I received lots of kudos for getting to interview Joy Hakim. Maybe this is because most of my friends are geeks of some sort, most homeschool their kids, and we all have read Joy’s books, amazed at how she draws us into learning so easily with her gift of storytelling. I hope you enjoy this interview:
You have written A History of US, and The Story of Science, as a way of teaching through stories; characters and their world lead the reader on a journey of learning with a focus on American history, or Physics. What was the inspiration behind these projects?
Well, there was the day a son brought home a new middle school history. I knew that textbooks are rarely page-turners (although they should be), but this book was beyond dull. The writing was barely literate, the page layouts dreary. I was so enraged by it that I actually called his history teacher.
“I hate the book too,” he told me. I shook my head. How could a book so obviously flawed make it into schools? (I would find out.) Anyway, being a journalist, and caring about words and ideas, I decided to see what I could do.
As for storytelling, that’s the classic way civilizations have always passed on their ideas and information. That we have turned away from it in teaching our children has been a tragedy.
Read the rest of Rebecca Ange’s interview with Joy Hakim and comment over at GeekMom.
