For too long homeschoolers haven’t had a truly great way to affordably introduce their students to history, but soon they will!
The Knowable World program solves one part of that problem. Knowable World classes give students the kind of history we all should have had growing up. Not textbooks and rote memorization. Not just stories about other people, who lived a long time along, somewhere else. What history should be: a revelation and explanation of the world we live in.
But Knowable World live classes are $170/month.
That’s not in most homeschoolers’ budget.
What’s the affordable alternative?
For elementary students, the typical answer has long been The Story of the World–a three volume “classical” history of the world for younger students.
But if “classical” history had ever been a viable way to inspire students and provide insight into the world we live in, “social studies” would never have been invented. “Classical” history is detached from real life. It teaches facts that just don’t help us make sense of the world we experience.
The past, maybe. In truth, however, not even that. Classical history places a burden of encyclopedic scale on learners–about things that don’t even exist anymore. We all tried to memorize that stuff when we were in school, and even if we passed the tests, we didn’t really learn anything of value. Of course, therefore, we forgot all of it.
We moved on with life, but if we are trying to teach our kids history, it’s because we realize something is desperately missing in a culture that doesn’t know its history.
That’s the realization that hit me as a young soon-to-be engineer at 21. I hated history in high school. I wanted nothing to do with it after that. But I also found that I could not understand world events without looking into history. A journey that started with me returning to school over thirty years ago brought me to today. I certainly didn’t learn history in college, despite my best efforts, but I began to understand the problem. Now, after over twenty years of working that problem, and as the creator and teacher of the Knowable World program, I can proudly say that I know what it takes the render the history of the world accessible and meaningful. I know what it takes to integrate the past and present, so that history can be what it should be: an exciting and compelling guide to understanding and living in the world.
My mission is now to take the Knowable World program and turn it into The Story of Now.
That’s why I’m turning to Patreon.
I can write The Story of Now. In fact, it’s well underway. But I could use your help. And while it’s being created, I’ll be more than happy to return the favor by giving your kids, your grandkids, and your friends a great history education for as little as a $9/month contribution.
Here’s the plan…
The three-volume Story of Now will be released one volume at a time over the next three years, with volume one–America and the World We Live In–coming out in July of 2027, volume two–Asia, Africa, and the World We live In–to be released in July of 2028, and volume three–Europe, Russia, and the World We Live In–to be released in July of 2029.
Your support, at just $9/month will mean I can not only meet that schedule–which mirrors the schedule of the Knowable World program–but that you’ll experience each book before anyone else, and even contribute to its design and the design of the accompanying printables, audio and video lessons, quizzes, and other activities that will accompany each book.
Of course, $9/month is the most basic support tier, and I’ll fill you in soon on the other options, and what you’ll be getting with each level of support. But let’s start there: a world-class history education for your learners–for $9/month.
This is how we’ll solve the second part of the problem of how to deliver a truly great history education to all!
Please visit https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheStoryofNow for more information as it becomes available. Supporters will be able to donate starting August 1.
Sincerely,
Scott Powell – Creator and Teacher, Knowable World
Scott Powell is a historian and teacher who has been teaching homeschooled students online for nearly 20 years (as “History at Our House”). He is the author of three books including “The 4-Hour Historian”, “The History of Now”, and the upcoming “The History of Tomorrow”. His present-centric approach was developed from the conviction that history is an essential subject that is vital for anyone who wants to live a fully engaged life and make sense of the world they live in.