Malcolm Cutchins: Christmas gifts can be educational

What parent doesn’t want their children to grow up with discernment about what is important and what is not, to enjoy adventure and to learn of history? Christmas is a good time to give gifts that not only entertain but also teach some of these things.

One such gift is related to a book signing at Tiger Town (Books-A-Million) this Saturday, from 1 to 3 p.m. The book is called “Flight From the Temple” and is an adventure story for boys and girls ages 9 and up. This book “chronicles the adventures of four American teenagers in a newly discovered, but ancient, temple in East Africa. David Curtis, from Alabama, has come to spend the summer with Mark and Penny Daring. Joined by their friend Maria, the four teens take a plane into the jungle to explore the temple, only to encounter the espionage enemies they narrowly evaded earlier in the summer. “The author “tells of their desperate adventures in the temple as they dodge various traps, snakes and falling walls attempting to defeat their foes.”

The author, Opelika resident Dr. Peter Doyle, has written 15 published books for children: 12 in the Daring Series and three in a series on the Revolutionary War. This last series will be ongoing with the war and history seen through the eyes of girls and boys who live in Williamsburg, Va.

Another good (and entertaining) teaching-gift for all ages is available in book or DVD format. It’s “The Ultimate Gift,” a story about a terminally ill grandfather’s mission impossible-like advice to a grandson. It concerns the gifts of work, friendship, etc. and the grandson’s difficult, though ultimately successful, learning of these important character traits. The film won the Heartland Film Festival’s Crystal Heart Award.

Walter Williams, currently the John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Economics at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., recently wrote an article, “Ignorance Reigns Supreme.” In it he noted, “Of the 2,508 nationwide samples of Americans taking the Intercollegiate Studies Institute’s civic literacy test, 71 percent failed; the average score on the test was 49 percent.

“Roughly 70 percent of Americans, even those who failed the test, agreed that our history, culture and institutions are important and should be taught ... They might even agree with Thomas Jefferson who warned, ‘If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.’”

With these observations in mind, why not take charge of getting the real truth about our nation’s history into your family? The real story of our nation’s foundation is included in the American Heritage Series of DVDs and other products at http://www.WallBuilders.com. In the not-too-distant past, Americans were taught a truthful view of history that recognized Godly heroes and the moral foundation of our nation’s founding. In recent years, a version of history has assaulted the moral and spiritual fiber of our nation, leaving the truth of our past eliminated and forgotten.

Dr. Malcolm Cutchins is an emeritus professor of engineering of Auburn University and writes a weekly column for the Opelika-Auburn News.