Multimedia Classroom American History Series Vol. 1 Benjamin Franklin by the History Channel

The pictures were very colorful and would hold a students attention. I found it very interesting to watch and then go to the interactive part where the students can take a closer look at Ben Franklin and answer questions regarding his life and then think about what it might be like if they lived in his time and what they would do.

The biggest problem I have with this DVD is that it seemed that they were stuck on his “sexual” part of his life. They made sure to point out that his oldest son was illegitimate and that Reed and him weren’t really married but were married by common law. They pointed out that he couldn’t stay away from the women over and over and that he deserted his wife during the time of her need just because he wanted to spend time with the “other” women in his life. From a young child I was taught to hold Benjamin Franklin up as a hero because he played one of the important parts in our country. But this DVD made me feel that he shouldn’t be a hero but someone that we as Christians should keep our children from studying. There was a lot more to Ben Franklin that just the women and that is what we should be highlighting on. As I see things, we all have things in our family that we would rather not have brought out to the light and now that he is gone why bring up all the wrong and ruin the wonders he did for our country.

He not only was important to our country to being free, but he made some wonderful discoveries that we might not have today if he hadn’t been given the gift to discover and use his hands by the Creator.

Overall, I love the concept of the DVD and then the interaction with the CD. But from a Christian perspective, I feel we need to be careful how we let historians crush what has been hero’s to our children for several generations.