Michelle Kaderly WelshHave you considered reading biographies with your children?
Biographies bring history to life. Biographies also reveal how childhood interests blossomed into amazing contributions to society. Many of those written about in biographies overcame physical and emotional hardships.
Young children embrace life, unashamed, unfiltered as their true selves, but somewhere along the line, as we grow up, reservations arise. Hiding. Conforming. Blending in. Whatever you call it, it steals or postpones dreams. But some courageous souls fight through the rejection and resist those who try to quell their dreams.
Learning the stories of others teaches us the importance of remaining true to the person God created us to be. Reading biographies with your children helps them see how real people pursued their interests through discouragement or even gave up privileges for something greater than themselves. They inspire us. Whether you homeschool or just supplement the family time with reading, learning about people makes for interesting discussions.
Five examples
I love learning about people and their contributions. Today, I have selected five lives that illustrate tenacity.
Music Contribution
Antonio Stradivarius (1644-1737) couldn’t sing or play the violin, but he could carve. He used his gift to make the finest violins. In a story I read, he felt bad because he didn’t excel with a musical talent like so many of his peers, but God had bigger plans for Antonio. He created beautiful instruments that others used to make beautiful music.
Healthcare Contribution
Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), born into a wealthy family, gave up a life expected of her to make hospitals safer and cleaner. She trained nurses and provided better food and care of patients. People remember her for bringing order and cleanliness from disorder and filth.
Science Contributions
Michael Faraday (1791-1867), born into a poor, uneducated family, apprenticed as a book binder. He loved science, so he attended lectures and took careful notes. He wrote a letter to chemist Sir Humphry Davy, who hired him. Faraday went on to publish 158 scientific essays and 30 series of “Experimental Researches in Electricity.” He discovered magnetic-electricity. He taught children as well as adults, simply because he wanted to share his love of science. His passion spilled over to others. He didn’t withhold his knowledge, but shared it for others to learn and grow.
Thomas Edison (1847-1931) is remembered for being eccentric. Just think how people must have judged him for his messy appearance. The man wore crumpled suits, a threadbare coat, battered and cracked shoes. An untrimmed beard and straggly, unbarbered hair contributed to a disheveled look. People didn’t think him capable of much based on his appearance, but through his work, they learned he was brilliant, thorough, quick. As a telegraph operator, he was fastest with no mistakes and very neat. He stayed up for days, so absorbed in his work. He fell asleep for a brief time—20 minutes or so—then returned to work. I can’t imagine my life without his contributions.
George Washington Carver died in 1943. I read a story once about how a man came upon a stooped old man, hurrying along, carrying sticks and wildflowers. He wore a saggy, patched, faded coat. The visitor mistook Carver as a janitor, yet he was the brilliant scientist he sought to speak with. Carver developed hundreds of products for peanuts, sweet potatoes and soy beans.
Homeschooling resources
I highlighted only five people, but our libraries are filled with books about other such heroes.
When I homeschooled, I found biographies at Christian Book Distributors (CBD). Some of the biographies we read included Isaac Newton, Noah Webster, Abraham Lincoln, Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee, Louis Pasteur, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. You have 24 or more to choose from. I appreciated the emphasis of the Sowers series on the Christian character of each individual and the tough decisions they made.
How about digging into a biography during these cold winter months? Seeing the success of unique individuals encourages courage in being true to ourselves.
As parents, we can help our children embrace their special gifts. My youngest son loved studying insects, especially ants, even as a preschooler. As an adult, he identifies insects and plants by their Latin names, and as a soil scientist, he speaks passionately about the life-giving soil beneath our feet.
Help your children keep their childlike wonder thriving.
What unique interests do your children have? Do you have a biography to recommend? If not, do you have someone you want to learn about?
Carol Eaton
Kristen Gwen
Julia N. White
I just devoured Where the Light Fell, by Philip Yancey. This contemporary author has deepened my faith through his books, the first one I read forty years ago. Yancey began his writing career as editor for the magazine Campus Life and since has published 25 books (over 17 million in print, over 50 translations). Some of my favorite Yancey books: Disappointment with God, Pain the Gift Nobody Wants, What’s so Amazing about Grace, Prayer. Now in his early 70’s, Yancey published his personal memoir Where the Light Fell. He father died when he was two and his mother never remarried. He grew up in poverty, with a harsh religious mother in a culture of prejudice. It’s a compelling story of how God broke through pain and culture, and Yancey came to experience God and his grace. My apologies for the sales pitch, it simply is another amazing Yancey book.
This memoir and the other books sound interesting. I will have to add Where the Light Fell to my to read list. Thanks for telling us about them, Gretchen!