Wednesday, May 30, 2018

An Italian Childhood: Nino


written and illustrated by Valenti Angelo

I picked up this book at a book sale because I saw Valenti Angelo's name. I have two books illustrated by him which are both lovely (The Book of Psalms and The Long Christmas) and decided I wanted this one no matter what the story was like. Luckily, it's just as wonderful as the illustrations.

Nino does not have much of a plot; there's no dramatic crisis or trauma. It tenderly describes Nino's early childhood on his grandfather's farm in Italy in 1905. Nino and his dedicated mother and grandfather work the prosperous farm and run the household. His father is away in America and has been for many years, planning to earn the money for his wife and child to join him. There is no such tension in the book, but I feared the impending separation which the book resolves perfectly.

Over the course of the book, Nino has "adventures" like traveling to a larger town to have his picture taken, the Easter celebration, attending a fair, and Christmas. His family attends the local Catholic church, which is a part of their lives in an integral way. Their home is often open as they host friends and neighbors, revealing a rich life of relationships and joy.

Nino is an aspiring artist and often experiences a great joy in the simple beauty of his world.
The boat sped through the water with sudden jerks. Nino watched the sky, fascinated by the flashes of lightning. The wind that had risen all in a moment moaned and swept over the marshes, whipping the tall grass with rustling sounds. The tall poplars bent as though turning their backs to its fury; they looked like black giants in the night. It began to rain, big drops that glistened like pearls as they fell, and the surface of the canal, so still a moment ago, broke into a thousand dancing bubbles.
There are many descriptions of life on the farm and in the village to show how people lived in Italy in the early 1900s. There are olives to be pressed, grapes to be stomped, pigs to feed, and grain to harvest.

There is a description of gypsies in the fair chapter that doesn't quite meet today's standards. I suppose the substandard treatment of gypsies in literature is an accurate reflection of yesterday's prejudices, even why they are not purposefully being derogatory. My kids have heard about gypsies before (from when we read The Good Master), but I think I'm going to see out a book we can to counteract some of this disrespect. (Suggestions welcome.)

Mater Amabilis™ Level 1A year 1 includes Italy in the list of countries for People and Places with Red Sails to Capri. I adore Red Sails to Capri and will not give up my last chance of reading it aloud to Second Son. It's unlikely anyone would want to substitute Nino for Red Sails to Capri because Red Sails to Capri is likely much easier to find at a more reasonable price. But...if you had to make a substitution, this book would be delightful. I intend to read both of them aloud next year. I've also found a used copy of what appears to be a sequel to Nino called Golden Gate and I bought it. Just because I wanted it.

I purchased Nino used (and Golden Gate) and received nothing in exchange for writing this post. These opinions are my own. Links to Amazon are affiliate links and will grand a small commission if you follow a link and make a purchase.

Monday, May 28, 2018

Proverbs, Shakespeare, and an Education of Connections

I was feeling disappointed toward the end of our school year, when I realized my grand plans for Shakespeare would not be realized. We would not read Henry V. We would not even read As You Like It. Instead, we would barely finish memorizing the passages from Henry IV, Part I from How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare.

First Son surprised me in the last weeks of school, though. We were reading through some passages of conversation between Falstaff and Prince Hal quoted in How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare where Prince Hal says:
Thou didst well, for wisdom cries out in the streets and no man regards it.
Immediately, First Son announced, "That's in Proverbs."

And we all learned on the following page:
And here we have another one of those remarkable epigrams that Shakespeare drops into the dialogue like an extra piece of candy that we didn't expect. It is an allusion to Proverbs, 1:20:
Wisdom cries out in the streets and no man regards it.
"How did you recognize that?" I asked First Son.

"Oh, I just remembered it."

Somewhere, at some time, in our years of reading Scripture or in the hours he's spent in classes or at adoration in our parish, that bit of Proverbs nestled in his mind, ready to be sparked by a bit of Shakespeare.

We will begin next year with As You Like It and hopefully make it through that play and Henry V, but if we don't, I will console myself that my children are storing up what we do read somewhere in their hearts and minds. Perhaps someday, years from now, they will be reading or listening or watching and will recognize an allusion to Shakespeare. Perhaps they may even remember fondly the dramatic scenes re-enacted by such illustrious action figures as Darth Vader in the role of Macbeth.

