Approaching History with Awe and Humility
By Dr. Meredith Donaldson Clark
This summer, I was delighted to take my three children to Niagara Falls for the very first time. We four modern-day explorers loaded into our van and made the journey east, from our village in southwestern Ontario to the grand waterfall that carries the water in its journey from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. My children weren’t unfamiliar with Niagara Falls; they loved reading Paddle to the Sea, they had seen photographs and aerial drone footage, and they had even attended a conference where the Canadian adventurer Adam Shoalts recounted his experience of portaging the Niagara River around the Falls. But none of these previews of what to expect could compare with their experience of seeing it with their own eyes. I felt like their wonder at first sighting the Falls was no less than if they had been the first on earth to witness its grandeur.
The living books chosen for this year’s History Rotation (1650-1800) contain many such episodes where individuals encounter something for the very first time—and both they, and the world, are changed. In 1678, the Belgian Catholic missionary Father Louis Hennepin recorded the earliest known description of Niagara Falls by a European, an account tinged less with wonder than terror: “the waters which fall from this horrible precipice do foam and boil after the most hideous manner imaginable,” he wrote, “making an outrageous noise, more terrible than that of thunder.” Yet the Niagara Falls that my children saw was not the same that Fr. Hennepin saw nearly 350 years ago. (And I’m not just referring to the hotels, casinos, and roller coasters!) The crest of Horseshoe Falls has eroded nearly half a kilometre since that time. The route that we took on a tour boat at the base of the Falls would, in the eighteenth century, have been below the rock face of the cliff that has slowly worn away, flake by flake, year after year, by the same waters that frightened Fr. Hennepin and amazed my children.
When we learn about the past, we can experience a sense of loss. Despite our best efforts, we can never truly know the past in its entirety. Niagara Falls, as it turns out, is the perfect metaphor for this uncertainty. Tracy McKenzie, whose Little Book for New Historians is the focus of the Hive’s Book Discussion for September, illustrates this concept with an image from C.S. Lewis:
Imagine that every single moment of ‘lived time’ is like a drop of water, Lewis writes. If that were true, then it follows that ‘the past . . . in its reality, was a roaring cataract of billions upon billions of such moments: any one of them too complex to grasp in its entirety, and the aggregate beyond all imagination’ (12).
The historian, holding out a hand to catch these moments, can only capture a tiny portion of the past; much is swept away from our knowledge like a waterfall. Yet for McKenzie, this realization is not cause for despair, but is rather the starting point for thinking Christianly as a historian. It requires that we approach the past with awe (at the sheer breadth of what has transpired in history) and humility (at our inability to know it fully). Only God has “omniscient comprehension of the near-infinite past,” but the historian can still strive to understand the past more clearly.
Charlotte Mason recognized that by studying history, children come to understand that “we are all part of the whole; that the people who went before us were all very like ourselves, or else we should not be able to understand them . . . That helps us to understand our own times” (Ourselves, 37). As your students encounter people, places, and ideas from long ago, may they be filled this year with awe, reverence, humility, and excitement—like the first glimpse of Niagara Falls.
Lesson Plan Spotlight
Be sure to check out the Bible videos with Dr. John Walton, OT Scholar and Professor Emeritus at Wheaton College, that can be found in our Bible lessons. You can find videos for educators under Quick Links in grades 2-6 and videos for students to watch embedded in the Old Testament lessons for grades 7-12. These videos are made exclusively for the Alveary and help us understand how to interpret the Bible in its original context and apply God’s truths to our lives today. Check out this video about how we can apply what we read in the Bible to our lives today.
Notes
- Time to Trim? If your schedule feels too full, it may be time to trim back a bit. Revisiting the course planning page can help! (Click on any grade under “Courses” on your dashboard.) Don’t miss the links on that page for very helpful tips on where to trim.
- Office Hours: Here is the link to the recording of this week’s Office Hours with Dr. Shannon Whiteside discussing Mason’s 1st principle.
- Read with us: This month we’re reading A Little Book for New Historians. As you’ve been turning the pages, have you found yourself wishing you could ask the author a question? Now’s your chance! Dr. Whiteside will be recording a conversation with the author, and we’d love to include your questions. Drop them in this week’s prompt!
- Alveary Wildlife Habitat: The Alveary Wildlife Project has planted 26,490 square feet of native habitat (that’s over half an acre) of native plants for pollinators, birds, and other wildlife! And you can be part of it! Create an account and select Alveary Wildlife Project as your organization to join us in this year-long initiative.
- CMI Courses: Registration is now open for CMI’s Fall Courses! Explore our full lineup and find the perfect course for you.
- Conference: The Guiding with Grace Virtual Conference Ticket is still available! Gain access to all keynote sessions plus 23 professionally recorded workshops. Want a preview? Enjoy these short snippets for a taste of what’s waiting for you. The Role of an Educator with Kerri Forney and The Great Recognition with Dr. Deani Van Pelt
