Shoot! I was looking forward to Hakim for 7th grade...

[Chris in VA]

but after reading the recent thread about inaccuracies and looking at the criticisms on Textbook League (as linked in the other thread), now I'm looking for something else. Has anyone (elsewhere, not necessarily here on WTM boards) done an assessment on something like All American History, or other programs (textbooks?)? I would like something fairly accurate, if you please; I know it has to be biased, but as little as possible would be nice.

[Matryoshka]

If I were doing US History in middle school (we've just finished it up and are starting Ancients instead), I might consider the Drama of American History series by Collier & Collier. I like the look of those better than the Hakim.

[Night Elf]

Does the Textbook league only offer criticism of a textbook? I mean, do they not offer suggestions for books they think don't have inaccuracies?

 

The Hakim series has been one of the highlights of our homeschooling. I've seen this topic before, but I claim ignorance of all facts of history so I don't know what is accurate and what isn't. We thought the books were fabulous. I'm hoping to read it with my dd12 soon, but she has to finish her current social studies class with Keystone first.

[Reya]

I've been VERY happy with the texts the Textbook League likes. They don't like puffery and nonsense.

 

They are, however, quite strongly anti-religion of any kind, to the point where it's almost farcical. A race where I have no horse: I've personally run into direct Islamic indoctrination in textbooks, but some of their declarations were pretty ridiculous. (One writer was of the there's-no-proof-for-a-historical-Muhammad stripe, for example--totally outlandish.) They are not rational on the subject of religion of any type and so you'll want to take those reviews with a HUGE heaping tablespoon of salt.

 

I would have linked to them, but I didn't know they were back online!!!!

Edited April 18, 2010 by Reya

[LittleHouseHomeschool]

I have a thought... Reading Hakim may be good for your student, if you use it as a way to teach him critical thinking.

 

Beautiful Feet uses the Hakim series in their high school American History program exactly for this purpose.

 

It is a good thing to understand how the other side thinks! We don't have to embrace their ideas, but it is a good idea to consider, understand and decide why they are right or wrong.

 

~Yvonne

[Chris in VA]

I have a thought... Reading Hakim may be good for your student, if you use it as a way to teach him critical thinking.

 

Beautiful Feet uses the Hakim series in their high school American History program exactly for this purpose.

 

It is a good thing to understand how the other side thinks! We don't have to embrace their ideas, but it is a good idea to consider, understand and decide why they are right or wrong.

 

~Yvonne

 

I do agree, but the problem is, I don't know where the inaccuracies are myself. I was all set to use it, because I love the way it's written, and our library carries it, which is a big plus. But after looking at the review, I realized I could not have picked out most of what they pointed out as inaccurate.

Reya, I don't like the anti-religion stuff, either, but that, I can usually spot. It's more the "this happened this way" things.

[Orthodox6]

The Textbook League has not updated that website in several years. (unless something happened in the past quarter) I consider that significant. It also is a curmudgeonly biased organization, recommendations from which I sometimes take with a spoonful of salt (rather than the normal "grains"). The people there despise anything that is positive about religion, for example.

 

At any rate, as has been noted in other history threads, bias is inherent to any history presentation. Nothing on the market will suit everyone. I would end up avoiding teaching history at all. Even SOTW, CHOW, and other "staples" for homeschoolers have biases, not all of which everyone will endorse.

 

Until/unless I find something better, when dd reaches 8th grade for American History, I'll combine Hakim with Zinn and whatever other materials appear to be good supplements.

[Faithr]

My way to deal with bias is to use two texts, one secular and one religious. That's the way we've done things. Hakim tends to be rather liberal. Zinn was a socialist so he is very liberal in fact to the point where he can really distort things (Emma Goldman is a hero to him: sorry, she advocated violent overthrow of industrialists and helped her lover get money to buy a gun to attempt an assassination. She eventually moved to the Soviet Union and got disillusioned with that system. She was an unstable nut in my opinion and not a hero in any sense of the word; interesting yes, heroic, no.). I think as long as you know where the bias is, you can work around it. Frankly I think it is interesting to read history from two different points of view. It is impossible to get an unbiased historical account anyway, so the next best thing is to have fun learning about and analyzing the biases.

 

I went to the textbook site mentioned. Talk about bias!!!! Their language is loaded!

[Pippen]

I have a thought... Reading Hakim may be good for your student, if you use it as a way to teach him critical thinking.

 

Beautiful Feet uses the Hakim series in their high school American History program exactly for this purpose.

 

It is a good thing to understand how the other side thinks! We don't have to embrace their ideas, but it is a good idea to consider, understand and decide why they are right or wrong.

 

~Yvonne

 

One of the exercises we did early this year was to take a historic event and read about it from different perspectives. It was interesting and I think really helped drive home the message.