Friday, May 25, 2018

Finishing Level 4 (Eighth Grade) History: Afghanistan and September 11th

The Mater Amabilis™ lesson plans for History in Level 4 (eighth grade) include Afghanistan (Witness to History) by David Downing for the last two weeks of the six week study of Asia. My library did not have that book, but it did have Afghanistan (Global Hot Spots) by David Downing. That's the one I assigned First Son. You can see the original plans in this post.

As I read through the book in preparation for our week, I decided it was a much quicker read than I had really appreciated. It's succinct more than cursory with plenty of detailed information and background and photographs on each page. It was a good introduction to the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan and, most pertinent for us, America's role in that conflict. In the end, I decided to assign it to be read in just two days, in order to make room for some other materials.

First of all, I decided it was time to address 9/11 with First Son. My children know very little of this tragedy because I happened to be living in New York City and working just a block south of the World Trade towers when the attacks occurred. It was a devastating and terrifying time, but eventually they need to know what happened that day and that I was as close to it as I was. (Lest you think more of me than is true; I happened to be on a train to Baltimore that morning, a train I almost missed but didn't. I was stuck in Maryland most of the day and only made it back to New York around midnight, but I was always safe. And everyone from my office was safe.)

After reading the book from the Snapshots in History series on the Korean War, I noticed our library has the one on the terrorist attacks that day: September 11: Attack on America by Andrew Langley. I made myself read it.

Langley clearly explains the events of the day, the movements of the terrorists and the airplanes. He explains the rise of fundamentalism in some Muslims and how the conflict in Afghanistan was directly linked to the rise of terrorism against the Western world and specifically America. Though written before Osama bin Laden was found, he describes the retaliation of America and how some countries viewed them as well as the hunt for the primary terrorist. He also includes a chapter on how America was changed by September 11th.

The book clearly distinguishes between Muslim terrorist and fringe groups and mainstream Muslims. It also admits when America's actions were seen as threatening or otherwise damaged our relationship with other countries.
The missile strikes [in Sudan and northeast Afghanistan in August 1998] were intended to reassure Americans and send a stark warning to the terrorists. However, for many Muslims they had the opposite effect, turning Osama bin Laden into an Islamic fundamentalist hero who had stood up to the United States. Few Muslims had heard of him before, but now many saw him as a major figure. What is more, the strikes convinced many people that the U.S. government really was hostile to Islam.
Langley never condones the terrorists' actions, but he does leave open the possibility that the actions of the U.S. before and after the attacks may not have been right (either morally or perhaps in light of international relations). For example, he mentions the prison camp of Guantanamo.
As the base was not located on U.S. soil, it was unclear whether prisoners there had legal rights under the U.S. Constitution. They could be kept there indefinitely without a trial. The conditions at Guantanamo Bay soon drew protests from humanitarian groups all over the world.
I feel like the book attempts to remain relatively neutral, to allow the reader to draw his or her own conclusions, but it's a difficult balance.

Overall, I thought this an excellent book for extending our Afghanistan study.

The last book First Son read is The Arrival by Shaun Tan. This is a wordless graphic novel showing a husband and father leaving his wife and daughter behind in a dangerous world to seek a new home for them. This new land is nothing like any culture we know and is as startling and disorienting for the reader as for the immigrant. Gradually, he learns to navigate the new world and is able bring his family to safety. The end of the book connects beautifully with another new beginning.

I don't intend to ask for a narration of the book or to explicitly connect it to any of our studies, but I wanted to end with something more hopeful and uplifting than the earlier books in this six-week study. First Son may consider immigrants from war-torn lands more compassionately because of it or he might just appreciate its quality for its own sake.

Our updated plans for the two week study of Afghanistan, at the end of our six-week study of twentieth century history in Asia (original plans here):

Week 5: Afghanistan (week 1 of 2)
Lesson 1
Afghanistan (Global Hot Spots) by David Downing p 4-17 – Narrate.
Notebook – Sketch a copy of the map on p 6.

Lesson 2
Afghanistan p 18-29 – Narrate.
Add an event to your Book of Centuries.

Lesson 3
September 11: Attack on America by Andrew Langley pp 8-51 – Written narration.
Watch President George W. Bush's speech on 9/11.


