The Many Faces of History

When I was knee high to a grasshopper, I had the privilege of hearing Glenn W. Turner speak in person. Some of you may know him only as the man who went to prison for MLM shenanigans but he was, and still is, one of the most dynamic motivational speakers you could ever hear. I can still hear him in my mind exhorting the audience to "Dare to be Great!"

[Here is a free clip Of Mr. Turner that illustrates why he has impacted thousands of lives. Click on the clip at the very top of the page.]

My mom, a beautician by profession, had bought into his company, Koscot, and was making good money selling the excellent cosmetics and recruiting and training other girls to sell also. I won't get into the politics of the thing, but Mr. Turner was indicted for practices that were very little different than what other MLM companies were doing at the time. MLM has come a long way since then but that is a whole other post for a different blog...

Or maybe not. I started this post wanting to make the point that I was raised by a strong minded and industrious woman who more often worked for herself than for other people. That I get my entrepreneurial streak honestly.


However, as often happens when I dare to sit down at a keyboard, my post has gone astray and I find myself on another track heading for a destination that was better than the one I had in mind when I first drove to the train station.



My new destination is called The Many Faces of History. And my thesis is that there is no such thing as an unbiased historical account. It is simply impossible.

History is made up of stories and stories require a story teller. And that story teller has a life, a perspective, loves, hates, political views, religious views - all that goes into shaping the particular lens that they view the world through.

Just the mere decision of what facts to include and what facts to leave out have a powerful impact on the story that results. Or which version to believer when the facts are in dispute.

I will give an example from the first book I am working on for my project. [Peter the Great from the Makers of History series by Jacob Abbott] At one point, Peter's oldest son dies after a life of debauchery, idleness and treachery. There seems to be debate about whether he died from illness or whether Peter had him killed. I intend to do more research on the matter but I already know that I won't find out the answer conclusively. And what I choose to believe depends in large part on the biases I bring to my research.

While sifting through an author's biases can sometimes be frustrating, it can also be fascinating. It adds another layer to the study of history that teaches us to be discerning readers while sharpening and defining our own perspectives. The only real problem is if we think that the face we see most easily is the only one to be discovered.

My Favorite Homeschool Subject

When you homeschool, you get asked a lot of questions.

Right behind the perennial favorite "But what about their socialization?" is the WHY question. Why do we homeschool? why...why...why

I can give a short and sweet "Cause we love it" or I can spend an hour enumerating the many and varied reasons why we began homeschooling and why we continue to homeschool and why we plan to homeschool until the last child is graduated.

But the reason I only give once in a while out of fear that it will sound too self serving is that homeschooling has been good for me. Yes, while the questioner is either doubting my sanity or elevating me to sainthood, I am standing there knowing that homeschooling is one of the best things that ever happened to me, personally.

I often remark that I learned more in my first four years of homeschooling than in my four years of college....and mean it most sincerely. Particularly if one factors in the value of the lessons learned.

And out of all I have learned, setting aside the myriad of character lessons, I value most what I have learned about history. Of course, I didn't realize just how little I knew of history when we started. And the more I learn, the more I realize I don't know. History is truly a lifetime subject; one that never will come up empty when you seek to add to your store of knowledge and understanding.

Not all of my children share my love of history. I hope that they will leave my homeschool with, at least, a basic understanding of world history, America's place in that history, and an openness to learning more as they live their lives. I am fortunate, however, that my oldest son shares my thirst for learning more. It gives me a good excuse to acquire historical resources.

And now I begin on a new project that will allow me to share my enthusiasm for history with a wider audience. Stay tuned...