 

We are using Hakim but I'm reading it aloud so often we'll stop and question her perspective.

[MamaT]

We use Hakim, knowing that we will differ with her much of the time. I liked the discussions we had while reading her books. You might want to look at Opposing Viewpoints in American History, Volumes I and II, to go along with it.

[Gratia271]

We use Hakim, knowing that we will differ with her much of the time. I liked the discussions we had while reading her books. You might want to look at Opposing Viewpoints in American History, Volumes I and II, to go along with it.

 

How did you incorporate those books into your history studies?

[mcconnellboys]

I haven't found Hakim to be any more inaccurate than anything else I've ever used.

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

I do agree, but the problem is, I don't know where the inaccuracies are myself. I was all set to use it, because I love the way it's written, and our library carries it, which is a big plus. But after looking at the review, I realized I could not have picked out most of what they pointed out as inaccurate.

Reya, I don't like the anti-religion stuff, either, but that, I can usually spot. It's more the "this happened this way" things.

 

I am not sure I would throw History of the US out based on a few inaccuracies. I have found just about every text book that I have encountered have at least a few errors. I think that is par for the course:).

 

K12, which is a great curriculum IMHO, uses the History of the US in its 5-6 grade history courses. K12 seems to be rigorous and classical from what I have seen so far IMHO:)

 

My 2 cents:)

[Shelly in the Country]

I have a thought... Reading Hakim may be good for your student, if you use it as a way to teach him critical thinking.

 

 

 

:iagree: This is why I still plan on using Hakim. When I first bought the books, I tried going through them with a notepad to make note of any bias/inaccuracies I could pick up on or find. I have since decided I don't have time for that :lol:. Instead, I'm going to try reading it concurrently with my children in the Logic stage. I figure we can have some good discussions that way. I only linked to The Textbook League because somebody wanted to know where Hakim was inaccurate and I saw they had some concrete examples. I'm not terribly concerned about her biases myself though. I figure using a biased text like Hakim's would be good preparation for my kids since they will surely run into bias in their adult lives as well. They need to be taught how to spot it. I plan to use Hakim along with TOG when we come around to American History again. I figure TOG will help to balance out Hakim well enough.

 

Edited to add: I would NOT use Hakim for my younger kids. I think subtle bias is most dangerous to young children who can't filter. I think the Logic stage should be perfect for this sort of thing though.

Edited April 18, 2010 by Shelly in the Country

[KarenNC]

but after reading the recent thread about inaccuracies and looking at the criticisms on Textbook League (as linked in the other thread), now I'm looking for something else. Has anyone (elsewhere, not necessarily here on WTM boards) done an assessment on something like All American History, or other programs (textbooks?)? I would like something fairly accurate, if you please; I know it has to be biased, but as little as possible would be nice.

 

I looked at All American History as a possibility, so I joined their yahoo group for a while to get a better feel for how it actually played out. I don't have any of the information anymore, but I know that I decided it was not going to be workable for us as it was too Christian-specific for our purposes overall. Here's a Cathy Duffy review

http://cathyduffyreviews.com/history-geography/all-american-history.htm. It was this review that made me want to hang out on their discussion group for a while to see exactly how it worked. I can't speak to their accuracy level.

 

My friend just purchased McGraw Hill's Journey Across Time textbook for world history and is raving about the notetaking guide with it. It's for world history, but they also have American Journey, which might be worth a look. Again, I can't speak to the accuracy level.

 

FWIW, I've also seen lists of inaccuracies in SOTW and many other history books, so I don't know if there are any out there with *no* inaccuracies.

[Guest]

James Loewen's book Lies My History Teacher Taught Me goes through a group of major publisher high school textbooks over a span of around 20 years or so and highlights inaccuracies (which like many posters I think are inevitable in a survey that covers so much), omissions, and biases on a number of levels. I think it's important to recognize that realistically no book is perfect, you go with what works for your family -- either in terms of engaging your kids, just getting the job done in a streamlined way, or whatever you need -- and talk about it as you go. Taking just a few days to compare to picture or easy chapter books on the same event or person can give even an elementary grade student an idea of how writers shape their histories differently. We can be aware of these differences, talk about their pros and cons, without bashing them or saying they are not usable.

[TracyR]

K12 uses the History of Us Series written by Joy Hakim. Let's just say I'm not a big fan at all. I thought we were going to enjoy them but in the end my daughter doesn't mind reading them, I don't like the books at all. They make decent readers but the content is just all over the place. I didn't like it as a history spine at all.

I think unless your a history buff you most likely won't pick up on the innaccuracies(which are pretty much in all history books). I don't pick up on them but my husband does.

 

I don't know, there are better history books out there really.