Week 6: Afghanistan (week 2 of 2)
Lesson 1
September 11: Attack on America pp 52-85 – Written narration.
Add an event to your Book of Centuries.

Lesson 2
Read The Arrival by Shaun Tan.

Lesson 3
(nothing assigned)

I checked all of these books out from our library. Links to Amazon above are affiliate links. I received nothing in exchange for this post and all opinions are my own.

Wednesday, May 23, 2018

New Life Thanks to a Lion's Mane: The Story of Doctor Dolittle

by Hugh Lofting
Books of Wonder edition, with very limited text changes
by Patricia C. McKissack and Frederick L. McKissack

While familiar with the story of Doctor Dolittle, I don't think I read the book until a few years ago. I was dismayed at the report of an African prince who wanted to turn himself white. When originally published in 1920, this plot point was not seen as an indication that all Africans would prefer to be white or even that white was better. In the foreward, Patricia and Frederick McKissack explain their belief that Lofting:
created the Prince Bumpo episode to show children that sometimes people foolishly try to alter themselves to be more attractive to others.
The focus was never intended to be his color but rather on his unnecessary desire to change his appearance at all. Taking into account Lofting's original intention, the McKissacks changed the text:
After careful, considered study, we made changes that were limited to the following: reworking the episode in which the African prince, Bumpo, wishes to become white; deleting two offensive phrases elsewhere in the book; and changing the word country when referring to the continent of Africa.
Prince Bumpo no longer wants to change his skin color from brown to white. Instead, he wants to grow a lion's mane. After the hair growth potion works and Prince Bumpo releases Doctor Dolittle, the doctor feels badly:
It was the King, his father, who had us locked up. Bumpo's problem is he doesn't understand there is no need for him to become a lion to be strong and brave. I wonder if I ought to go back and tell him that. But then again, it might be better for him to learn it on his own.
Some people may be horrified at a change like this, but I thought this point was deleterious enough that I had decided never to read this book to my children. I had this beautifully illustrated version on our shelf but it sat neglected until First Daughter asked if she could read it. I agreed, but warned her about the prince and we talked a little about how erroneous it is to believe that any skin color (white or brown) is better than any other. She read it and reported to me there wasn't anything about a prince changing his skin color. What a surprise! I hadn't realized this edition was different than the original.

My children hear and read a lot in old books that we would find offensive today and usually we just talk about it and move on, but the idea that lighter skin color is preferable is a pervasive and insidious evil that demeans most of the children on earth. The slight changes in the text of The Story of Doctor Dolittle allow the silly and lighthearted story and the delightful doctor to avoid any taint from such a thought.

Mater Amabilis™ lists this book as a classic read aloud for Level 1B (first grade). I plan on reading this book aloud next year, when my youngest is already in second grade, and I expect it to be a great favorite.

Monday, May 21, 2018

The Vietnam War for Level 4: 10,000 Days of Thunder


by Philip Caputo

In the last six weeks of our year (which I have condensed a little), First Son is studying Gandhi, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and Afghanistan. Mater Amabilis™ provides some lesson plans for History in Level 4 (eighth grade) and suggested resources for these weeks, but I opted to use library books instead.

You can see our original plans in this post.

This book turned out to be an excellent choice. The author is a Vietnam veteran and a Pulitzer-prize winning journalist. His powerful introduction impressed First Son:
The war began for me on March 8, 1965, when my battalion landed at the port city of Da Nang. I was rotated home on July 12, 1966, but that is not when the war ended for me, because wars have a way of going on and on in your mind and your soul long after you've left the battlefield.
He shares how the war ended for him, through poetry and vodka with a North Vietnamese veteran.

Each two-page spread in the book has text on the left-hand side and a full page carefully selected illustration on the right-hand side. Smaller photographs and "quick facts" boxes provided additional information that range from the historical to the quirky. One quick fact sure to appeal:
Infantrymen could not wear underwear while on patrol in Vietnam. The heat and humidity were so intense that wearing underwear caused the men to develop jungle rot--skin rashes that could get so severe the men would have to be hospitalized.
Though this is an overview of the war written for young adults, it introduces every topic relevant to the Vietnam War: history of French colonialism, rise of Communism in the north, events at home in America, and the reality of life in Vietnam for soldiers and citizens of all nations and propensities. Though the author's feelings about decisions made by politicians and generals in the war are obvious, so is his desire to help readers understand the different points of view. He seems to feel like the American public would have supported the war if they had been better informed by President Johnson. I don't know enough to disagree with him, but I did assign an essay by Wendell Berry (which you can find in the original plans) which provided a counterpoint.

