Harriet Tubman Studies

A few weeks ago I took my youngest daughter to see Harriet, the movie about Harriet Tubman.  It made a strong impact on her.  She loved it, saying it was one of her favorite movies.

Seeing Harriet

I almost didn’t take her.  She can be sensitive and I worried about violence in the movie.  But, I decided that at nearly 13, with me and her grandmother present, she would be okay if we encountered scenes that were too much. 

The movie was pretty tame, but the story was beautifully told.  We left the movie inspired and with a deeper understanding of this heroic woman. 

Yesterday, we went to the library.  It was time for my girl to choose some new topics for her homeschool studies.  She went into the library with Oceanography as a plan... except she has read all the library’s books about oceanography in the children’s section.  She also has read most of the weather and storm books, everything about horses, and much about different animals.  

I told her to browse around and see if any topics caught her eye.  After a few minutes, she pulled out a book about Harriet Tubman meeting Sojourner Truth.  

“I want this.”  She said, her eyes lighting up. 

“Oh ya, you wanted to learn more about Harriet Tubman.”  I responded as I remembered her excitement after the movie.  

I then went on the library’s catalog and looked up all the library’s resources about Harriet.  We came home with a few books and a movie about Harriet Tubman.

Then I remembered that I had watched the movie Hidden Figures without my daughter, and I went in search of that movie to show her.  I love showing her movies of intelligent, strong women.  (I also secretly hoped the love of math would be an example for my math-challenged girl.) We watched that movie this evening, and she enjoyed it also. 

This is a lifestyle of learning.  This is delight-directed learning, following interests and inspirations wherever they lead.  

It’s also the first time my daughter has picked a major that wasn’t something to do with science.  She is studying the Reformation for history right now once a week, so watching her choose a person was very different for her.  

I love that she felt that curiosity spur to life in her.  For a while, I had begun to fear her love of learning was fizzling our while I was busy doing coursework for college.  I had returned to preplanned lessons While working on my own education. My daughter complied, but the mention of “school time” was bringing out the old groans of dread.  

I struggled to get to the library in a timely manner last year because we were so busy.  The fines were ridiculous.  We literally quit going entirely for six months.  For now, I won’t let my daughter check out as many materials at a time.  We’ll just have to be more diligent about keeping up with due dates and make more frequent visits.  

I just couldn’t watch her love of learning fizzle again into duty and dread.