Why Read History?

Why read history?

History interests me for many reasons, not the least of which is that I am a gossip.  Reading history is an honored way for a good Christian woman to receive gossip with the gloss of academia and acceptability applied.  There are other reasons, but the most honest one is that I'm nosy busybody not content to know merely what my contemporaries are thinking and doing.  I want to know what all people, everywhere, at all times were up to.  And why.

This evening, I began Andrew Jackson v. Henry Clay:  Democracy and Development in Antebellum America by Harry L. Watson.  This girl knows how to have fun on a Friday night, hunh?

I'm only a few pages in and it's the type of book best read with highlighter in hand.  Thoughts of inflicting it on unsuspecting home schooled teenagers begin to surface.  Visions of essay questions dance in my head.

Tea parties and Wall St. Occupiers are so 1831.  Don't think so?  Take it from my dear Watson:

Jackson and his supporters tended to think that the growing wealth and power of the business community might erode the equality and independence of ordinary citizens.


Sound familiar?  How 'bout this:

Henry Clay and his followers often wondered if strict deference to the uninformed opinions of ordinary voters might somehow undermine the businesses that generated U.S. prosperity.


What do you think we've learned in the ensuing 180 years?

How well do you think most folks know their history?

Blessings,
Holly

Adjusting for our seasonal ADHD

In a normal year, June is the only month we take off from "school."  I use quotes because most everyone knows that education need not be confined to school time.  In fact, the two often exist as mutually exclusive subsets.  I merely become more stealthy than usual in June and lighten up some of the daily skills practice.  July and August build a reserve that allows me to adjust our schooling in December without guilt.  

'Cuz let's face it--the clan, they do get squirrely in December.  Frankly, so do I.

The only December task for which the kids can muster single minded focus is hunting down every present hiding spot.  This they accomplish with ruthless efficiency.  Holiday toy catalogs become their singular choice of reading material.

I begin dreaming of Tuba Christmas and other holiday activities.  Our "school" looks increasingly pale and anemic in comparison to Gladiator Challenge and Family Christmas Fest.  Closing the gaps pointed out by the kids' academic evaluations seems best saved for the doldrums of February, not the crisp excitement of the Christmas season.

"Fun it up" becomes my December schooling mantra.  My definition of fun rarely matches the kids', but I don't let that deter me.  We have a beautiful new Mac which we underutilize, so this month, I am determined to learn how to use the darn thing.  Being far too lazy to do this myself, I will assign each application to a kid to master and teach to me.  They need the practice and will like that they get to be on the computer without it counting toward their allotted hour of media time.

They also need to learn how to cook better.  If you've been reading my blog for a while, thoughts of my Dishwasher Salmon--which I did try despite Mr. Wonderful's protests--are returning to haunt you.  Fear not, this time, I have a book!  My children may never know how to bake chicken, broil meat or mash a potato, but who could resist learning to cook Hotch-Potch, Hopping John and Marched Pane? I will oversee while nursing some Whipped Syllabub.  Doesn't it sound like fun?  The cookbook fits our colonial America study theme and theme is so much more important than silly little things like food being edible, doncha think?

How does your family adjust for December's fantastic frenzy?

Blessings,

Holly