I contemplated unraveling a scarf-long stretch of knitting that I did during the school year last year. I knit it while sitting ‘shoulder to shoulder’ with the kids, being present with them while they did something that I wasn’t doing, but they wanted company as they did it. This type of presence is hard for me—companionable silence, not reading, not doing dishes, not chopping things and shuffling papers. There are times I’ve longed to scrub floors rather than sit quietly and watch them fastidiously—the furious pencil erasing!—fill in a quiz. The difficulty of this type of presence is probably why John Stuart Mill’s father quizzed him about what he had learned while they walked long miles together, instead of sitting as we do.
We have John Adams on the shelf and I’ve never read it… perhaps now is the time. Also have never heard of Nathan Hale but those books look excellent. Thank you for the recommendations! Whenever I’m feeling particularly pleased with our learning my husband reminds me that JS Mill would have been doing rather a lot more…
This was a wonderful read. Thank you for taking the time to write this up in such an engaging, clear way, Rachael. Also, I always leave your posts with new ideas, and I love that.
Thank you for the reminder of the Nathan Hale books. Tried them once and they didn't stick, but I'm going to get them out again.
Steve would add, if you are looking for more history in the future, Erik Larson. He's read them all at this point, but Splendid and the Vile was one of his favorites.
As a devoted reader of David McCullough (I saw him speak 3 times in person and he was simply wonderful!) I am always thrilled when I find other folks who love him! His book on the building of the Brooklyn Bridge is excellent and another favorite but John Adams is truly his masterpiece! The HBO mini series is a solid companion to the book. I highly recommend the Adams home National Park as well - they truly were an amazing family. I named my oldest Abigail after Abigail Adams!
We have John Adams on the shelf and I’ve never read it… perhaps now is the time. Also have never heard of Nathan Hale but those books look excellent. Thank you for the recommendations! Whenever I’m feeling particularly pleased with our learning my husband reminds me that JS Mill would have been doing rather a lot more…
This was a wonderful read. Thank you for taking the time to write this up in such an engaging, clear way, Rachael. Also, I always leave your posts with new ideas, and I love that.
Thank you for the reminder of the Nathan Hale books. Tried them once and they didn't stick, but I'm going to get them out again.
Steve would add, if you are looking for more history in the future, Erik Larson. He's read them all at this point, but Splendid and the Vile was one of his favorites.
As a devoted reader of David McCullough (I saw him speak 3 times in person and he was simply wonderful!) I am always thrilled when I find other folks who love him! His book on the building of the Brooklyn Bridge is excellent and another favorite but John Adams is truly his masterpiece! The HBO mini series is a solid companion to the book. I highly recommend the Adams home National Park as well - they truly were an amazing family. I named my oldest Abigail after Abigail Adams!