Caputo manages to convey compassion for the North Vietnamese, the South Vietnamese, and the soldiers caught between them. When describing some of the atrocities of the war, he explains they were committed on both sides but:
American atrocities were spontaneous and random acts in direct violation of U.S. military law and MACV directives. In contrast, North Vietnam and the Viet Cong had a written policy that sanctioned and encouraged these acts, including assassination, massacre, and torture.
Understandably, many of the photographs and descriptions in the text are of a graphic nature, but they are not unnecessarily so. The book was written in 2005 and includes information right up through the publication on the relations between Vietnam and the United States. I didn't feel like I needed to add anything to the study to cover the time between the war and the present day.

The end of the book includes an extensive bibliography, a list of web sites, and a detailed index. There is also a timeline at the front of the book.

I was satisfied with our original assignments and don't intend to change them for First Daughter. (Again, the original plans are here.) First Son also read Escape from Saigon, which is a very short easy read. I will probably provide other books during the six-week study for First Daughter, though perhaps not about Vietnam.

I checked this book out from our library. The links to Amazon above are affiliate links. I have received nothing for writing this post and these opinions are my own.

Friday, May 18, 2018

Our Homeschool: Poetry in 2017-2018

Poetry is a part of our culture studies loop: Three or four times a week, depending on our schedule, we loop through these subjects:
  • Shakespeare
  • Poetry
  • Shakespeare
  • Picture Study
You can read more about the loop scheduling here. (I've moved Fairy Tales to our read-aloud loop since writing that post.)

Shakespeare gets double-duty because it includes review of our memorized passages. (Here's an example of what Shakespeare looks like for us.)

During this poetry time, I pull a book of poetry off the shelf and I read a handful of poems. Generally I keep going for about ten minutes or as long as we are all interested. Then I put in the book mark and we pick it up again the next time Poetry rolls around. I do not discuss meter, rhythm, rhyme, or other such things unless someone asks a particular question. I do sometimes explain a word if it's one they might not know. Mostly, though, we enjoy poetry together. Here are the books we read over the 2017-2018 school year.

Classic Poetry: An Illustrated Collection selected by Michael Rosen has a carefully selected collection of two or three poems by prominent poets in roughly chronological order, but I was disappointed at the times only a portion of a poem was included without any indication that it was just a portion. I don't mind excerpts of poetry for younger audiences; I just like to know. There was a nice sentence of two to introduce each poet. We started it last school year but didn't finish, so I picked up where we left off at the beginning of the year. (There's a newer version available, but we read the old one from our library.)

The House of a Mouse by Aileen Fisher, illustrated by Joan Sandin - We've memorized many of Aileen Fisher's poems, so when I saw this book of poetry available I picked it up. It's a whole book of poems about mice. The youngest two especially enjoyed it. I was, as always, conflicted about poems about sweet little field mice because I pretty much hate them whenever they find their way into our house. But they are sweet little poems for little folks. (own, from PaperBackSwap.com)

The Frogs and Toads All Sang by Arnold Lobel, color by Adrianne Lobel - This is a book of silly frog and toad poems. We read it in one sitting and the younger children especially enjoyed it. (library copy)

A Whiff of Pine, a Hint of Skunk: A forest of poems by Deborah Ruddell, illustrated by Joan Rankin - And another book of silly poems. These are certainly more amusing than edifying, but it was highly enjoyed. (library copy)

Walking the Bridge of Your Nose: Wordplay Poems and Rhymes selected by Michael Rosen, illustrated by Chloe Cheese - And yet another book of silly poems. I read these aloud, but often found myself needing to show the words of the poem so the kids could see the puns and jokes. I think they were best appreciated when the kids read them aloud themselves. They definitely loved reading them aloud. It was fun for me to watch the younger ones as they figured out the jokes. (library copy)

