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In many history courses in America, students are taught revisionist history. Teachers use materials that try to bring about an emotional response in students, focusing only on negative aspects of our country's history and not teaching history in context. For these reasons, many students believe that the United States of America and Western Civilization are the sources of all evil in the world.
Classical Historian is different. We teach the path of liberty, which begins in the ancient world with the Hebrews and continues to develop with the Greeks, the Romans, through the Medieval Europeans, and in the founding of the United States of America. Classical Historian upholds the importance of liberty, individual rights, and integrity of the individual. We use credible and interesting narratives, and primary sources. We also teach history in context. When students learn about the evils of slavery, for example, they learn that it was practiced on all continents of the world, in all cultures, at one time. We teach students how to think independently, analyze different sources, create an argument in history and express it in speech and in writing. We use credible sources that value dignity, virtues, and liberty. For students in grades 6-12, we use the Socratic approach. This is new for many adults, who grew up listening to someone lecture, or who sat in history classes taught by the coach who handed out worksheets. Classical Historian’s DVD seminar, Teaching the Socratic Discussion in History, created by John De Gree, shows parents and teachers a simple, accessible approach for reading, understanding, and teaching history with the Socratic method. Teaching the Socratic Discussion in History is based on a simple premise: to understand history and engage students, we must ask open-ended questions and have access to honest history texts. We therefore promote oral discussion, as opposed to fill-in-the-blank homework, as the best way to cultivate a love of history at every level. This approach greatly reduces the demands on the teacher, who need not be an expert, but is free instead to assume the role of fellow learner beside his or her students. |
TEACHERS
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ASPIRING HISTORIANS Some home school parents and beginning history teachers feel like they do not know enough history to teach and they want a quick way to catch up on all that history they never learned in school. We recommend you start with
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