Feb. 18, 2006 - Teaching History - Getting Started (Part 1)
Hearken to Me, ye
that follow after righteousness,
ye that seek the LORD: look unto the rock whence
ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye
ye that seek the LORD: look unto the rock whence
ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye
are digged. — Isaiah 51:1
The thing that hath
been, it is that which shall be;
and that which is done is that which shall be done:
and there is no new thing under the sun.
— Ecclesiastes 1:9
and that which is done is that which shall be done:
and there is no new thing under the sun.
— Ecclesiastes 1:9
My family taught me my love of history from a very young age. My father and mother could make history come to life. My father would tell his favorite stories in history while my mother would discuss how grateful she was to be living now with all the conveniences of modern homemaking. When visiting my maternal grandmother, my mother would show me the various size rug beaters used by my grandmother and great grandmother to beat the rugs clean outside and talk about how grateful she was for her vacuum cleaner. My maternal grandmother was totally amazed at the relative "ease" and "safety" of women giving birth as compared to her time and that of her mother. My maternal grandfather saw so much history in his life. This is a man that went from horse and buggies to the invention of the automobile to seeing a man land on the moon. All of this was witnessed by my grandfather as an adul!
Respecting the courage of various individuals in history and discussing major and not-so-important historical events in history gave me an abiding enthusiasm for the subject. Starting in third grade, my father began to assign me three books a week to read usually all relating to history in some fashion. After church on a Sunday, my father would read books to my entire family. I remember vividly my poor father's hoarse voice when he read Easter Island, for example, because no one would allow the poor man to stop reading until the book was finished! The discussion these books spurred in our family is still one of those comforting memories I have and for which I will always be grateful.
Keeping in mind the Golden Rule, I wanted my children to have wonderful memories and develop a love of history as well. From a very early age my daughters could list the kings and queens of England and, to a certain extent, what was occurring in various parts of Christendom at that time. Through a variety of souces, history — the people, their lives, and the events — became so alive to my children that by the time my older daughter turned 6 or 7, she was surprised to learn that Oliver Cromwell was not alive!
Start making history come alive for your family! Create memories now!
An easy place to start is to find out what timeframe really interests your scholar (e.g., Ancient Civilizations? Middle Ages? Great Reformation? Colonial America? Victorian? Post Modern? etc.). Begin to explore that era and gradually expand outward.
During your studies, begin to encourage your scholars to ask questions like...
- Why do you think God allowed that to happen?
- What Scripture verse(s) does this event or individual remind you of? Why?
- Does this situation remind you of something else?
In this way, you are training your scholars at a young age to be observant to what many tend to overlook. Comparing and contrasting various cultures and periods of history is generally not done in a "typical" history course; however, it will begin to establish a wonderful stepping stone to teach your scholars to look in history and to be able to apply lessons just learned to other culutres and current events.
Yours in His service,
Beverly Schmitt
PrestonSpeed Publications
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Comments
Feb. 21, 2006 - Untitled Comment
Posted by Dell
I much enjoyed your post, but then, I knew I would! I've benifited from your wisdom and experience before. :)
Welcome to blogging! I'm adding you to my friends list so that I can check back often!
-Dell
Feb. 21, 2006 - Beverly!
Posted by Cathe
How delighted I am to see you here!
I have been blessed by your fellowship and advice for so many years!
