Connections

The video series Connections by James Burke is one of the things I require of the kids for their high-school work. I'm on my fourth or fifth time through this series, and every time I love it more. My husband, teens, and I watched the second mystery in the history/science series this afternoon. There are 10 one-hour videos in the series, each gathering the scientific and technological developments through history (and luck) that went into something that is common to us today. And most of the developments seem to be quite unrelated to the invention that comes together in the end of each show. Granted, the series is $150, but if you can't get this at your library, I can't think of any homeschool expense that would bring comparable benefits. It's worth it. Within the last month, some of us were discussing what "classical education" is, and one of the points someone made was about the interconnectedness of the disciplines, and how our studies shouldn't be about "subjects." This video series exemplifies that connectedness beautifully! And Mr Burke is quite witty too!