Our Island Story... are there objections to using this?

[Lovedtodeath]

Is it secular? Does it have bigotry?

 

Thanks!

[Peela]

We are secular and we read it last year and enjoyed it a lot. I don't remember any bigotry but if there was it wasn't a big deal to us- if stuff like that comes up , we just discuss it and the context in which it was written. Its a great book for an overview of British history, although it was much better as a read aloud than when I handed it over to my kids (they are much older than yours- I imagine you would be reading it aloud anyway).

[Willow]

I am in NZ and the bits about the colonization of Australia and New Zealand had us rolling in the aisles! :lol: Apply common sence as the previous poster said re the time it was written and it is great. Librivox have it all on free recordings if you don't want to read it aloud.

[Laura Corin]

Is it secular? Does it have bigotry?

 

Thanks!

 

She assumes that all right-thinking people will be Christian too. Once you understand that, and the effect that this thinking has on the narrative, then it becomes an interesting aspect for discussion, rather than an impediment. Her views are most obvious in the section on the Crusades, but we just discussed our way through it.

 

I still use it, despite being an Atheist, because it's just good history-as-story.

 

Laura

[Guest mariecb]

DH and I are probably in the minority for disliking it - and definitely disliking Our Empire Story, which is about Canada and Australia. We are Canadian. I found that there were numerous places where she discussed myth and legend as though it were fact. She speaks about John Lackland murdering his sweet and innocent little nephew Arthur - ignoring the fact that no one really *knows* what happened to Arthur (he disappeared, and it's presumed that John killed him), and Arthur, at *16*, and having already amassed an army and attempted to hold his grandmother ransom, was hardly a sweet and innocent little boy. He may have been young by modern standards, but he was a man at the time, and a man who was attempting to gain the crown. Her theology is definitely Protestant-biased, and there's an undercurrent of anti-French sentiment. DH (French Canadian and Roman Catholic) picked up on it right away. When I discussed some of it with my FIL, he made it clear that I had better not be teaching *his* petit-fils that stuff! :) In Our Empire Story, she makes her opinion of the First Nations very clear. Louis Riel (a French/Native hero and a founder of the province of Manitoba) is described as "half-educated" - he went to the local school until, when he was 13, the priests noticed his intelligence and sent him to seminary, where he stayed until he was 20 (at which time his father died and he decided not to be a priest). She calls the Metis "ignorant half-breeds" - I can't imagine facing the many Metis I know if I read something like that to my kids! I suppose that's the biggest reason why I've been turned off any of her books. There's so much great stuff out there, we decided not to use something that made us feel that uncomfortable. Marie

[Lovedtodeath]

Her views are most obvious in the section on the Crusades, but we just discussed our way through it.

Surely she was not indicating that the Crusades were a good thing.:confused:

 

and there's an undercurrent of anti-French sentiment.

We definitely don't want that!

 

So... is there another good source for British History?

 

I like the idea of free audio! It looks like I'll have to actually read it ahead of time and decide what parts to include with kiddo. I like the time period that it covers, and need some refreshing (okay, not refreshing, I never knew it to begin with) on it myself.

[MIch elle]

on Project Gutenberg or Main Lesson/Baldwin.

 

http://www.mainlesson.com/display.php?author=marshall&book=island&story=_contents

 

We like it!

[Quad Shot Academy]

I am surprised that so many people liked this book. My son is very scarred by the book. I can't remember if CM or AO recommends it for 1st grade, but that is when I decided to go with WTM over the other. We read it 3 years ago and he still talks about the Queen or princess that killed herself and her daughters because she would rather them be dead than be under someone else's rule. Something like that, I can't even remember! The whole book is nothing but cruelty, wars and evil rulers. He won't have anything to do with the British and is indignant that people consider the British our allies now.:lol: He really thinks the whole country is evil from the way this book portrayed them. No offense to anyone, that is just his opinion from reading 1/2 of the book. I honestly don't even remember much.

[Aurelia]

I can't remember if CM or AO recommends it for 1st grade, but that is when I decided to go with WTM over the other. We read it 3 years ago and he still talks about the Queen or princess that killed herself and her daughters because she would rather them be dead than be under someone else's rule. Something like that, I can't even remember! The whole book is nothing but cruelty, wars and evil rulers.

 

 

AO recommends it and from the posted schedule, you start in Year 1 and finish in Year 3. I bought it and just started reading it myself, but I don't think I'll have Ariel listen to all of it, or start it when she's around 8 or so, or maybe we'll just approach it more as a fairy tale than a historical document. :001_unsure:

[MIch elle]

My 12yob and I are reading it aloud this year.

[laylamcb]

We've loved it (my oldest is 6). As previous posters have said, obviously Marshall was a woman of her time and place. And yes, there is some blurring of history and legend. But in our case, I think that's what my kids have really enjoyed about the book: The history retains a bit of "magic," if you will. :001_smile:

 

(BTW, Boudicca--called Boadicea in the days that OIS was written--is the warrior queen that a previous poster referred to. Oddly, that remains one of my dd's favorite stories in the whole book.)

[Willow]

We were older when we read it... youngest dc was 11, others teens. My mum still remembers with horror the description of the Black Hole of Calcutta from her childhood. History is scary sometimes. Always pre-read (or pre-listen) and adapt as necessary. We don't even begin to study WW2 until middle teens because of this. Too recent, too horrid.

 

As for bias, isn't all history biased? Isn't that part of the fun about reading history. "Hey looks what she says about THIS! I would never have put that spin on that event!" etc.

[Peela]

My 12yob and I are reading it aloud this year.

 

I agree it's probably better for older kids. My kids were 12 and 13 when we read it.

History IS brutal. So is the present- I guess it depends what you focus on, but then people will complain about the bias anyway. I think AIS a pretty good job of making it accessible to kids, myself, but my kids are not super sensitive to the horror.

And we also loved the story of Boadicea. I find it an incredible story of self sacrifice for those times, it always touches my heart.

[nmoira]

Is it secular? Does it have bigotry?

We use it, but only as one of many materials (SOTW, Britannia, numerous historical novels, Kings and Queens). It's not secular, but I either edit on the fly or stop to discuss POV. It is stark in its assumptions about civilized vs uncivilized. FWIW, I find Scotland's Story by the same author to be a better read.

[Lovedtodeath]

Thanks Moira. That was helpful.

 

And I think I will hold off for the logic stage. Thanks to all!