Peaceful Pieces: Poems and Quilts about Peace by Anna Grossnickle Hines is a book of poetry around the theme of peace. The poems were a bit uneven in quality, with some I liked very much and others I found forced or awkward. The kids' favorite was From a Story in the Paper about a snake that made friends with its intended food, a hamster. (library copy)

Forgive Me, I Meant to Do It: False Apology Poems by Gail Carson Levine with illustrations by Matthew Cordell is a whole collection of poems written in the style of William Carlos Williams's This Is Just to Say. Most of them are entertaining, but the best of them are written as if by fairy tale or Mother Goose rhyme characters. The kids had fun yelling out the character before I flipped the book to show the illustration. The illustrations are all pen and ink and purposefully ragged; not my favorite illustrations, but variety is good when reading aloud to four children. (library copy)

During Advent, we read from The Oxford Book of Christmas Poems, which we've been checking out from our library every December for a few years now. I just start where we stopped the year before. It has an expansive collection, though sometimes I think the page layouts are erratic. (library copy)

Overall, our poetry for the year leant much more to the humorous than in years past. This was a good balance for our single poet studies. As with the books above, I didn't make a real "study" out of any of these. We read one poem each day until the book was finished. I like the Poetry for Young People series because the selections are already edited with young people in mind. I might not always have chosen exactly the same poems, but I'm willing to make concessions when they've already done the work. My children appreciate illustrations on every page. There is also usually a brief introduction for each poem which I read aloud before the poem.

Walt Whitman (purchased used)

Langston Hughes  (library copy)

William Butler Yeats (purchased used)

This post contains my own opinions. I've indicated which books we own and which we checked out from the library. I received nothing for writing this post. The links above to Amazon and PaperBackSwap are all affiliate links.

Wednesday, May 16, 2018

The Great War on the Homefront of Hungary: The Singing Tree


by Kate Seredy

This book is the sequel to The Good Master, which I read aloud to the children this past school year. Both books are mentioned for the Level 4 history program at Mater Amabilis™.

In The Singing Tree, Jansci and Kate are three years older and face a time of uncertainty and anxiety as the Great War (World War I). Jansci's father (the Good Master) and Kate's father both enlist. Kate's father spends most of the war in a prison camp in Russia, though his trials there are not mentioned in the story. Jansci and his mother shelter a motley crew of vulnerable people from the village (a young mother and her infant, a wayward girl whose father enlists and mother is ill), a work crew of Russian prisoners, and a half-dozen nearly starving children from Germany, Hungary's ally. They manage the farm well, comfort each other, and struggle to understand the changes wrought by war in the land and the people.

The greater politics of the war play little part in the novel. It is instead focused on how all people are suffering and the goodness of even those we may be tempted to treat as enemies. Jansci and Kate learn the need to protect a Jewish couple in the village, renown locally for their generosity and guidance. There are a few scenes and sentences that seem condescending (even while complementary) against modern sensibilities, but not so much I fear would be troublesome for children to read.

The original copyright for the book is 1939 but it gives no indication the author sensed a greater war on the horizon. There is also a reference to a "holocaust" in France, which we probably wouldn't say today given the Holocaust still to come.

I enjoyed this book, but not quite as much as The Good Master. I know First Daughter will happily read hundreds of extra books a year, though, so I intend to keep this on the shelf for her to read independently in eighth grade when she's in Level 4.

I purchased this book used on Cathswap. Links to Amazon in the post are affiliate links. All opinions are my own.

Monday, May 14, 2018

Entertaining but not Enlightening: The Shadow and Bone Trilogy


Shadow and Bone (and subsequent books)
by Leigh Bardugo


This trilogy (including second book Siege and Storm and third book Ruins and Rising) traces the life and actions of Alina Starkov, who discovers an amazing innate power to summon light as a teenager. She enters a world of privilege and intrigue, a pawn of others, and must learn not only to manipulate her powers but to navigate confusing and frightening events, searching for a way to serve her country, stay alive, and still be herself (as she figures out who she is).

The abilities of the Grisha are not magic, but manipulation of the natural world, and called the Small Science. In the course of the novels, though, Alina encounters and participates in the world of black magic.
This was not the Small Science. This was magic, something ancient, the making at the heart of the world. It was terrifying, limitless. No wonder the Darkling hungered for more.
The books are written for teenagers, which means that while they contain some mature content, the language is fast-paced and not challenging. I read the first book at the end of a long day at airports and on airplanes. I was tired and anxious to be home and it was perfect; it kept my mind occupied and entertained but didn't require very much serious thought.

