Studying the World Through Local History

Re “One Parent’s Mission: Change the Curriculum,” by Sue Larson Pascoe, Voices, Jan. 24: My younger son is in fourth grade this year; his brother is in fifth grade. And yes, once again we’re studying the missions, which means we not only study the missions but the local natives who were displaced, converted and, maybe in some slight way, “saved” by those early missionaries (when one considers how the Eastern states did their best to annihilate the Native Americans they encountered). Fourth grade is spent learning about California: its history, its resources and how its state and local governments work. I have no doubt my children can apply that knowledge to how things work in New Jersey, South Dakota or Hawaii. My point is, we should listen to the ancients’ advice to us: “Know thyself.” That is what this curriculum is about, and it couldn’t be more appropriate.

Last summer we stopped at the mission in San Juan Capistrano to look for an ocarina for my younger son, and our older boy gave us a tour, explaining about the renovations going on, showing us the armament room, giving us details about the mission’s history. His class had been on a field trip there in the spring and he had not forgotten anything. Not fun? Hardly! We were enthralled with what we saw and impressed with what he had retained. This year California architecture became part of my son’s curriculum. We studied and then visited the Walt Disney Concert Hall. I cannot imagine what could help my children’s future more than firing up their imaginations with what lies around them.

Denise Clary Wilson

Culver City

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Pascoe was right on target in her criticism of the mission projects assigned in school as part of the state curriculum. My husband and I are alumni of Mission Building 101 as well as the requisite Navajo hogan building, assigned when our son was in grade school. The hogan project was more daunting.

The hogan is a six-sided dwelling and its mathematical proportions are spiritually and culturally significant, as are the construction methods. There are no kits.

While searching the Internet for information we discovered that the Navajo consider this dwelling sacred and condemn these model projects as belittling and offensive. We kept shooing away my less-than-dexterous 11-year-old son less he ruin the model (and unleash some bad karma on our house- hold).

Four trips to Home Depot and Michaels and $30 later, the hogan was complete. My husband and I got an A.

Laura Hughes

Irvine