Can the true story of America survive in today’s culture of historical ignorance and indifference? Find out from a man who wants to help it survive, on today’s Home School Heartbeat, with host Mike Farris.
Mike Farris:
Bill Bennett, who is the host of Morning in America and the former Secretary of Education, joins me this week to discuss his project called, America: The Last Best Hope, which is both a two-volume set of history books and a set of curriculum materials that families can use to teach history to their children.
Bill, I understand that you have a team of teachers and administrators who approached you because they thought this book would change the teaching and learning of American history.
Bill Bennett:
I was so delighted that I got this from teachers. You know, it’s not often that a conservative guy gets approached by teachers who said, “Let’s get this into the classroom.” But we’ve done it. We’ve got America: The Last Best Hope in the classroom, we’ve got companion curriculum materials, and the response so far from parents and students has been really, really positive, Mike.
Mike:
Can you give us just a little contrast as to what your book would focus on, compared to some of the things that they’re seeing in traditional textbooks these days?
Bill:
Yeah, we don’t do—I’m not the great mentioner, mentioning every single thing that happened. We try to tell the narrative, the great story of America—the story of its heroes, the story of Ronald Reagan, of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Madison, Patrick Henry, if I may. These great men come to life again, and to bring some appreciation to them is a very important part of what we’re up to.
Mike:
I’ve long believed that if people don’t know the story of liberty, we won’t have a nation that believes in liberty any more. Thank you so much for telling this story, Bill. We’ll be back once again—I’m Mike Farris.