One of the main characters is a Rasputin-like advisor who tries to force Alina to do his bidding while presenting her to the peasants as a living saint. In the course of the book, she's seeking out black-magic-formed amplifiers created by one of the "saints," through stories passed down through the centuries. There's a lot of ambiguity, not so much in the plot line as in the background and environment, about religion and faith. Alina isn't particularly faith-filled at the beginning of the books and doesn't question her belief in the religion (which is ill-defined), but the events would seem to have given her great reasons to do so. The blending of religion and faith and the Small Science and magic may be disturbing for some parents.

I have grave concerns about the final events of the third novel. It's difficult to express myself fully without spoiling it entirely, but Alina takes an action I believe is immoral and only necessary because the author wanted it that way (not because the trilogy could not be resolved another way). Fighting a war as they do in a book like this often requires physical sacrifice, but the way it's portrayed in this particular book is troublesome. It's similar to the problem I had with the end of the Divergent series; I'd like books to give our teenagers examples of the kind of daily sacrifice that develops in a relationship not heedless sacrifice for the sake of some grand gesture.

For those who are concerned about such things, there is also a same-sex couple in the third book. It's not presented as a major plot point; they are just two of the main characters who are in a relationship which of course means it's a significant statement.

Seeing the books, First Son (who is 14) asked if he could read them. If he asks again before I return the second and third to the library, I'll let him, but I don't think I would seek them out. There are a few other books set in the "GrishaVerse" but I don't feel much desire to read them myself.

Kansas Dad received the first book of the trilogy as a gift. I checked the second and third out from the library. The links to Amazon are affiliate links. The opinions in the post are my own.

Friday, May 11, 2018

Americans at War in Asia: The Korean War (Level 4 Twentieth Century History)


by Brian Fitzgerald

Mater Amabilis™ ™suggests two different books on the Korean War for Level 4 history, neither of which my library had. Since this book would be read in only a week, I didn't want to purchase anything. I checked out all the books our library had that I thought might be reasonable and skimmed through them, mainly for length and reading level.


I selected the book last summer but only read it this week as I prepared for the week's lessons. Fitzgerald's book presents a fair and balanced description of the events of the war, from North Korea's invasion to the armistice in 1953. He connects the events in Korea with the end of World War II. Powerful quotes bring the hardships and fears of the war into focus, like the freezing cold weather:
Our vehicles wouldn't start. Batteries gave out. The grease on our rifles turned to glue and they wouldn't fire. Our rations would freeze solid. Men would carry cans of food around inside their clothes, under their armpits, trying to thaw them a little so they could be eaten.
Sidebars throughout the book give additional information on the United Nations, important people, and other events. Photographs appear on nearly every page depicting important political figures, American soldiers and South Korean soldiers and citizens, as well as North Korean and Chinese soldiers and medics.
The Korean War may not be as well-known as other struggles, but the sacrifices made by the men and women who fought and served in the war are certainly no less. They gave their lives to protect people they did not know in a land many of them had never heard of.
There's an extensive timeline at the end of the book, along with a glossary, source notes, a bibliography, and recommendations for further reading.

I can't claim this is the best book written on the Korean War for an eighth grade student to read, but I thought it was exactly the kind of book I wanted.

Like the biography of Gandhi First Son read for India, this book is short enough to be scheduled over just two days, leaving a third for other research on the Korean War or a look at the developments in the time since the war.  First Son is going to read just one article, but hopefully by the time First Daughter is in eighth grade (three years from now), there will be dramatic developments from recent years for her to investigate.

Updated plans (original plans here):

Lesson 1
MapTrek Modern World Map 41: The Korean War – review this map in your binder from earlier this year
Kingfisher History Encyclopedia p 444-445 – Narrate.
The Korean War (library) p 8-55 - Narrate.

Lesson 2
The Korean War (library) p 56-85.
Written narration on the Korean War, at least 3 paragraphs.

Lesson 3
Watch a video of President Kim of North Korea greeted by President Moon of South Korea in April 2018.
Add an event to your Book of Centuries.

I'd like to find additional sources for Lesson 3, but will look for something more substantial when planning for First Daughter in fall 2020. If I find something, it would be narrated.

