Friday, July 27, 2012

We Die for God- Cristero Revolution Part 2

The Mexican Revolution and La Cristiada
The Fall of Don Porfirio

Resistance to El Porfiriato – Díaz’s regime – had already begun south of Mexico City, in the tiny state of Morelos.

Since the 1880s, Morelos had become a major producer of sugar cane, and haciendas had been seizing the lands of small farmers and Indian ejidos, forcing their owners to work as peons on the ever-growing sugar-cane plantations. One such hacienda was El Hospital, which threatened lands held by the peasants of the village of Anencuilco. El Hospital would have successfully absorbed the small property around Anencuilco as it, and other haciendas, had successfully done Indian lands before but for one unexpected factor: a man named Emiliano Zapata.


Emiliano Zapata, the son of a mestizo share-cropper and small landowner, did not share the poverty of the Indians among whom he lived. Emiliano was known far and wide as a successful horse trainer – a profession that could have earned him more money and conferred a higher social status in nearby Mexico City had he chosen to go there. Money and social status, though, did not move Zapata; the cause of justice and freedom for his people did. Born into a family that had fought under Juárez against the imperialists, Emiliano had from infancy imbibed ideals of liberty for the small man and small landowner --- though Juárez himself had, in the end, betrayed these ideals. For Zapata, however, juárismo did not include a disdain for the Catholic faith. Emiliano and his men would go into battle with images of Our Lady of Guadalupe pinned to their sombreros. CLICK HERE to continue...

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Monday, July 16, 2012

Cristero Revolution Part 1

One of the goals for this blog is to provide our readers with links and texts of historical interest. We begin this feature of the blog with excerpts from a chapter about the Cristero revolution from our yet-to-be published high school American history text, 'Lands of Hope and Promise'.

 

To provide the proper context to the Cristero revolt, we will describe the events that gave rise to it --- the Mexican Revolution of 1911. We will publish the chapter serially, so please check back frequently to catch each installment of this interesting and inspiring story of men and women who gave all to defend their Catholic faith. CLICK HERE to continue...

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Thursday, July 12, 2012

Cathy Duffy Review

Reviews. Whether it's using two thumbs up, five stars, or a scoring system, product reviews are important for consumers to see before making a purchase.

Not only will we provide you with actual chapters from our textbooks to preview the quality of the content, we also provide you with third party reviews and testimonials to assist you in choosing the right textbook for your child and student.

"This book and its forthcoming companion will fill a clear need for a study of world history that fully acknowledges the vital role Catholicism has played in the development of our own civilization."

Here are some more excerpts about our textbooks from Cathy Duffy Reviews:

"The Catholic Textbook Project’s goal is to produce high quality history textbooks that teach from a Catholic worldview."
"...nicely illustrated in full color. They are written in more of a narrative style than most traditional texts, so they are fairly interesting to read."
"...extensive teaching material for each chapter that includes a chapter overview, chapter goals, paragraph-long explanations of each key piece of information students should master, vocabulary terms and definitions, review questions, optional activities, sample quiz and test questions, and answers to all the questions."
From Sea to Shining Sea: The Story of America
"Overall, this is an excellent text and one of the best choices for grades 5 though 8."
All Ye Lands: World Cultures and Geography
"...this is an excellent overview of world history and cultures."
Light to the Nations, Part I: Development of Christian Civilization
"...it actually makes it easier for students to grasp the “story” of history with a presentation like this since it follows the story line of Christian civilization. With a clear understanding of the development of our western, Christian civilization, students can branch out for further study of other cultures later on."
"This book and its forthcoming companion will fill a clear need for a study of world history that fully acknowledges the vital role Catholicism has played in the development of our own civilization."
"Overall, the Catholic Textbook Project makes an extremely valuable contribution to Catholic education—one long overdue and sorely needed."



Read the entire Cathy Duffy Review HERE

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Wednesday, July 11, 2012

From Sea to Shining Sea: The Story of America


Stories. Do you recall the stories you were told as a child? Most likely they're as vivid today, as they were when you were younger. That's why stories are able to be passed down from generation to generation.

The editors of the Catholic Textbook Project are convinced that story is the most effective way of presenting history to students. 'From Sea to Shining Sea: The Story of America' is aimed at grades 5–9 and teaches American history and geography. 

View From Sea to Shining Sea: The Story of America Chapters 1-3 

Produced using the highest quality in design, color, illustrations, paper and bindings, this textbook tells the story of North America—the Indian nations, European colonization, and the founding and history of the United States up to the Twentieth Century. 

View Chapters 1-3 From Sea to Shining Sea: The Story of America 

Told as a series of historically accurate stories, the textbook includes thumbnail biographies, lives of the saints, maps, illustrations, and other supplemental material. The lavish use of color photos, drawings and maps, combined with the excellent writing of highly qualified teachers, authors and editors, make this volume and history series the best available today.


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Monday, July 9, 2012

CTP comes to CHCs

If you are new to Catholic homeschooling or are curious about it, Catholic Homeschooling Conferences, or CHCs, are simply an invaluable experience.

Typically they are one or two day events held at a Catholic parish or conference center where speakers offer practical advice and vendors display curriculum materials. The speakers are often a mixture of veteran homeschooling mothers, Catholic priests, and professional educators who explain the basics of homeschooling and elaborate on some of the motivations behind doing it.


Vendors, like Catholic Textbook Project, are usually arrayed in a large area in which different Catholic curriculum providers, publishers, and retailers have tables displaying thousands of homeschooling books and products. Examining the vendor materials allows you an unrivaled opportunity to look through the pages of actual homeschooling text books and lesson plans.

Even more importantly, you get to see and meet numerous other Catholic homeschooling families; ordinary mothers and fathers just like you, who care deeply about the welfare and education of their children, and want to do what seems best for them. Getting this concrete experience with other homeschoolers can make a world of difference to a family deciding whether or not to homeschool.

Homeschooling is often hard work, and for veteran homeschoolers, the reason to come to a conference is often to be rejuvenated. Even if on an intellectual level you think homeschooling is the best, the fact is that having a once a year gathering where you can feel uplifted, encouraged, and feel connected with other homeschooling parents is often just what is needed to approach the new school year refreshed and eager.

The opportunity to shop for curriculum with the physical books and lesson plans in your hand is just a categorically different experience than trying to shop online with only a few sample pages, sometimes depending on vague book descriptions to make very important choices about your child’s education.

Look for us at the following upcoming conferences:

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

In the Beginning

The Catholic School Textbook Project was begun by Catholic teachers and educators convinced by years of experience in Catholic classrooms that serious new Catholic history and social studies books are vitally needed. Books in which the role of Christ and the Faith have not been reduced to an inadequate shadow of the truth. Sharing this conviction, in 1996, a concerned parent, familiar with the problems of teaching history in Catholic classrooms, contributed the first financial resources with a bequest of $17,000. By early 2000, the Project had enough resources to engage a team of writers, history scholars and advisors and start work on the first five volumes of the Project.

We are now well into the painstaking work of writing, editing and producing textbooks for our Catholic youth: textbooks that are superior to any now on the market. Superior, first of all in content, because they tell the story of civilization in light of the universal Truth that is Catholic Faith. Superior in design and graphic appeal, using fine art and clear concise maps. They are what our children need, not only for their minds, but, for their souls.

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