Archive for October, 2007

Montessori Applied to Parenting

Monday, October 29th, 2007

When I first started teaching a few years back, I was lucky enough to work along side Cornelia Lockitch, an accomplished Montessori teacher, and grammar expert.  Although as a novice teacher I rarely had a spare moment, whenever I got the chance to watch Cornelia, I was always especially impressed with her expertise and ability [...]

Posted in Education, Homeschooling, Montessori, Parenting | No Comments »

Finding Wonder in the Achievement of Columbus!

Wednesday, October 24th, 2007

If a modern history textbook doesn’t outright denounce Columbus as some kind of evil-doer, it probably claims that there was nothing particularly special about his westward voyage, or that it was a mere blunder.  This is both an injustice to Columbus, whose combination of insight and courage were unique, and a tragedy for modern students, [...]

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Kids Who Love History!

Tuesday, October 23rd, 2007

Every once in a while parents send me delightful stories about how their kids have developed a new love of history thanks to the HistoryAtOurHouse program.  Here’s one from homeschooling mom Stephanie: “…their interest in history is at an all-time high.  At dinner last night we were discussing what book we would begin as our [...]

Posted in History, History Homeschooling, Homeschooling, Humor, Personal | No Comments »

A New Lie Teachers are Telling

Monday, October 22nd, 2007

In his influential book Lies My Teacher Told Me, James Loewen claims to dissect the errors of American history textbooks and set the record straight on a number of important issues.  Two of the charges Loewen makes are that 1) textbooks make history boring by presenting it as a bunch of established conclusions–instead of “furious debate,” as he would have [...]

Posted in American History, Education, History Homeschooling, History for High School Students, Pedagogy | No Comments »

Inspiration for Women, and Wholesome Entertainment for the Family

Tuesday, October 9th, 2007

Hello everyone!  This is my first contribution to the HistoryAtOurHouse blog! As a new mom I often lament the fact I have no time to write. My ideas for the next great American novel simply have to wait as I devote myself to the important task of raising our son, Patrick Henry. In the meantime, I’ve been [...]

Posted in Art, Book Recommendations for Homeschoolers, Movies | 1 Comment »

Celebrate America on Columbus Day!

Monday, October 8th, 2007

Happy Columbus Day America (or should I say, Columbia!)  Today is Columbus Day, one of the worthiest celebrations of American culture that should rank nearly as highly as the 4th of July. Despite the fact that Columbus has fallen out of favor with modern academics, who have succumbed to the multiculturalist perspective that the arrival of Western [...]

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The Four Phases of Columbus Scholarship

Saturday, October 6th, 2007

When Columbus first proposed his world-changing voyage, his ideas met with the resistance along the lines later captured in a quote from Gandhi: “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” Columbus’s fate in textbooks seems to be following the reverse course. First Columbus “won.” Even if, [...]

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It May Not Be a New Story, But That’s the Problem!

Friday, October 5th, 2007

As I was researching the state of history textbooks in this country, I came across this MSNBC article about the way that textbooks are created and chosen.  The article isn’t “just in,” but it does explain why textbooks, like the egregiously poor American Pageant are the way they are.

Posted in American History, Education, History Homeschooling, History for High School Students | 1 Comment »

Why West?

Thursday, October 4th, 2007

Why did Columbus sail west for Asia?  The American Pageant answers: ”Meanwhile the kingdom of Spain became united…after centuries of Christian-Islamic warfare…Portugal controlled the gateway to the round-Africa water route to India.  Of necessity, therefore, Spain looked westward.” Of necessity, therefore, Spain looked westward? I cannot imagine a greater injustice to Christopher Columbus than this incompetent [...]

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Where is Prince Henry?!

Wednesday, October 3rd, 2007

In its first chapter, American Pageant proposes to its students that America had “indirect discoverers.”  This term is never explained, though it is meant to encompass the Vikings and other precursors of Columbus.  Amazingly, however, though Crusaders and Marco Polo are also mentioned, nowhere is Prince Henry of Portugal, who initiated the Age of Discovery, anywhere to be found! There is [...]

Posted in American History, Education, History Homeschooling, History for High School Students, Homeschooling Curriculum, Pedagogy | No Comments »

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