Quotes from Susan Wise Bauer

So Clovis married a princess from one barbarian tribe—Clotilda, a Burgundian. He fought other tribes and forced them to accept him as a leader. He defeated the last Roman soldiers left in Gaul. He convinced other Frankish chiefs to swear allegiance to him. And eventually, he ruled over all of Gaul. His empire became known as the Frankish Empire. Today, we call this part of the world France, after the Franks

Luddites broke hundreds of machines and shut down dozens of factories. To the poorest factory workers, Luddites were heroes!

As time went on, Tecumseh saw that other tribes were willing to sign treaties with the whites, "selling" land in exchange for gifts. Again, Tecumseh grew angry. "We do not own the land!" he told his followers. "Land is like air and water. No one owns it. We all use it in common!

In a special file cabinet drawer or dedicated file box, keep six file folders for each high-school student. Label them: Course Descriptions Books Read Papers Written Recommendations Extracurricular Activities Other

people want children to be creative before they have any knowledge or skill to be creative with.

if a "disability" really only becomes a problem in one setting—our factory-model K–12 system—I'd challenge that label.

The people who lived along the Nile were called Egyptians. Early in Egypt's history, there were two Egyptian tribes who lived along the Nile. The Egyptians who lived in the north, in the Nile Delta, were called the "Lower Egyptians." The Egyptians who lived along the straight part of the river, further south, were called the "Upper Egyptians.

Someone had to make sure that farmers, who grew more grain than their families needed, would sell food to the nonfarmers (the basketmakers, leatherworkers, and carpenters) who grew no grain themselves. Only in an inhospitable and wild place is this sort of bureaucracy—the true earmark of civilization—needed. In genuinely fertile places, overflowing with water and food and game and minerals and timber, people generally don't bother.3

Authority is all very well, but no man should assume that he'll automatically be gifted with it because of his birth. Wisdom, not birth, qualifies a man to rule. The people of Kish may have mourned because their king Etana was childless.

Patrick Henry argued that according to British law, no British citizen could be forced to pay a tax unless his representative... in Parliament agreed. But since there were no Americans in Parliament, the colonies didn't have representation. Any tax passed by Parliament was illegal...

See Chapter 37 for more on BC/BCE and AD/CE.

It is normal for a fifth-grade aged student to be writing at a third-grade level, reading at a fifth-grade level, and doing math at a seventh-grade level. A child who succeeds at two subjects and cries over the third may still be showing immaturity—and the answer may be to drop back to a lower level in only the third subject.

Those Amazing Musical Instruments! Your Guide to the Orchestra Through Sounds and Stories.

Levine, Robert. The Story of the Orchestra: Listen While You Learn About the Instruments, the Music and the Composers Who Wrote the Music!

This King of the World didn't reign alone. His wife, Mumtaz Mahal...traveled with him everywhere, helped him govern his kingdom, and worked with him to plan out his military campaigns. She kept his seal...and every decree that he made went to her to be approved.

The Great Fire of London] hesitated, and it finally began to flicker out. But four-fifths of London had been burned...Londoner John Evelyn, weeping, wrote in his diary, "London was, but is no more.

Chapter Three The Rise of Aristocracy In Sumer, around 3600 BC, kingship becomes hereditary AFTER THE GREAT FLOOD, the Sumerian king list tells us that the city of Kish—to the north, surrounded by cornfields

This is a book. Only make-believe. Remember?

Classical self-education demands that you understand, evaluate, and react to ideas. In your journal, you will record your own summaries of your reading; this is your tool for understanding the ideas you read. This—the mastery of facts—is the first stage of classical education.

practice this skill with this book.

Louis XIV] announced that he would now rule absolutely, without a council of advisors... No French king had ruled without advisors for almost a hundred years. And no one believed that this elegant young man... would be an efficient ruler.

During [Louis XIV]'s reign, France became the largest and most important nation in Europe.

So the king of Denmark, Christian IV... was a skilled general and a smart man. He was filled with energy; according to popular rumor, he only stopped drinking to exercise, and only stopped exercising to drink some more.

Louis XIV had sent hundred of soldiers--all men--to New France. These soldiers wanted to start families... But there were six men for every woman... [Louis XIV] announced that he would pay young Frenchwomen large amounts of money if they would go and live in the colonies. Many young women accepted the King's offer...