We have always homeschooled with history as our basis and incorporate
other studies around that. It just seems logical and has worked best
for us to incorporate all of our studies (math and science excepted)
around a history spine. It has made choosing literature easy and has
given my sons a framework for the "whys" of the way things happen and
the philosophies that have made the world what it is today.
So,
the benefit of this is that we recognize that history is all around us
and becomes fascinating rather than lifeless and dull which happens when children read a dumbed down textbook and memorize sterilized facts, dates and names. We
don't memorize dates and events as isolated facts but learn them as they
become an important to our current interest.
This brings me to the Jim Crow Laws as we were recently studying in Government.
Who is Jim Crow? What are they? Are dates important? How did
Brown vs. Board of Education and Plessy vs. Ferguson fit into this? Why is teaching this unsavory part of American history even important? Because this very thing is being rewritten and unless someone keeps the truth alive, our citizens
will believe a lie. Well, many already believe the rewritten history lie, so much so that telling the truth raises the ire of the willfully ignorant.
Truth:
Republicans (think Abraham Lincoln) were frequently the authors of Civil Rights legislation and equal rights for black citizens, native Americans and women.
Truth:
The Ku Klux Klan was founded by Democrat terrorists who initially not only targeted black citizens but Republicans who pushed for equality. Democrats also actively opposed the 14th amendment, the right to vote for blacks and women, civil rights legislation,and anything else that smacked of equality for blacks and women.
The rewrite of history? It is happening as we speak. And the result of it sits in the oval office.
"It just seems logical and has worked best for us to incorporate all of our studies (math and science excepted) around a history spine. It has made choosing literature easy and has given my sons a framework for the "whys" of the way things happen and the philosophies that have made the world what it is today."
ReplyDeleteYou know, I really wish my education had worked like that. Sure I got a bunch of literature and history crammed into my head, but no one I knew ever connected the dots or thought about everything we were learning as a continuous story of human civilization. It's sad that generally education focuses on checking things off a list rather than an understanding of the big picture.
My (non) education consisted of memorizing names and dates and that was worthless in the scheme of things. It was only useful when playing a rousing round of Trivial Pursuit. I didn't know squat about anything until I learned alongside my children. So, I entered "first grade" at 32 and graduated high school at 47. Homeschooling is for the parents as well. Haha!!
Delete