They’re always such nice women. They were the loveliest girls back in their school days too. They never hurt a fly, broke a rule, or
were the naughty student.
These are the girls who earned a star-sticker atop each school assignment. They
never got messy at recess. The birthday
cupcakes they shared with the class weren’t
sloppy, but were symmetrically decorated
with charming themes. Yup, budding paragons of feminine virtue.
Now grown into home-educating moms,
I find that many of these tender, cooperative, integrity-rich angels—still sporting
perfectly white blouses without a smudge—
feel burdened by what they feel is an embarrassing educational secret. They feel
ashamed. No, they didn’t get an F or smoke
in the bathroom. Rather, they believe
something is wrong with them: they didn’t
like history class. Even when they knew it
was a major topic. But, that’s not all.
Importantly . . . because these outstand-
ing women assume blame for not connect-
ing with their own history studies, they also
take blame for “their failure” to now re-
member what they tried to memorize back
in school. They fault themselves for lesser
understanding and appreciation of history
as adults.
Naturally, this compounds throughout our
lifetimes, because when we experience pain,
such as the proverbial hot stove, we pull back
when near. These great women, then, not only
feel like “bad students” in their past, but also
feel the dull ache of inadequacy and dread—
currently—to lead history explorations with
their own home-educated children.
Besides, what loving mother would put
her kids through the very thing that caused
them pain and defeat, as well as feelings of
mystification and insufficiency? So, the reflex to pull back from history is not only for
the mother, but for her beloved children as
well.
You’d be surprised how many pristine
women feel burdened by this. Perhaps you
are one such tender soul?
It’s time for the truth to be told (cue
trumpet fanfare here): You were right all
along! You didn’t fail!
Instead, you were one who sensed that
something absolutely crucial was missing!
The heart was so often lacking from what
you were offered in government-school
history class. You knew it . . . without even
knowing that you knew it.
The very Centerpiece of Civilization—as
someone so correctly conveyed the centrality in human history of our Creator/
Lord/Lover/King—was cut out! Take the
heartbeat out—its Initiator, its Purpose, its
Driver, its Choreographer, its Playwright
and Main Actor, its Alpha and Omega—
and the lifeness ends. You were correct! You
aptly sensed that this was no longer the real
story of what has/is/will be happening in
the world, or why it happens.
You knew that only grasping the truth
would be vital, eternity-altering, nation-changing, and unforgettable wisdom for
present and future!
Was that in your schoolbooks? Weren’t
you, most likely, asked to be impressed by
a dispiriting Mankind Show? However, you
knew deep-down that if mankind is driving this planet, we’re not secure. That’s not
a happy topic.
So not only was the brightness of the
real Center out of your history, but weren’t
you asked to replace it with mostly glum
data about what people did (since humans have done many awful things over
the millennia)? Wasn’t this data stripped
down to being only human-brain-sized,
thus taking out the way-bigger-than-us
www.TheOldSchoolhouse.com
HisStory
By Michelle Howard Miller
Smart Moms
Who Don’t Like History
You knew deep-down that if mankind is driving this
planet, we’re not secure. That’s not a happy topic.
