The Daily Planet - Living History

Published on October 8, 2007 at 7:47 PM
Living History

This Article was published in Homeschooling Articles

    Something that is very important to me is history. History of the world, of my family, of everything. Not only is it important, but very fun to learn about. One of my favorite parts of history is WWII. I don't know why, but I love to watch about it, read about it, learn about it. It is very humbling to see how many men gave their lives so that I would be free and protected. And how they gave their lives for Europeans, so they would be free from tyranny.
    I have watched many movies and tv specials about it. Recently PBS has had a Ken Burns special on called "The War". I didn't get to see it all, but what I did see was very sad and informative. It brought home to me the fact that freedom is never free. It is paid with the highest cost: blood. We lost many men in WWII. Everyone of them had a story. But they are lost. The men and women who lived then have tried to forget the awful time which they lived through.
    This series was a really in-depth one to watch. There were so many stories they shared. They didn't only share about the war against Germany, but also about the war against Japan. It was really great to watch.
    It was special to watch because my great grandfather served in WWII. He was in the 3rd Armored Division called Spearhead, which is a division in the Army.
    Last winter I took all his photos from his service in the war and put them into an Creative Memories photo album for him to remember them. When I gave it to him, he was so touched that I took all that time to preserve his pictures.
    I tried to talk to him about the pictures so I could journal and record what he remembered but he did not want to talk about it at all. He told me some names and where some places were, but he would not go into detail about it. It is sad. I know it was a horrible and painful time for him.
    I got his album out last Thursday to add some more pictures I found and was hoping to complete it before they came over on Friday, but I was too tired that nite to do it. So they came over on Saturday and I got his album out anyway to show him. He reveled over how it was so nice. When I first got it out and handed it to him, he opened the front page and saw what it was and said, "I don't want to see this, I don't want to remember it." I was sad about that. But thankfully he went ahead and looked through the whole thing and was alot more willing to talk about some of his war experiences as we went through it. It was nice to actually know what the pictures were about. After they left, I went and finished the rest of it. It is very nice to have a sense of accomplishment.
    This is my history. For school and for life. I love it how I can take most anything and make school out of it. I always loved sitting down and doing school at a desk with my textbooks and still do to this day, but I have found that is not always the best way to homeschool. You need to live school. You need to make every part of your homeschool a part of life. I didn't have to get my history book out this past week to learn about WWII. I talked to my great grandpa, and I watched a documentary.    I have learned alot about WWII in the last week. While textbooks are a good way to homeschool, so is life learning.
    At the end of the PBS program, there was an advertisement for a project they are doing to help record even more of WWII stories. They want people to interview war heroes and get their stories for the preservation of history. As sad as this may sound, the war heroes are dying everyday now. I know this first hand, as my great grandpa is getting older and more fragile. The heroes are old and aged and we need to get their stories, so they will be remembered and not forgotten when they are gone. I would greatly encourage everyone to interview your great grandparents and grandparents about their experiences in WWII. You can even count it as schooling. It is an essay, and it is a part of journalism. Make up a questionnaire for them. Let us be a part of the history of preserving the memories and stories of heroes of WWII!!
I would suggest that you do a unit study on WWII. It is something we should all learn about and remember.
    See, even tho I really didn't hardly touch a textbook, I accomplished my schooling. That is what homeschooling is all about.
As Always,


Thanks for stopping by "Daily" at the "Planet"!!
©AmandaDixon2007

P.S.
The 19th Homesteading Carnival: Let's Go To The Ranch Edition is up at My Learning Experience. So grab your cowboy gear and head out west to the Ranch.

The Carnival of Principled Government is up at Life Nurturing Education too. Great articles for those government people out there.

There are a bunch of neato contests over at Contests and Carnivals. One of them you could win a Wii game console and games. Whoa!!

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October 8, 2007 at 8:03 PM...Untitled Comment

Commented by ElvishMaiden14

WWII is my favorite part in history. Not because of the sadness, though. I think mabye it was the saddest time in history for Europe. Have you read any of the books written by the children who lived through it? And, is it alright if I add you to my friends list?
Merry