Nov. 2, 2008 - David McCullough gives a shout out to home schoolers!
I ventured into Chicago today to hear one of my favorite authors on
the planet, David McCullough.
McCullough contends one cannot possess any true love of country, nor
any idea how to live one's life well, without a sense of history.
He spoke of our urgent need to reconnect our kids to our history and
how simple a task that can be. Visit places where history occurred
with your kids; talk about our past.
He took teachers to task in the most politically noncorrect fashion,
by denouncing education majors. I grew up hearing this from my dad,
and believe it myself despite possessing an advanced degree in, you
guessed it, Teaching. Nonetheless, I found it refreshing to hear a
very great man suggest that teachers should not major in education,
but should actually know their subject speciality first and
foremost. His obvious regard for educators and their role in society
compensated a bit for his message that flies in the face of all that
is good and holy to the NEA.
Somewhere in the midst of the talk, he quoted none other than
Charlotte Mason as saying history provided an "inexhaustible" supply
of ideas. There's no way he's citing Charlotte Mason and not going
to bring up homeschooling, I thought to myself. Sure enough,
McCullough went on to explain that Mason, a 19th century British
educator, is "somewhat revered" in homeschooling circles and then
went a step further to laud the achievement of home schoolers,
telling the audience that home schoolers "are doing better than you
think." Than who would think? Everyone I know knows about the
outstanding achievement of home schoolers.
That home educators are on this guy's radar screen at all impressed
me even as the fact that noting our achievement seemed daring to him
and novel to anyone surprised me.
It wasn't until the Q and A, with McCullough's endorsement of Obama,
that I felt just a bit disappointed with him. Say it ain't so,
Dave! How to explain it? All I can offer for McCullough's lapse are
his own words, from Brave Companions: "As a writer I am still drawn
to the human subject, to people and their stories, more often than to
large current issues or any particular field of academic inquiry."
In that sense, I suppose I understand McCullough's choice. The
Chicago audience loved his enthusiasm for Obama, of course.
At the end of the talk, the lady who sat next to me asked how I liked
it. I told her the truth, that I loved every moment of the talk
except his Presidential endorsement. "I could tell you didn't like
that," she said. I guess one person not clapping in a sea of
enthusiasm stands out, but I assure you all that I did not rise and
shout, "Nobama!" as our two year old has taken to doing at
inopportune public moments. And no, she didn't learn that from me.
Mr. Wonderful said it once--ONCE!--at the dinner table and it has
been my sweet baby's phrase ever since.
I am becoming used to having all my favorite authors hold opposite
political opinions than I do. Whether that says more about me or
them I am not sure, but McCullough presented his in a far more
gracious manner than Tracy Kidder did. So I decided to continue
loving McCullough and shelled out $73 for four of his books, which he
autographed for me. I told him how he has been a favorite author of
mine since my folks shared their copy of Truman with me, back in the
mid-90s. I shared how I appreciated his comments about home
education and he asked if I home educated and had I read Mason? Yes,
and as soon as he mentioned Mason, I told him, I just knew he was
going to mention home schooling. I did not tell him I was not an
Obama fan, which isn't entirely true anyway. I like Obama for many
of the same reasons I suspect McCullough does, but those large
current issues aren't secondary to me and keep me from voting for
the man.
Blessings, Holly
Comments
Nov. 2, 2008 - David McCullough
Posted by Felicity
Isn't it a great experience to hear him speak? I heard him speak recently in Ohio and it was wonderful. I was just wondering where you heard him speak. I'd love to be able to listen to an audio of him talking about Charlotte Mason and Obama (sorry, Holly, I'm an Obama supporter.) I know that they record his performances; they recorded the Writers Center Stage one that I just saw.
Nov. 2, 2008 - One of my favorite authors!
Posted by ltjewel
How very exciting to hear him speak. The Obama thing would have ruined the whole experience for me though :(.
Great write up!
Nov. 2, 2008 - Charlotte Mason and History
Posted by BarbaraS
Hi Holly,
I'll bet he has a relative being homeschooled somewhere. :-) I have to say that I have not verbalized his point that to teach, you need to be a master, on some level, of your subject. I know that I assumed that this is the ideal, I've taken it for granted, but forgot to question that when students focus on studying "education" only, at what point do they become a master (again, on some level) of their subject or discipline? And, he is so right to mention Charlotte Mason at any point connected to this opinion. As a "living books" enthusiast, I know that I will read, in these sources, words written by people who are passionate and knowledgeable about their subjects. Thats' why we love these books.
I remember hearing, years ago while I was in art school, the opinion "Those who can't... teach". Well, I always begged to differ with this. Not only was it an insult to teachers, but a backwards understanding. Only those who truly know their subject.. can truly teach well.
Now, looking at myself, and my role as a teacher in my homeschool, I am tempted to critique myself and question how qualified I am to teach all of the subjects that we attempt. OK, I must admit, I am passionate about a few subjects... history, art, nature studies, researching in general... but I am not educated enough in all realms to consider myself a master of all. Thank goodness, that's where "living books" and a network of resources comes in. As homeschoolers, we are in a such great position to go with our strengths, and then to shop around to find others who can passionately share their gifts with our kids.
Thanks for sharing your notes on his talk. I have to admit, I have not read any of his books, but only know him through PBS documentaries. But, I always loved his insight.
Maybe I'll try to get back to posting on my very, very, neglected blog :-/
See you "online".
Nov. 3, 2008 - Thanks for the write up
Posted by GOBAMA
I wanted to attend, but was unable to clear the time. I love that he spoke of Mason and homeschooling, and that the topics even came up at all. Excellent choice in endorsement as well... Sorry, Holly. <g>