[gingersmom]

K12 uses the History of Us Series written by Joy Hakim. Let's just say I'm not a big fan at all. I thought we were going to enjoy them but in the end my daughter doesn't mind reading them, I don't like the books at all. They make decent readers but the content is just all over the place. I didn't like it as a history spine at all.

I think unless your a history buff you most likely won't pick up on the innaccuracies(which are pretty much in all history books). I don't pick up on them but my husband does.

 

I don't know, there are better history books out there really.

 

:iagree:

 

I didn't like them at all either.

 

We switched to Oak Meadow history and I have been much happier.

[Spy Car]

If I were doing US History in middle school (we've just finished it up and are starting Ancients instead), I might consider the Drama of American History series by Collier & Collier. I like the look of those better than the Hakim.

 

Based on an earlier recommendation by Matroyshka, I checked two volumes of this series out of the library to "pre-read."

 

I must say I was very impressed. The books are very well-written and fair-minded. Where there are controversies the authors do a marvelous job making the "best case" for the disputants on either side.

 

The works stay on theme, deliberately avoiding extraneous information that might detract from the lesson. While treating the given theme in adequate depth so there is both nuance and balance.

 

But they deliver on the "drama" of American History promised in the title.

 

More than a few "inaccuracies", Joy Hakim's writing style--which I find patronizing and inefficient--is hard for me to take. In comparison reading the Collier brothers is a treat.

 

I've only read two books of a many-part series, but if the rest are as good as these, what a grand alternative to have found.

 

Thank you Matroyshka!!!

 

Bill

Edited April 19, 2010 by Spy Car

[Guest]

For a middle schooler with good comprehension and vocabulary, I'm also finding Marc Aronson's books terrific reading as well as great history. My daughter thought his book on the Salem witchcraft trials was one of the best things she's ever read -- and she's no non-fiction fan. He has several books that stretch from Elizabethan England exploration to the American Revolution.

 

One of the best things about Aronson's writing, in my opinion, is the way he explicitly discusses where evidence comes from, problems in interpretation (the witchcraft trial book discusses a number of theories and approaches, for instance, and evaluates them), and how a historian goes about constructing his or her own understanding.

[Veritaserum]

If I were doing US History in middle school (we've just finished it up and are starting Ancients instead), I might consider the Drama of American History series by Collier & Collier. I like the look of those better than the Hakim.

 

Is there a good place to buy the set? Amazon seems to have some, but I'm not sure how many books there are all together....

[Laura W.]

We're using A History of US next year. Like another poster mentioned, we're also using a second text to get a different viewpoint/bias. We are also using Critical Thinking in US History.

 

Blessings,

 

Laura

[Hoggirl]

More than a few "inaccuracies", Joy Hakim's writing style--which I find patronizing and inefficient--is hard for me to take. In comparison reading the Collier brothers is a treat.

 

Bill

 

I cannot speak to the text that Bill liked, but I can speak to his dislike of Hakim. I couldn't agree more. I do not care for her writing style at all. That alone made me cross them off my list.

[Guest]

I agree with other posters' dislike of Hakim's style; but as I mentioned on the other thread, she is writing for kids, not adults, and many of them who have a hard time with the impersonality and dry factual focus of other textbooks find her books a great relief.

[nmoira]

Is there a good place to buy the set? Amazon seems to have some, but I'm not sure how many books there are all together....

Here's a list of the titles in the series:

 

 

• Clash of Cultures: Prehistory to 1638, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 1998.

• The Paradox of Jamestown, 1585 to 1700, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 1998.

• The French and Indian War, 1660 to 1763, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 1998.

• The American Revolution, 1763 to 1783, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 1998.

• Pilgrims and Puritans, 1620 to 1676, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 1998.

• Creating the Constitution, 1787, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 1998.

• Building a New Nation, 1789 to 1803, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 1998.

• Andrew Jackson's America, 1821 to 1850, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 1998.

• Hispanic America, Texas, and the Mexican War, 1835 to 1850, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 1998.

• The Jeffersonian Republicans, 1800 to 1820, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 1998.

• The Civil War, 1860 to 1866, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 1998.

• Slavery and the Coming of the Civil War, 1831 to 1861, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 1998.

• Reconstruction and the Rise of Jim Crow, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 1998.

• The Rise of Industry: 1860 to 1900, Marshall Cavendish (New York, NY), 1999.

• A Century of Immigration: 1820 to 1924, Marshall Cavendish/Benchmark Books (Tarrytown, NY), 1999.

• Indians, Cowboys, and Farmers, 1865 to 1910, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 2000.

• The United States Enters the World Stage: From Alaska through World War I, 1867 to 1919, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 2000.

• Progressivism, the Great Depression, and the New Deal, 1901 to 1941, Benchmark/Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 2000.

• The Rise of the Cities, Cavendish/Benchmark (Tarrytown, NY), 2000.

