Review: The Good The Bad & The Difference

Now that Maddie is home from the hospital and things are starting to return to normal, thought it’d be a good time to catch up on a review that I’ve been needing to write…for months.

Normally, delays in reviews are due to a sense of dread. In this case, however, nothing anywhere near that. But first, a little background. There I was on twitter at some point last year, just minding my own business, when followed by and then later contacted by the author, Michael Sabbeth. Directly. That alone was pretty cool. He told me briefly about the book, and it caught my interest, so I agreed that I’d read it and review it.

The problem was this, and it’s a problem too few books have these days: I absolutely loved it. Most reviews tend to be along the lines of “it was good” or “didn’t like it because…”–not really either extreme. But this book…this book is different. The delay in the review was caused not just by a busy schedule, but by reading, dog-earing, absorbing, thinking, and reading again.

Why?

First, there’s it’s a book written for parents and educators (but mainly to parents)…or in our case, we’re both (and we’ll get to that angle in a bit). In this respect, it is a bit like a handbook, but with the author’s real-life experiences teaching the very subjects in the Denver area added.

Second, it’s a book about values. How else to say this…our country needs this. It’s a not a religious-based black and white talk about values, either, but an extremely well thought out, very reasoned examination of ethics, the philosophy behind it, and logical reasoning based on values. Stunning, with great examples throughout.

Lastly, it’s about talking to our kids about these subjects. And that’s where the rubber really meets the road. Too many books over too many decades have given lip service to values (and the Christian community is no different). The book is filled with the author’s light-bulb moments when young students suddenly “got it”, and many times where they understood far more than we as adults give them credit for.

The book is fantastic. You need to read it…seriously.

Michael Sabbeth has a page Facebook for the book, and the book has a website as well.

He is planning on developing an actual curriculum as well, based on the book, which would be phenomenal in general, but even more so for the homeschool community, and I look forward to that.

Now that Maddie is home from the hospital and things are starting to return to normal, thought it’d be a good time to catch up on a review that I’ve been needing to write…for months. Normally, delays in reviews are due to a sense of dread. In this case, however, nothing anywhere near that. But…