I checked this book out of the library. Links to Amazon are affiliate links. The opinions in this post are my own.

Monday, May 7, 2018

Legacy of Nonviolence: Mahatma Gandhi (Level 4 Twentieth Century History)


by Michael Nicholson

I wrote last August about our plans for the last unit of twentieth century history on Asia, drawing from the Mater Amabilis™ lesson plans for History.

I chose this biography of Gandhi for our study of India from our library's selections. I have not read any other biographies. I simply checked out every book from our library catalog that looked like it might work and then skimmed parts of them looking for something that could be read in two or three sessions over the course of a week by an eighth grader. This one seemed about right.

I only read the biography as I prepared for this week's lessons, but I found it to be insightful and well-written.
Gandhi was born into a land of contrasts: of desert plains, vast rivers, dense jungles, and the highest mountains on Earth. The climate of India is hot in the plains and cool in the highlands, but the vastness of the country creates great variety. India's peoples were separated from each other not only by the sheer difficulty of travel from one region to another, but also by different habits, religions, and more than three hundred languages.
It covers the time Gandhi spent as a student in England and as a lawyer in South Africa in addition to his devotion to his home country of India. It is illustrated with photographs from Gandhi's lifetime and stills from the movie Gandhi. Many of the pages also contain quotes in the margins of those who knew and encountered Gandhi during his lifetime.
Mohandas Gandhi was the light of reason and the voice of love, tolerance, and peace in a century of violence. The little man in the loincloth left behind far more than his modest possessions. He left a legacy of nonviolent protest that has influenced thousands since his death.
We see in the daily news continuous evidence of conflict between those of different faiths and unrelenting poverty remaining in many places in the world. We see leaders who do not live out their faith or philosophy, who seek their own gain without regard for the powerless. Gandhi is a courageous example of a man who lived exactly as he preached, who devoted his entire life to the service of his people. He is the kind of man I want to put before my children and therefore, this brief glimpse of India is an excellent part of our twentieth century history study.

I opted to combine the readings into two days rather than three because we will need to finish school a week or two earlier than planned to accommodate unanticipated June activities. Even so, I think it might be interesting to combine the readings this way to allow a third lesson that looks at India and Pakistan since independence. I have a few years to find something before my daughter is in Level 4.

Updated plans (original plans here):

Lesson 1
Kingfisher History Encyclopedia p 366-367 and p 421
Mahatma Gandhi pp 5-29. Narrate.

Lesson 2
Mahatma Gandhi pp 30-60.
MapTrek Modern World Map 37: Independent for India
Read an eyewitness account of the assassination of Gandhi in1948 at Eyewitness to History
Listen to Jawaharlal Nehru’s extempore broadcast on All India Radio announcing the news of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination on January 30, 1948 and read the text of the speech he gave three days later, found in your Google Doc.
Notebook – Write a brief biography of Gandhi.
Add an event to your Book of Centuries.

Lesson 3 (omitted this year)
-something on India and Pakistan in the years since independence

Our library has the movie, Gandhi, which we may try to watch. It's hard to fit in videos that I don't want the little ones to see since they don't actually sleep before First Son is in bed and I'm not sure I want to juggle our lives around trying to fit this video in, though I imagine it would be a powerful complement to the biography.

I checked this book out of the library. Links to Amazon are affiliate links. The opinions in this post are my own.

Saturday, May 5, 2018

April 2018 Book Reports

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen - link to my post. (received as a gift)

1917: Red Banners, White Mantle by Warren H. Carroll - link to my post. (purchased used)

Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski - Another book in the Witcher series, a fantasy novel of elves, magic, monsters, and the end of the world. Fun, easy read. (library copy)

Boys to Men: The Transforming Power of Virtue by Tim Gray and Curtis Martin - link to my post. (purchased used)

The Gospel of John (Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture) by Francis Martin and William M. Wright IV - link to my post. (used in a parish adult education class)

Divini Redemptoris (On Atheistic Communism) by Pope Pius XI - link to my post. (available free online)

The Face in the Flames: A Story of Saint Bridget of Sweden by Brother Roberto - link to my post. (purchased new)

Introduction to Catholicism: A Complete Course, General Editor: Rev. James Socias, The Didache Series, first edition - link to my post. (purchased used; here's a link to the second edition)

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo - This is the first in a trilogy in the "Grishaverse," in which some people have inherent abilities in the Small Sciences, like magicians. I'll write about the whole trilogy next month sometime. (Kansas Dad received this book as a gift.)

