thinking of trying WTM approach....

[cravenab00]

let me start out by saying, i know NOTHING about history. I seriously mean nothing. I retained zilch from my schooling.
Now that I am homeschooling my kids, i am finding history appealing and fascinating! I really want my kids to know and love history.

I have been reading the well trained mind, and she uses "story of the world" books. My only concern, is, how religious of a history program is this? I want my kids to learn about all religion and beliefs equally. I havent read the story of the world books, so can anyone tell me do the story of the world books portray any one religion as "better" than another, or one as "truth" and the rest as myth?

thanks

[LilyGrace]

We use TWTM/SOTW As secular homeschoolers, it fits well with us. I usually include a discussion just on religious beliefs at the time and how that helped shaped the community. I haven't noticed one religion being given preference over another, but Christianity is mentioned often (as it should be in the European societies), and there are lessons based on biblical figures (Moses, Joseph, etc.) during times when the bible was written.

You may want to supplement with other books - the Wicked History Of The World is a favorite here - to give different perspectives on the same accounts.

ETA: not appropriate for children, but if you have HBO I suggest watching Assume The Position 101 and 102. They are HILARIOUS and will definitely peak your interest more in history!

[NoHiddenFees]

Originally Posted by cravenab00

do the story of the world books portray any one religion as "better" than another, or one as "truth" and the rest as myth?

Yes and no... OK, that's not much of a help. SOTW is written by a Christian and has a predominantly western world view. While Bauer doesn't come remotely close to proselytizing, the Bible is occasionally used as source material. OTOH, plenty of Christians dislike SOTW because it uses materials other than the Bible where Biblical accounts exists. I've only examined Vol 1, but I've found the use of Biblical sources to be more pronounced in the Activity Guide than the text. We use History Odyssey, a series of secular lesson plans that uses an history encyclopedia as a spine and SOTW as narrative (as well as many other materials) in Level 1. It does not use the SOTW activity guide but rather replaces it. HO is more balanced, though still slanted towards the west. This can be counterbalanced by supplementing with more more multicultural material.

[coldfeet]

: