Susan Stepp Honest Advice for
Teachers
My husband and I made a summer trek
to New York state to visit our daughter’s
family. The drive is twenty hours
so although we enjoy each other’s company, by North Carolina our conversation had
deteriorated into counting how many Walmart trucks we’d passed and speculating
the size of the sombrero that sits atop the “South of the Border” tower. That’s
when I knew it was time for an audio book.
The book was 1776 by David McCullough. My lack of recall in
relation to early American history is no reflection on my teachers but a result
of my adolescent priorities consisting of cheerleading and lip gloss. So as I
listened it was like sitting in history class again but actually enjoying
myself. It’s a fascinating account of how we won our independence and who the
players really were. I was astonished to learn that the men who fought were
primarily farmers, vagabonds and just about anyone who could shoot a gun or
carry a pitchfork. Half the time many were drunk and others walked away at
will. An exceptional leader, George Washington knew what he was working with
but managed to strategize and inspire just enough to pull it off.
There were
stories of amazing courage and commitment. I found myself deeply touched by the
sacrifices made by this ragtag group of ordinary citizens and a sense of pride
in who actually won our freedom. Not trained, military specialists but plain
old people like you and me.
No telling how many Walmart trucks
we missed while enjoying McCullough’s book. It was just that good!
We love audio books for our drives to Florida to see grandkids. Last year we listened to The Fall of Giants by Ken Follett. It was set around the time of the first world war and was full of history. It's not a book I would have picked up to read in print or maybe even e-format (it was really long) but we enjoyed the audio story.
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