• United States in World War II, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 2001.

• The Changing Face of American Society, 1945 to 2000, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 2001.

• The United States in the Cold War, Benchmark/Cavendish (Tarrytown, NY), 2002.

• The Middle Road: American Politics, 1945 to 2000, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 2002.

 

[Orthodox6]

My way to deal with bias is to use two texts, one secular and one religious. That's the way we've done things. Hakim tends to be rather liberal. Zinn was a socialist so he is very liberal in fact to the point where he can really distort things (Emma Goldman is a hero to him: sorry, she advocated violent overthrow of industrialists and helped her lover get money to buy a gun to attempt an assassination. She eventually moved to the Soviet Union and got disillusioned with that system. She was an unstable nut in my opinion and not a hero in any sense of the word; interesting yes, heroic, no.). I think as long as you know where the bias is, you can work around it. Frankly I think it is interesting to read history from two different points of view. It is impossible to get an unbiased historical account anyway, so the next best thing is to have fun learning about and analyzing the biases.

 

I went to the textbook site mentioned. Talk about bias!!!! Their language is loaded!

 

Yes, Zinn is "over the top" (which is part of the fun in reading him). I just fear that if I use BJUP or similar, I'll burn the book.

[MamaT]

How did you incorporate those books into your history studies?

 

Sorry, I've been away from the computer and just saw your question. I used Opposing Viewpoints in American History all along in our American history course as we got to each "viewpoint." It gives primary source opinions from different statesmen and leaders from American history.

[Veritaserum]

Here's a list of the titles in the series:

 

 

Thanks! It looks like my library has most of these. :)

[Reya]

Any child with the development level for which the text is aimed lacks the development for understanding the tricks Hakim is pulling. I'm fine about reading the texts of people who disagree with our worldview. What I'm not fine with is being assaulted with constant lying and fabrication, as well as paragraphs and paragraphs of text with no substance meant to pull a cheap emotional trick.

 

See the difference?

 

I'll happily have my children reading Mills and Kant and Hume and Popper. That's because they're not trying to cheat or deceive. The age at which Hakim can be properly evaluated is far beyond the age at which its content would be appropriate, if it were not so fabricated.

 

I am baffled my people who attribute lying to a difference in a point of view. I guess the post-modernists are winning, even here. *sighs*

Edited April 19, 2010 by Reya

[KarenNC]

Here's a list of the titles in the series:

 

 

• Clash of Cultures: Prehistory to 1638, Benchmark Books (New York, NY), 1998.

   

  etc

 

 

Does anyone know of teaching guides, lesson plans or a curriculum that utilizes this series? I've got a couple of the books on hold at the library so that I can check them out, but I do know that I like a more "open and go" type of style rather than having to pull together all my own activities.

 

I'm looking for something to combine with k12's Human Odyssey, for which I already have a teacher guide and student work. I want to stretch the combination over the next 4 year cycle, so I'll be doing some adjusting, adding in literature, etc, but I prefer to start with something as a base if possible.

[Sue G in PA]

There will be bias and inaccuracy in any text/book you read. It is human nature to "let slip" our own viewpoints in our writing...even when we are careful. As for inaccuracies, even the most noted historians will sometimes make a mistake. As for Hakin, my dd13 found it a rather "painless" read when she was using K12 in grade 5. I rather enjoyed reading her matieral myself, except for the overly liberal bent and absence of any Christian flair, kwim? I got Zinn from the library and immediately threw it back in the library bag to be returned. I will not have my son read material with such an obvious socialist tendency at such a young age when he hasn't even been exposed to what it really is! Chris, I know you don't want specifically all Christian...you seem to want a more "rounded" approach, correct? However, we are going to be using Drive Thru History America this coming year. Once I figure out how to actually "teach" it and implement it, I think it is going to be a terrific program. I am also having ds12 read through A Child's Story of America and will probably have him choose a lapbook or other hands-on project to do on the topic of his choice. So tough to find material that is suitable isn't it?

[Mama Lynx]

We made Hakim work. Despite the fact that her writing style makes me seasick, it was the most convenient thing to use.

 

My kids are already pretty well history literate, and sensitive to politics, so I wasn't terribly worried about inaccuracies. We discuss everything after we read it, and get our point across.

[Beth in SW WA]

Bumping for clarification:

 

Besides the Textbook League analysis and cricitism and more criticism....

 

Is there a concise list somewhere in the our very own Hive archives or a handy blog post somewhere which details the aforementioned liberal bias and historical inaccuracies in Hakim?

 

I'm pre-reading this set before dd reads for 8th. I wish I knew my history better to catch errors. I confess I need help from the experts here.

 

For 8th grade US History I will use All American History along with selections of Hakim. Although this research is leading me to question my "well-laid" plans.:confused: