Notgrass American History : Does this cover enough "actual" history? Really?

[Guest Katia]

Help! After much research my dd and I settled on Notgrass for American history for her 11th grade year. The sample chapters on their web-site were interesting to read and looked like it covered the subject matter. We really liked that it included primary sources.

 

Ok. So, we purchased it and I've been going through it to mark what I want dd to actually 'do'...and reading most of the chapters along the way. We are NOT covering the Bible or Literature portions, as we use different programs for those subjects.

 

The problem: as I'm reading through these chapters I'm finding things missing. Things that I think 'should' be in an American history textbook. ie: the name "Sputnik" in the Space Age section ; the "Bay of Pigs" in the Kennedy section. These are just a few examples. Things that I just noticed while flipping through to schedule.

 

Now I'm wondering: what else is missing that is essential American History?

 

My older dd used Alpha Omega's American History Lifepacs and while rather on the dry side of reading, she said it wasn't terrible, and I know for a fact that all of these are in there. I read through it, too, while scheduling!

 

Those of you who have used this, can you tell me (please!) that it really does cover American History thoroughly? My older dd started out with Landmark Freedom's American History program and we changed after six weeks because it didn't cover "history" but rather Christianity in American History.

 

I have nothing against Christianity or the Bible, but....I want my dc to learn American History at the high school level. I don't mind all of Notgrass's opinions and inserts regarding Christianity and the Bible, but to add that and leave out actual history is making me re-think my choice here.

 

I would never have thought AO Lifepacs were superior in coverage to Notgrass.....but I starting to think they are and questioning my choice.

 

Reassurances, please?

[Sharon in MD]

I am not going to be a lot of help here because I can't be sure what we learned from the videos vice the text. I added the Teaching Company' The History of the United States. We really liked doing it that way. There are 84 lectures in TTC's material....so we watched 2-4 videos a week along with the text book.

 

I did like the course and I felt like we had good coverage, but as I said, I did adapt it a bit.

[BeckyFL]

and the original source documents, famous speeches, etc add to what you're learning.

[Ame E.]

and wouldn't mind sharing, that would be great..

 

Thanks

 

Ame E.

[Sharon in MD]

It is too big to upload.

 

I'll be glad to send it you via email.

[Sharon in MD]

It is too big to upload.

 

I'll be glad to send it you via email.

[Veronica in VA]

Katia,

 

I added things, too. I loved the program, but felt more was needed on the revolution and some other things. But we are a history loving family! I added in extra books, and dvd's (like Ken Burn's Civil War, and Liberty) to the history.

 

HTH,

 

Veronica

[Guest Katia]

Thanks for your replies so far, everyone. I was so bummed I took a good, long "Mary Russell" break from scheduling, LOL! It was good to come back here and read your replies.

 

Sharon, I have your schedule for the TC videos, but I simply couldn't afford them this year..........Thanks for sharing. I'm sure that would make this a very complete course, having listening to other TC courses.

 

So.....after my nice little break I went back to scheduling only to find that Notgrass has quoted Nathan Hale's last words as differently than "I" remembered learning them. He has this: "I regret that I only have one life to lose for my country". The way I remember it, and what the (ha) authority Wikipedia says is: "I regret that I have but one life to give for my country".

 

Now, I'm becoming really concerned. Perhaps my original plan of AO Lifepacs along with reading A History of US and Marrin's books would have been more accurate? Certainly less expensive!

 

And....and....I researched! Really, I did! I almost chose the course from Hewitt that has two textbooks and primary sources, but thought that one from a Christian perspective would better suit our purposes.

 

Sigh. What to do. What to do??

[Kareni]

Katia,

 

Perhaps you've already checked; does your local library have any of the Teaching Company videos?

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Yolanda in Mass]

Hi,

 

My then 12th grader needed a quick and easy (easy to plan, that is) American history course for the post-reconstruction era and after much research we chose Notgrass. According to the author's wife, this program is meant to be a survey or overview course of American history. We did not use the literature portion because he did not need an English credit but I did have him do the bible study because it was always relevant to the history studied and it was so good. The same goes for the review questions. Rather than have him write out the answers, he would go over them with me. That way we could stay connected (like the old days) and the questions often led to discussions.

 

I would have loved to continue with what we had always used - Truthquest history- but my son just wanted to get it done, time was running out (he was graduating), he had never studied this period and it was important that he have an overview. After looking at many American history curriculum, we found that this one best fit our needs.

 

Lastly, the author is available for any questions you may have. He is very gracious and helpful. Call him with your concerns. Sorry to be so long-winded, just want to help. Good luck!

 

Blessings,

 

Yolanda

[Kathleen in VA]

I am using Notgrass World History and plan to use their American History next year. No matter what curriculum you choose there will always be "gaps." High School is the time to get an overview of the subject. I want my daughter to have the flow of the main events down, but I am not going to get bogged down with details. She is already interested in the Civil War and reads historical fiction from that era. I'm glad that she has taken an interest in the topic, and I think as she matures other aspects of history will become interesting and she will search them out on her own.

 

We are a history loving family and our movie choices for entertainment tend to reflect this. I find that my children choose history books for their personal reading - just for fun. I think it is more important to develop a love for the subject than to try to absorb all the knowledge about it in one short year of a teenage life.

 

It's not possible to cover every detail in a high school history course. Frankly, I would not require any more work than what the text requires. I would try to include a lot of incidental learning by visiting historic sites, subscribing to an historical publication, watching (for fun) historical DVDs and tv specials and just discussing all of these together.

 

Here's a for instance. Ds21 and I were having a discussion about whether or not it was "right" for the colonies to rebel against King George in light of Romans 13:1-4. We concluded that neither one of us had enough information regarding the original design of the colonies to make a proper judgment on the matter. We resolved to research the topic on our own and discuss it at a later date. IMO, this kind of "personal" learning is much more valuable than trying to memorize a textbook. I believe whatever we learn from our research will be "owned" by us and if I had tried to force him to learn about it when he had no interest he wouldn't remember anything but the pain:).

 

He also took his little brother, 11, to a Civil War conference in Harrisonburg, VA last summer and got his brother interested in learning more about it.

 

We have visited Mt. Vernon several times (it is fairly close by) and this has spawned an interest in Colonial and Revolutionary War days for all my children. Just today we got the news that the actual foundation for George Washington's boyhood home, Ferry Farm, was discovered right here in the county we live in. That will be our next field trip.

 

Most "real" learning takes place outside the textbook.

 

JMHO,

[Alyce]

it gave us time to discuss them. If you have questions about the original documents I'd go to his site and email him personally. He has always been there to answer questions for me. There is also a Yahoo group that he monitors that you could get more specific answers from.

[Guest Katia]

Thanks to everyone! We are not going to worry about it and just 'do' it. Both dd and I like his writing style (much more memorable than most textbook styles) and we really like the primary source documents that are scheduled in.

 

I needed these reassurances though. It has really helped. I'm just going with what we planned and what I have and that's just 'that'. Thanks all!

[Ame E.]

It is too big to upload.

 

I'll be glad to send it you via email.

 

thanks..

 

Ame E.