Renewing American Confidence Starts with Remembering American History
More and more Americans are concerned about our country’s future. A recent poll by Rasmussen Reportsfound that 62 percent of Americans say the country is on the wrong track.
One way to help renew our nation’s confidence is to heed the advice of former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who said, “education is the cornerstone of liberty.”
These wise words from our nation’s longest-serving first lady are still true for America today.
Specifically, learning American history and understanding how the past has shaped our present is critical to preserving the values and principles our nation has followed for more than 240 years. Unfortunately, many children today are failing to learn our American history.
The National Assessment of Educational Progress shows only 20 percent of 4th graders demonstrate proficiency in U.S. History. As children progress in school, this figure appears to drop. The NAEP figures show only 12 percent proficiency for high school seniors.
These findings are alarming and suggest that we are letting our shared understanding of what it means to be American slip away. We must do all we can to see that our children understand the founding principles upon which our country was built. This is the only way America can remain the freest, most prosperous country in the world.
It is this belief in learning American history that led Callista to write her newest children’s book, Remember the Ladies. It was released on Tuesday and is the seventh book in the New York Times bestselling Ellis the Elephant series.
In Remember the Ladies, Ellis meets some of America’s greatest first ladies and discovers their many contributions to American history.
Ellis begins his adventure by meeting and learning about Martha Washington, our nation’s premier first lady, who defined the role and provided inspiration to the people of our newly formed country. He then meets Abigail Adams, who urged her husband John Adams to “remember the ladies” when he helped write the Declaration of Independence. The words of Abigail Adams are the inspiration for the title of Callista’s book. Ellis goes on to meet and learn about other first ladies such as Eleanor Roosevelt, Jackie Kennedy, Nancy Reagan, and more.
As children and parents read this book, they will learn that the stories and actions of our nation’s first ladies are fascinating – and often as impactful – as those of our presidents.
I encourage you to share Remember the Ladies with the young people in your lives.
Order Remember the Ladies here>>
Your Friend,
Newt
