If you know our family, you know that we love reading and that books are some of our favorite review items. My kids enjoy reading for a while each day on their own as the foundation of our education is literature, but they especially love when my husband or I read aloud to them. We read all sorts of books, but we've all grown to love biographies. We like reading about the lives of people, knowing that that events actually took place. The kids are fascinated to study the actions, vocabulary, foods, dress, and thinking of past periods and seeing they ways in which our lives differ.
The books from YWAM Publishing are our favorites for biographies, and I often recommend them to others. We like them so much, in fact, that we own over 30 of their books from various lines including the Heroes of History, the Christian Heroes: Then & Now, the Heroes for Young Readers, and even a couple of their audiobook biographies. One might think that we wouldn't be excited to receive another one of these books, but my kids were thrilled to choose another title. This time, our study of the past didn't take us back hundreds of years. Instead, we learned about an influential person still living in Heroes of History - Ben Carson: A Chance at Life by Janet and Geoff Benge.
The book begins at a pivotal time in Ben Carson's life. His father had just left the family, leaving his mother to raise him and his brother alone. They lived in a poor section of Detroit, but his mother was determined to make a better life for the family. She worked three jobs, moved out of state with family for a time to save money, and was willing to work hard. She taught her boys a strong work ethic, too, and insisted that they turn off the television and spend their time reading instead of filling their days with mindless entertainment. Consistently reading two books a week and writing reports along with being fitted for glasses, made an improvement in Carson's education. His grades began to soar as he rose to the top of every class.
Carson continued to put his all into his studies as he worked through the JROTC (Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps) program, attended Yale University, and excelled at his temporary summer jobs. He got married, finished med school, and started a family.
During his residency years, Carson became intrigued by brain surgery and was eager to simplify the process. Where others saw challenges, he saw opportunity. He used X-rays to quickly locate the foramen ovale, preformed a lobectomy to save a man's life, and studied brain tumors through New Zealand white rabbits and MRI machines.
Carson preformed many well-known surgeries including separating multiple conjoined twin sets and many brain hemispherectomies. He became greatly revered, not only in his specific medical field, but also for his advocacy of education. He traveled for both passions--to various countries to preform surgeries and all across the United States to speak at schools and rallies. He has influenced many and saved countless lives. His work ethic, dedication to education, and dependence on God has made him a role model for all.
Along with the book, we received the digital unit Study Guide. The guide helps to further your study including geography, social studies, and history, to name a few. It designed to benefit all learning styles, group and individual study, and a wide range of ages.
- Key Quotes - seven well-known quotes that can be used for memorization, understanding meaning, and displays
- Display Corner - a list of objects, books, and photographs from Carson's life and places he lived that could be gathered and displayed to bring life to learning
- Chapter Questions - six questions for each chapter: vocabulary, factual, comprehension, and open-ended interpretation (answers are at the end of the guide)
- Student Explorations - essay writing, creative writing, hands-on projects, audio/visual projects, arts/crafts
- Community Links - meaningful field trips, guest speakers, service projects
- Social Studies - reproducible maps, geography, terms/vocabulary, timeline, conceptual questions,
- Related Themes to Explore - history, science, literacy, music, military, popular culture
- Culminating Event - project displays, cultural food, music, activities, oral presentations
- Books and Resources - books, movies, documentaries, National Geographic articles, websites
The kids and I always enjoy the deeper study that comes from using the unit study guide. There are many different activities that reflect a wide range of learning styles, so there's something that appeals to everyone. Because there are so many options, it would be difficult to use the entire study. One thing that we always do with these studies is discuss the comprehension questions at the end of each chapter. It helps to review the story and understand it more fully. We especially enjoy the vocabulary review. Words like immaculately, quell, meticulously, abolished, and intractable are some of the words that are highlighted.
To further our study, we experimented with one of our chemistry sets, practiced suturing after a surgery by sewing felt, observed various objects through a microscope, filled in a map of Michigan, researched more about lobectomies and conjoined twins, and had many conversations on the importance of education. Some of the other activities we would like to incorporate include creating a model of the brain with clay, drawing a map of Australia or South Africa, write a Proverb in calligraphy, and read one of the books written by Carson himself. There are many other activities, projects, and ideas to supplement the learning.
To say that we enjoyed this book is an understatement! I have read many of these biographies from YWAM Publishing and this is easily my favorite one. There are many life lessons that are underlying themes throughout the entire book: don't judge a person by their looks, you can change your circumstances through hard work, reliance on God is crucial, reading and education are keys to a successful life, and more. My kids and I had many good conversations while reading this. I especially love how much attention was made to reading. Literature is a huge part of our education. It was encouraging to point out to my kids how important it is to someone as successful as Ben Carson, as well.
There are some intense sections of the book, such as step-by-step details of surgeries. My daughter left the room during one such description of a hemispherectomy as it spoke about drilling into the skull, cutting through skin and tissue, removing pieces of the brain, and dealing with extreme blood loss. The boys, however, were fascinated. In fact, one of them was so enthralled with the story that he asked to reread it himself as soon as I finished reading it to them.
Heroes of History - Ben Carson: A Chance at Life has motivated us to learn more about the surgeon with "gifted hands." We are inspired to read one of his books to study deeper about his philosophies and put them into practice.
Until then, we'll remember the poem his mom quoted that shaped his life:
If things go bad for you
And make you a bit ashamed,
Often you will find out that
You have yourself to blame.
Swiftly we ran to mischief,
And then the bad luck came.
Why do we fault others?
We have ourselves to blame.
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You can read more reviews of more great books and study guides offered by YWAM Publishing on the Homeschool Review Crew blog.
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