girls from the poorest households have fewer than two years’ education, while the national average is 6%,” according to The Guardian.

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Subject: Other History, Social Studies, World History
Tags: Schools Around the World

Test your students’ knowledge of the notable events covered in findingDulcinea’s “On This Day” column this week with Quiztory. It makes a fun extra credit assignment.

1. Who succeeded Hitler as president of the Third Reich?

2. Under what law was Margaret Sanger, women’s rights activist and birth control advocate, arrested and prosecuted in 1916?

3. Which ethnic population was largely responsible for building the Central Pacific railroad, and for what reason did this group go on strike in 1867?

4. In what way did farming practices give rise to the Dust Storms of the 1930s?

5. What motivated the Soviets to impose the Berlin Blockade?

What’s Coming Up?

Next week, we’ll examine the Supreme Court’s decision to end segregation and another decision to dissolve Standard Oil. We’ll also take a look at the marriage of Louis XVI to Marie Antoinette, Amelia Earhart’s solo Atlantic flight, Harvey Milk’s alleged killer’s “Twinkie defense” and Cynthia Anne Parker’s kidnapping by the Comanche.

Subject: History, Other History, Social Studies, U.S. Government, U.S. History, World History
Tags: Quiztory

Did you take the Quiztory last week? Now it’s time to check your answers:

1. What famous media magnate tried to prevent the 1941 release of the classic film, “Citizen Kane”?  William Randolph Hearst

2. What company was behind the first commercial jet flight, and what became of it? The British Overseas Airway Corporation was the first company to fly a jet commercially. The 1952 flight of the Haviland Comet was a success, however three subsequent Comet flights crashed, compelling British authorities to ground the fleet.

3. How did cooperation between the War Department and U.S. media blunt the impact of Japan’s “balloon bomb” attacks on the U.S. during World War II?  The media complied with a government request to censor information about the balloon bomb campaign in hopes that the Japanese would believe it was ineffective. After six people in Oregon died, the government informed the public about the threat.

4. In 1970, what was the announcement by President Nixon that led to protests at conservative Kent State University, which ended with four students dead? President Nixon announced the invasion of Cambodia.

5. What cause did both German and American investigators cite for the Hindenburg explosion at the time of the incident? Sabotage. The Hindenburg was a symbol of Nazi Germany.

Subject: History, Other History, Social Studies, U.S. Government, U.S. History, World History
Tags: Quiztory, The Answer Sheet

Test your students’ knowledge of the notable events covered in findingDulcinea’s “On This Day” column this week with Quiztory. It makes a fun extra credit assignment.

1. What famous media magnate tried to prevent the 1941 release of the classic film, “Citizen Kane”?

2. What company was behind the first commercial jet flight, and what became of it?

3. How did cooperation between the War Department and U.S. media blunt the impact of Japan’s “balloon bomb” attacks on the U.S. during World War II? 

4. In 1970, what was the announcement by President Nixon that led to protests at conservative Kent State University, which ended with four students dead?

5. What cause did both German and American investigators cite for the Hindenburg explosion at the time of the incident?

What’s Coming Up?

Next week’s “On This Day” will examine the end of WWII in Europe,  the end of the Berlin Blockade and the birth of Israel. We’ll also explore the FDA’s approval of birth control, the dust storm that devastated the Great Plains and the assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II.

Subject: History, Other History, Social Studies, U.S. Government, U.S. History, World History
Tags: Quiztory

Did you take the Quiztory last week? Now it’s time to check your answers:

1. Where were members of the Easter Rising rebellion imprisoned? Frongoch internment camp

2. Who formed the Suez Canal Company? French diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps

3. Where did the residents of Pripyat relocate to following the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown? Slavutych

4. What was the first commercially successful steamship in the U.S.? The Clermont

5. Which pope canonized Joan of Arc? Pope Benedict XV

Subject: History, Other History, Social Studies, U.S. Government, U.S. History, World History
Tags: Quiztory, The Answer Sheet

Test your students’ knowledge of the notable events covered in findingDulcinea’s “On This Day” column this week with Quiztory. It makes a fun extra credit assignment.

1. Where were members of the Easter Rising rebellion imprisoned?

2. Who formed the Suez Canal Company?

3. Where did the residents of Pripyat relocate to following the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown?

4. What was the first commercially successful steamship in the U.S.?

5. Which pope canonized Joan of Arc?

What’s Coming Up?

Next week, “On This Day” will examine the premiere of “Citizen Kane,” the first commercial jet flight, a Japanese WWII balloon bomb and the crash of the Hindenburg. We’ll also take a look at Nancy Reagan’s use of astrologers, the Kent State shootings and the sinking of the Lusitania.

Subject: History, Other History, Social Studies, U.S. Government, U.S. History, World History
Tags: Quiztory

Did you take the Quiztory last week? Now it’s time to check your answers:

1. Where were members of the Easter Rising rebellion imprisoned? Frongoch internment camp

2. Who formed the Suez Canal Company? Ferdinand de Lesseps

3. Where did the residents of Pripyat relocate to following the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown? Slavutych

4. What was the first commercially successful steamship in the U.S.? The Clermont

5. Which pope canonized Joan of Arc? Pope Benedict XV

Subject: History, Other History, Social Studies, U.S. Government, U.S. History, World History
Tags: Quiztory, The Answer Sheet

Did you take the Quiztory last week? Now it’s time to check your answers:

1. What country sent missiles to Cuba after the failed Bay of Pigs invasion? Soviet Union

2. Who was the mayor of San Francisco during the 1906 earthquake? Eugene E. Schmitz

3. What was the first-ever nationally televised congressional inquiry? Army-McCarthy hearings

4. How long did the Mariel boatlift exodus last? Seven months

5. Who was the leader of the Jewish resistance movement within the Warsaw ghetto? Mordechai Anielewicz

Subject: History, Other History, Social Studies, U.S. Government, U.S. History, World History
Tags: Quiztory, The Answer Sheet

Test your students’ knowledge of the notable events covered in findingDulcinea’s “On This Day” column this week with Quiztory. It makes a fun extra credit assignment.

1. What country sent missiles to Cuba after the failed Bay of Pigs invasion?

2. Who was the mayor of San Francisco during the 1906 earthquake?

3. What was the first-ever nationally televised congressional inquiry?

4. How long did the Mariel boatlift exodus last?

5. Who was the leader of the Jewish resistance movement within the Warsaw ghetto?

What’s Coming Up?

Next week, “On This Day” will examine the Easter Rising, the Suez Canal, the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant meltdown and explorer Ferdinand Magellan. We’ll also take a look at Aldrich Ames, Joan of Arc and Adolf Hitler’s suicide.

Subject: History, Other History, Social Studies, U.S. Government, U.S. History, World History
Tags: Quiztory

Did you take the Quiztory last week? Now it’s time to check your answers:

1. What position did Jackie Robinson play for the Brooklyn Dodgers? Second base

2. Where was Napoleon exiled for the second time? St. Helena

3. When was the reentry malfunction of Vostok 1 revealed to the public? 1996

4. Which Polish director made a film about the Katyn massacre in 2007? Andrzej Wajda

5. Who killed John Wilkes Booth? Union soldier Boston Corbett

Subject: History, Other History, Social Studies, U.S. Government, U.S. History, World History
Tags: Quiztory, The Answer Sheet