As a homeschooler, I know how difficult it is to decide what curriculum and book choices are best for your family. Even the curriculum companies that have been around for a while can have inaccuracies in their texts. When your kids are younger, teaching history mainly consists of hitting the high points with American history - the pilgrims, the Liberty Bell, the flag, George Washington, and Abraham Lincoln. When they start getting in upper elementary/middle school, it changes - at least it has for me. I, too, hated history when I was in school. However, the older I get the more I find history fascinating. But there's one problem...where do you get accurate books so your kids (and you!) can really learn about historical events? How do you know they're accurate?
Yesterday, I was listening to Janet Parshall's Talking it Over radio program. (Here's the podcast of that program.) Her guest for both hours was David Barton of Wall Builders. Mr. Barton was a math and science teacher who hated history. He realized his need for accurate information about history when he read some original historical documents having to do with American history and discovered he had never been taught that in school. He began to collect old documents and books.
The program was very interesting, as he gave several examples of things that he had not been taught in history class and found out himself by reading original documents. He was on the show for both hours, but I was wishing the show were longer. I highly recommend you go listen to the podcast.
Did you know that there was a Bible printed by Congress in 1782 which was used in public schools?
Yet another thing I didn't know is the integral role played by black Americans in the founding of our country! Sure, I know we have Black History Month every February, but that mainly covers the years of slavery and the years before integration of people like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr. - important people to be sure, but "black" history started a lot earlier than that! According to Mr. Barton, the reason is because we are all taught "Southern" black history.
Yesterday, I was listening to Janet Parshall's Talking it Over radio program. (Here's the podcast of that program.) Her guest for both hours was David Barton of Wall Builders. Mr. Barton was a math and science teacher who hated history. He realized his need for accurate information about history when he read some original historical documents having to do with American history and discovered he had never been taught that in school. He began to collect old documents and books.
The program was very interesting, as he gave several examples of things that he had not been taught in history class and found out himself by reading original documents. He was on the show for both hours, but I was wishing the show were longer. I highly recommend you go listen to the podcast.
Did you know that there was a Bible printed by Congress in 1782 which was used in public schools?
Yet another thing I didn't know is the integral role played by black Americans in the founding of our country! Sure, I know we have Black History Month every February, but that mainly covers the years of slavery and the years before integration of people like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr. - important people to be sure, but "black" history started a lot earlier than that! According to Mr. Barton, the reason is because we are all taught "Southern" black history.
It was quite a different story in the Northern states. In fact, slavery wasn't even legal in some states. There was a man named Rev. Richard Allen who was a slave. He became a Christian when some missionaries rode across the plantation where he worked. He then went on to lead his slave master to Christ, who then realized he didn't need to own slaves. Richard Allen then went to Philadelphia, preaching to people along the way. He became the pastor of a Philadelphia church with a congregation of 2,000 members, who were white! He is one of the founders of the AME denomination, so I'm sure some of you have heard of him.
Mr. Barton also told about a man named Wentworth Cheswell, who was elected to be a judge in New Hampshire and served for 40 years as judge. Cheswell also served in the same capacity as Paul Revere - he rode to warn the British were coming - but he rode in another direction. Wentworth Cheswell called into action several thousand American patriots to fight against the British.
He said these stories can be found in books like those by William Nell entitled, The Services of Colored Americans in the Wars of 1776 and 1812, and The Colored Patriots of the American Revolution. He also recommends a book called Setting the Record Straight: American History in Black and White.
David Barton also points out that textbooks only cover a handful of the founding fathers - five or six. There were over 200 founding fathers. There were people like Benjamin Rush, Francis Hopkinson, John Witherspoon, Richard Henry Lee, Stephen Hopkins, and Albert Sherry - who were all Christians with Biblical world views. To read more about the many other founding fathers, he recommends a book called Lives of the Signers, which was originally published in 1848.
At any rate, I do recommend everyone listen to this program - and get your pencil and a pad of paper and takes notes (like I did). You will learn a lot of things just from this program and gain an appetite to know more!
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