By OLIVIA BERGMEIER
Salina Post
Presidents Day is a lesser-known federal holiday which many states often call Washington's Birthday, or in Utah where the holiday is celebrated by the state as Washington and Lincoln Day.
Salina Central High School history teacher Deidre Hoff does not particularly teach about the holiday, but in her American History class, she reinforces the importance of each American presidency.
"American history is an important concept for people to understand," Hoff said. "Learning about our Consitution and our presidents and how their policies have impacted and affected us over time."
Hoff said that many students learn important parts of history in celebrating American presidents like George Washington or Abraham Lincoln.
One way Hoff said she teaches about politics in the classroom is by taking a historical perspective and understanding — looking at the period to show why certain presidents made certain decisions during their varied presidencies.
"I really try to help students understand how specific policies or ideas fit into a time period and how those match the values and the perspective of the people in that particular period," Hoff said. "But then also look at it critically through the lens of what that looks like for us today? Do we still agree with those politics or those ideas of the time? Or has our nation changed, and how has our nation changed and why?"
Teaching about the actions historic presidents like Washington and Lincoln took still holds importance in modern politics, with many presidents setting precedents that many Commanders in Chiefs still use to this day.
An example Hoff mentioned was the internment of more than 100,000 Japanese Americans during World War II.
"We can look at that today and look at that as fairly abhorrent, and I would like to think that people in the past did as well," Hoff said. "But what were the events that surrounded that and made it at the time an important expedience, even though we know that it wasn't, and helping students understand that."
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When Hoff teaches about this certain period in history, she often puts it in the context of modern America, asking students how Americans may face similar challenges and make similar mistakes today.
For Hoff, though, a notable president is Theodore Roosevelt, who served the American people from 1901 to 1909 as the 26th U.S. President.
Hoff described Roosevelt as "larger than life" and that through the tumultuous early 1900s, Roosevelt changed the American presidency forever through his actions and decisions in the Oval Office.
"He fascinates me for all the things that he was involved in and all the different facets of American life at the time that he had influence on," Hoff said. "He totally changed the presidency in many ways, in terms of its power, and how does that compare then to presidents of the past or presidents today?"
Many Americans interact with the lasting legacy of past presidents, and Hoff explains that for students, learning about these legacies allows them to better understand the world around them.
"It's knowing why certain things are on your coins or on your dollar bills or why symbols like flags exist," Hoff said. "I think it's just helping students to understand what their nation stands for, who they are and again, what we uphold as important."