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“Kids, I need to talk to you.”The wind whipped the van as we flew past the harvested fields. Whispers of rain hovered in the air, shattering on the windshield as three heads appeared in the rear view mirror. “I want you to remember something—something important that I don’t want you to ever forget.” Inquisitive expressions… Continue reading Propaganda is still propaganda.

The last time I ate a hamburger, I was nine.Thirty years later, I’m almost always the only vegetarian in the room. Before plant-based options were readily available (and vegetarianism became more mainstream), cookouts were interesting. Eventually, you grow accustomed to having fewer options. You get used to the comments, or the people who take a… Continue reading The vegetarian at the cook out.

Good scholarship doesn’t limit sources to only those with which we agree: it demands academic maturity, examining sources from even our ideological opponents to arrive at truth. It refuses to abandon deeply held convictions, while also expecting and allowing for different interpretations. Good scholarship is investigative, fair, and truth-seeking, even when an opposing view is… Continue reading Good scholarship.

My kids have never been in school.For ten years, they have learned at home.So have I. I’ve learned that the best education is the one that feeds itself, that busywork is a waste of the sliver of time we have on this planet, and that there is no “best curriculum.” I’ve learned that homeschoolers face… Continue reading The next seven.

There are over 180,000 historical markers in the United States. 35,000 museums.21,588 historical societies (including the American Historical Association, the oldest and largest group of professional historians in the world).2,600+ historic landmarks (NHLs).25 World Heritage Sites. While we don’t have many remaining ancient sites, we do have interesting pre-Columbian ones like Meadowcroft Rockshelter, Montezuma Castle… Continue reading Time travel

Nostalgia is alluring.It’s comfortable.It’s the hug you need when the present world is feeling extra dark.Nostalgia is what’s left when the negative memories have lost their sting, when they have faded and slipped into shadow. I’m a big, big fan of personal nostalgia as a form of escapism. (Just check my Pinterest boards.) But what… Continue reading On nostalgia

📚How to Make Your Child Love History📚 You can’t.You can’t make anyone feel anything.This, I feel, is a really important truth which (a) removes the pressure you may feel that what you do or don’t do may ruin everything, and (b) is true for all other things in life, too. Some children will be natural… Continue reading How to Make Your Child Love History

“Do you see that house in the mist, Mom?” I pause briefly to look, particularly careful as the snow whips the windshield. “Hmm. Where?” “Out there.”I see an arm in my peripheral vision, pointing westward from the seat behind me. A shape takes form, almost ghost-like, against the gray. “Oh, way out there. I see… Continue reading House in the mist.

I love a good ghost story. The tingly feeling of glimpsing someone from the distant past, the deep and unexplainable connection to a person who still exists—but is not anymore in this sphere—and the thrill of touching something that a once-living person touched centuries ago….it’s intoxicating. Except I don’t believe in ghosts. The ghosts I… Continue reading Ghost stories.

“Hey—I want to have a quick history chat.” He groaned as he threw himself in the van, adjusting the seat to fit his long legs. “Now?” “Oh come on, just a quick one,” I said, cheerfully pulling out of the driveway. “Ok. What are we talking about?” His good natured attitude won out as I… Continue reading The Butterfly Effect