World and American History

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  • June 9, 2008 at 3:27 pm
    7blessings
    Member

    I know that SCM advocates a chronological look at history yet Charlotte taught World and American history at the same time to her students. Which is the better way to go and why?

    Brooke

    June 9, 2008 at 7:04 pm
    csmamma
    Participant

    I’ve been wondering about this too and have had this question in mind for months. Thanks for posting it and I look forward to hearing responses…………

    June 9, 2008 at 10:53 pm
    hvfth99
    Member

    I definitely need advice on this as well. I am joinging Classical Conversations in the fall, and we are studying American History. I would love to know if I need to include some world history in there as well. (I’m really trying to balance my CM ways with those of the classical method.)

    Advice will be well received!

    Faith 🙂

    June 11, 2008 at 9:06 pm
    Sonya Shafer
    Moderator

    Great question! I’m definitely not the final authority on this, but I’ll throw in my $.02 worth.

    I don’t like to teach both World History and American History because I was concerned that my kids would be confused as to which events occurred when and where. I also found that a lot of American History is based on a cause-and-effect of past World History events and I wanted to be sure my kids saw WHY America had its beginnings the way it did.

    Now, having said that, let me throw in a couple more “pennies.” 😉

    When we do get to the period of history in which America plays a role, I like to include World History events that are happening at the same time. I do not believe in studying only American history, or even a vast majority of American history, to the neglect of World History.

    Charlotte did teach both World History and English History at the same time. (Remember, she was in England.) I think she had a huge advantage, in that England has a much longer history than America does. A lot of World History happened in and around England, so she could combine them much easier.

    Also, she spread out the readings, which helped avoid confusion. For example, she might have read a World History book on Mondays and an English History book on Thursdays.

    So, all that to say, I’m not necessarily giving advice here; just letting you know my thought process. As in everything, do what works best for your family!

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