We received “The Birth of a Revolution” DVD from Learn Our History. It is part one of a trilogy from a new subscription service about American History. The series follows a group of five teens as they time travel throughout history to get a first hand look at what happened–when it happened.
The subscription is $11.95 + $3.95 shipping each month. After receiving an e-mail when each month’s selection is ready to ship, you decide to accept it – or not. There is also a 30 day money back guarantee. As a new company and subscription, their sign up offers are changing frequently. To find out what the latest offer is, check out the website Learn Our History for the most current information.
We were also given online access to view an episode on “9/11 and the War on Terror”. A subscriber will have access to view any of the videos they have currently received in a streaming format. Subscribers also have access to study guides and discussion topics. I cannot speak to what exactly those are like as we were not given access to this portion for our review period.
The idea and goals behind Learn Our History are noble. The end result, the animated episodes fall short of expectations for something great. The animation is very simple. While the characters – the students of “TimeCycle Academy” as they call themselves – may be representative of typical teenagers in public school, many of them have some qualities that are less than desirable. Particularly the brother of one of the “history buffs”. His bullying made it hard to enjoy the episodes we watched. The interactions of the teens with historical characters are not often believable. That is something younger viewers can overlook, but stand out to older children.
While Learn Our History touts itself as being “historical truth without bias”, we did find some inaccuracies as well as bias. Not surprisingly, the bias is opposite of the bias found in traditional history sources. The two combined give a more balanced view of history. The only way to have a truly un-biased view of history would be to have been there and interviewed all the “players”, not just the main characters. This problem is not specific to Learn Our History, but something that has been found to be true of any history curriculum. It reminds me of when Obi Wan Kenobi answers Luke Skywalker “…what I told you was true, from a certain point of view.”
The inaccuracies are minor, more an omission of details. This could be due to editing cutting out some of the information. One example of this is in the scenes dealing with the Tea Party. There was more than just a tax on tea and taxation without representation. The British Parliament controlling what goods the colonists could purchase. Enacting taxes to help the East India Company and eliminate the competition. Tea was not the only thing trying to be controlled. The characters almost talk about this, but don’t actually give the whole story. This is what makes me think it could just be a casualty of editing. But then there is Paul Revere. As is common, he is portrayed as being the only one to spread the message of “the British are coming!”
We really wanted to like this. Learn Our History does not claim to be a full history curriculum, but a supplement to fill in gaps. They seek to develop a strong sense of national pride. For some families these videos may be just the ticket to become interested in our history and want to learn more. Just because we did not care for this video series doesn’t mean others feel the same. There is great potential here. I think with some tweaks, Learn Our History could be enjoyed by many families.
We received this product in order to write this review. I was not required to write a positive review and the opinions expressed are my own.