Perspective

          An interesting conversation took place here this past week. The kids received a box of loot from their California grandparents. One of the goodies inside was a book titled Eastern Birds. My son (10) read the title and remarked "Well, we don't live in the east so I guess this won't help us."

           Now, for those who don't know, we live  in New England which is indeed the east....Or is it? How embarrassing right? My husband even remarked "Perhaps you should put them in school so they can catch up a bit." He was joking but still it got me thinking. Anyone who knows my son knows that he is very much directionally gifted! He certainly isn't lacking in geography skills. Ever since he was able to sit up he has loved maps. Many well known family anecdotes around here tell of Quinn reading and deciphering maps at an incredibly young age. He can tell people which way to go to get home even from quite a distance away. He has told me which way to go when I am lost on the road, in the woods and can even be trusted to make his way out of a hike on his own. So why is it that my dear son could make the remark that we are not in the east.

            Well, after thinking for a few minutes I realized that it's quite simple really. We AREN'T in the east. At least not if you are thinking from a global perspective. What ten year old thinks from a global perspective you ask? Well if you are homeschoolers you probably aren't asking that question. You probably have a similar situation to ours.  My children did not start out their school journey learning about the United States like most children in this country. We began with ancient history and moved on to the middle ages. This year we have just begun to "discover" America. In my kids' minds the United States is not the center of the world. Therefore, as Quinn demonstrated, east and west need not be understood ONLY as related to this country.

Susan Wise Bauer wrote a great little article that succinctly articulates my views on this topic. I think it is a great read for anyone who may not understand my choice to teach my kids about the world in this way.
http://www.welltrainedmind.com/a-classical-approach-to-history/