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monica
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| Posted: Oct 15 2007 at 5:58am | IP Logged
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i dont want to start anything here, i just want to hear from some other parents who have been teaching longer than i. to start off, let me say that i love the theory behind revisionist history. The idea that history is really a collection of stories (as opposed to a list of facts and dates) and the weaving together of those stories forms the way we view our culture, our country and ourselves. I love that in the past few decades more and more books have come out that show history from the point of view of the marginalized, the ones that used to not be heard from much. but i dont like how some revisionist historians have villified all white europeans just to push their own political agenda.
soooo, this time of year is always hard for me. I love thanksgiving the holiday, but i dont feel like i can in all honesty just do pilgrim hats and feathers and do a "reenactment" of the first thanksgiving. I tend to focus on thankfulness and feasting, and just avoid it all together. but when (and how) do i tell my kids the whole story, good and bad parts?
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chicken lady
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| Posted: Oct 16 2007 at 6:22am | IP Logged
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Monica, can you clarify what exactly you are asking? Perhpas I am a bit "slow", I am not sure if you are asking a question or making a statement. It sounds intriguing.
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Bookswithtea
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| Posted: Oct 16 2007 at 7:24am | IP Logged
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I'm a stickler for accurate history. I don't think I'd call it revisionist, though. I tend to think of revisionist history in negative terms. I kept hoping I'd find the perfect books along the way, but discovered there really is no such thing.
I do the traditional stuff with littles and don't worry too much about it. When my children are around 9, I start introducing the idea that there are different versions of history. I try to read from one book and then excerpts from another to present both sides. By the time they are in high school, I expect them to do their own research with several different books on topics I've chosen and present both sides to me (for instance, ds is writing a summary of the Manifest Destiny time period in Am. history this week and I expect both the gov't position as well as how the Native Americans would have viewed it).
Sonlight is a great resource for books on both sides of the issue...for instance, you can use Pedro's Journal alongside a more traditional book about Columbus...but not before 9, imho.
Hope this helps.
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Blessings,
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mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and  due 9/10
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monica
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| Posted: Oct 16 2007 at 8:56am | IP Logged
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sorry if i wasnt clear in my first email. i was hoping to get some good ideas for resources. i had forgotten about sonlight. thats a great help. and also to hear what age is appropriate to start talking about the whole story. thanks for your help. any other book suggestions would be appreciated
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Barbara C.
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| Posted: Oct 17 2007 at 8:21am | IP Logged
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Personally, Thanksgiving doesn't bother me half as much as Columbus Day. But you do bring up an interesting point as to when to start explaining that there are multiple points of view and even "heroes" had flaws.
And one reason I am eager to homeschool is because of all the errors, inaccuracies, oversimplifications, and misrepresentations that occur in school history textbooks.
I really enjoy the "Don't Know Much About..." series by Kenneth C. Davis. I already own the one about American History, and I plan to use it as our history "textbook" when the time comes. It kind of highlights major historical events and offers alternate viewpoints from primary sources. He also has some very good insights. Davis has some books for around the nine to 12 range, and then some books, like the American History book, that are written for adults.
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: Oct 17 2007 at 11:56am | IP Logged
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I, too, do not wish to "start" anything, I am just confused, lol. I can't really contribute to this as I haven't tried to *teach* Thanksgiving or anything, but I am confused about what the "truth" of Thanksgiving is that you are afraid to tell...
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chicken lady
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| Posted: Oct 17 2007 at 12:06pm | IP Logged
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CrunchyMom wrote:
| I am confused about what the "truth" of Thanksgiving is that you are afraid to tell... |
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 Me too! What am I unaware of????
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monica
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| Posted: Oct 17 2007 at 12:10pm | IP Logged
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oh, i hope i havent made this too confusing. how i was taught thanksgiving (and columbus day too) was that the europeans came to the new world either to find riches and take back to europe (like columbus), or to flee religious persecution (like the pilgrims) in my public school education, no mention was made of their relations with the indians/ native americans except that for the story of the first thanksgiving, which made it seem that there was cooperation between the two groups. When i was an adult was the first time i really read about the atrocities committed by europeans toward indians. It wasnt so much that i learned untruth in school, but i only learned part of the truth. i have been encouraged to hear some good titles to share that paint a broader picture of history than the textbook twaddle i was fed. I know the issue of american history can be devisive for some christians, so i didnt want to open a hornets nest. more just wanted to know what resources were helpful and appropriate for celebrating and learning our history. thanks everyone
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Barbara C.
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| Posted: Oct 19 2007 at 5:13pm | IP Logged
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Just thought I would add that basically the first Thanksgiving wasn't a cooperative effort (as portrayed in schools); it was basically a charity effort. The Pilgrims were completely ignorant about what they got themselves into when they came to this country. Basically, the Native Americans took pity on them, fed them, gave them some of the land they had already cleared, and taught them how to survive. That's what they were giving thanks for.
And of course, Thanksgiving didn't even become an official national holiday until the time of Lincoln. Thanksgiving itself isn't super shady, but it is part of an incomplete picture of the interactions between Native Americans and European settlers/invaders.
I tend to focus on the thankfulness part of it all, too.
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4Real Forums : Across Time and Place
Topic: thanksgiving and revisionist history
