I suppose it must have all started some twenty five years ago, long before the Class of 2010 was born, when a young teacher became frustratingly dissatisfied with the standard high school history textbook.
Never one to disappoint his students, and always one motivated to meet his end of producing historically fluent young women who go out and make their marks on the world, this same teacher took it upon himself to create a textbook as the means to his professorial end. He worked to create a textbook that was historically accurate, fun to read, and most of all, a text that matched the caliber of the Buffalo Seminary.
Mr. Schooley, throughout the years, you have brought modern European history to life. Your factual, yet story-book like descriptions have allowed us to not only learn about, but form personal connections with the likes of Petrarch, Machiavelli, and Napoleon. Many of us have imagined what dinner at the Hapsburg, Stuart, and Tudor households was like. And I am sure at least a handful of us have dreamed about discussing political philosophy with More, Hobbes, Locke, Voltaire, and Rousseau.
To say that your teachings have left an imprint on us would be an understatement. We will all remember that the “end justifies that means to the end,” and that the amount of a country’s precious metals determines the real wealth of the nation. We will never doubt what a favorable balance of trade is. We will always know that Napoleon did not have an ulcer, and the idea that he did was near complete lunacy. And finally, we will always be able to label a map of Europe at any given time in history, whether during the days of the Holy Roman Empire, Napoleon, or World War II.
Mr. Schooley, you have clearly created a culture of historical proportions at Buffalo Seminary. That is why, we, the Class of 2010, have bound together your A History of Modern Europe into a genuine leather textbook. It is our intent that all Sem students, past, present, and future, be able to indulge in this most glorious book, long after we have all passed through that “long, wide hallway.”
Caroline Horrigan, Class of 2010
Class Day, June 7, 2010