Dracula by Bram Stoker - Kansas Dad was reading this for one of his fantasy and theology classes. I remembered I had it on Audible and decided to listen as he read so we could talk about it together. I spent a good part of the book wanting to yell at the characters, "Don't you know what's going on here? His name is Dracula for goodness's sake!" But of course that didn't make any sense because this book is the only reason anyone knows the name Dracula. The Audible book was wonderfully done. The different voices made it very easy to recognize who was speaking. With all the different diaries and letters and telegrams it would be challenging otherwise. (purchased on Audible, probably on sale)

Quite Early One Morning by Dylan Thomas - link to my post. (library copy)


Books in Progress (and date started)

The italic print: Links to Amazon are affiliate links. As an affiliate with Amazon, I receive a small commission if you follow one of my links, add something to your cart, and complete the purchase (in that order). Links to RC History and PaperBackSwap.com are also affiliate links to their respective stores. Other links (like those to Bethlehem Books) are not affiliate links.

These reports are my honest opinions.

Wednesday, May 2, 2018

From Darkness to Light: Quite Early One Morning


by Dylan Thomas

This is a collection of essays, stories, and transcripts of pieces Dylan Thomas created for the BBC. They range from memories of his childhood to an overview of Welsh poetry and poets. I'm not sure how it ended up on my list of books to read (it was added in 2013), but I was delighted to see A Child's Christmas in Wales in the table of contents, and a little surprised that it was slightly different than the one I read earlier this year. Apparently he edited it in different ways over the years.

Most of the essays contained lyrical prose, as to be expected from a poet. I often wondered what Thomas himself must have sounded like when reading these words for documentaries or radio shows, as many of them were. There are quite a few recordings available online.

Thomas was born just at the end of World War I, which placed him in the generation of young men who fought and died on the battlefields of World War II. These kinds of experiences appear throughout the book, but the most powerful was Return Journey. He seeks all over his hometown for his own self as a youth and finds everyone remembering young men as boys and all the lessons and playing and music-making and climbing and swimming and yelling that young boys do.
Park-keeper [the last of many to respond to his questions]: Oh yes, I knew him well. I think he was happy all the time. I've known him by the thousands.
Narrator: We had reached the last gate. Dusk drew around us and the town. I said: What has become of him now?
And the park-keeper answers, as the bell rings:
 Dead...Dead...Dead...Dead...Dead...Dead
Much of the book concerns poetry and I found it enlightening to read Thomas's thoughts on poetry. I often enjoy reading poetry, but I appreciate learning from people who have thought about and struggled with and written poetry. When asked if he intended poetry to be useful to himself or others, Thomas responded both:
My poetry is, or should be, useful to me for one reason: it is the record of my individual struggle from darkness towards some measure of light, and what of the individual struggle is still to come benefits by the sight and knowledge of the faults and fewer merits in that concrete record. My poetry is, or should be, useful to others for its individual recording of that same struggle with which they are necessarily acquainted.
An essay On Poetry is a series of excerpts from a discussion on poetry with James Stephens. Thomas said:
Poetry, to a poet, is the most rewarding work in the world. A good poem is a contribution to reality. The world is never the same once a good poem has been added to it. A good poem helps to change the shape and significance of the universe, helps to extend everyone's knowledge of himself and the world around him...
The essay is only two pages, but it's marvelous. Thomas also says, at the end of it:
What's more, a poet is a poet for such a very tiny bit of his life; for the rest, he is a human being, one of whose responsibilities is to know and feel, as much as he can, all that is moving around and within him, so that his poetry, when he comes to write it, can be his attempt at an expression of the summit of man's experience on this very peculiar and, in 1946, this apparently hell-bent earth.
 I'd read very little of Dylan Thomas's prose before this book, so I'm glad I read it. I enjoyed it, though I did find it most enjoyable when I read it slowly. Otherwise it was too easy to read the words without really paying attention to the meaning.

I checked this book out of the library to read it. All opinions in this post are my own. Any links to Amazon are affiliate links.