Victoria Woodhull ...

... was the first female candidate to run for President of the United States.  Ms. Woodhull was the nominee of the Equal Rights Party in 1872. 


What was the political platform of the Equal Rights Party in 1872?  Do you agree with the Equal Rights Party of 1872's platform?  Why do you agree or disagree?  What type of societal mores do you think contributed to the voter's acceptance or rejection of the Equal Rights Party of 1872's platform?


Who were the other presidential candidates in 1872, and which political parties did they represent?


Who won the presidential election of 1872?  The election of 1872 was filled with scandal and strife.  Please explain some of that scandal and strife.


If you were a voting citizen in 1872, who do you think you would have cast your presidential vote for and why?


We've been home educating our children since 2002.  Often folks ask, "How do you do that?"  The past three posts and today's post is a very small example of how home education often works. My questions in the last three posts just happen to be about U.S. election history.  But, the questions can be about anything - current events , both domestic and abroad, language arts, science, short term goals and long range dreams, ...  I personally think that once you've garnished a student's interest in a topic, asking the student "why they agree or disagree", "what caused a certain outcome",  "how something works", etc., is, not only important, but one of the easiest methods of developing critical thinking, reasoning and analytical skills.  These sorts of questions require a student to think about, process and communicate various facts to support his /  her conclusions which is vital to learning critical thinking, reasoning and analytical skills.


We've used a plethora of home school curriculum but I must confess three of my favorites are Progeny Press literature curriculum for grades 4-12,  Bob Jones University Press history curriculums for grades 9-12 and Apologia Sciences grades elementary through high school.  These curriculums consistently ask the "How?', "Why?" and "What do you think?" questions that I think are vital to developing critical thinking, reasoning and analytical skills.


Regardless of a family's educational choices, I believe  it is important for all families to regularly engage their children with "Why?" and "How?" questions.  In doing so, our children will develop strong critical thinking, reasoning and analytical skills that will ultimately assist them in becoming successful and productive adults.