Cheese Press Publishing

Dates don’t teach history.

Understanding does.

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You don’t need to know everything to teach history.

You just need to be willing to explore it.

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Most students don’t hate history.

They just haven’t been taught what it actually is.

Why Students Think They Hate History (It’s Not What You Think) Video Description: Why Students Think They Hate History (It’s Not What You Think)https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPxjjc-DnNDr6xyOCnpN80A?sub_confirmation=1...

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Stop Teaching High School History Like This An Introduction to the Study of History (eBook)Most high school students are taught what happened in history.Few are taught how history is studied.An Introdu...

Today in History:
Jan 24, 1848: Gold is discovered in California.
One find. One river. A migration that reshaped the nation forever.

MYTH: The Gold Rush was a land of equal opportunity—anyone willing to work hard could strike it rich.

REALITY: Very few miners became wealthy. Most of the real money went to merchants, landowners, bankers, and businesses selling supplies. The people doing the hardest labor usually walked away with nothing.

MYTH: Gold made California prosperous for everyone.

REALITY: Prosperity came at a devastating cost. Indigenous Californians were violently removed from their land, their populations decimated by disease, displacement, and state-backed violence. Wealth was built on loss.

MYTH: The Gold Rush was a story of freedom and adventure.

REALITY: It was also a story of exclusion.
Chinese immigrants were overtaxed and attacked. Mexican and Californio landowners lost property through biased courts. Black Americans faced legal discrimination and violence that limited their opportunities to mine or profit.

MYTH: Miners controlled their own destiny.

REALITY: Access to land, water, and legal protection mattered more than effort. Those with capital and political power shaped the rules—and the outcomes.

BOTTOM LINE: The Gold Rush didn’t reward hard work equally.
It rewarded power, proximity, and protection under the law—a pattern that repeats throughout history.

Born Michael.
Named for a reformer.
Remembered as a movement.

Martin Luther King Jr. was born Michael King Jr. His father later changed both of their names after being inspired by Martin Luther, the theologian who challenged authority and called for reform.

So I wonder — would Michael have changed the world just the same?

I think history answers yes.
The name may echo reform, but the work requires conviction.

Historical note: The name change occurred in 1934 after King Sr.’s trip to Germany, where he studied the life and legacy of Martin Luther.

I didn’t always love history.
In 8th grade, history meant copywork.
“Open your book to page 79. Copy through page 81.”
That was it—and I started to hate the subject.
9th grade changed things. My Ancient History teacher was obsessed with architecture. We walked the campus while he pointed out columns and design elements, explaining where they came from and why they mattered.
As an artist, that visual connection finally pulled me in.
10th grade, American History came alive through humor. The puns were terrible—but memorable. I learned that storytelling matters.
11th grade, World History. I don’t remember dates. I remember the emotion.
The class crying while learning about the Holocaust.
That’s when I understood: history isn’t just facts—it’s human experience.
When I began homeschooling, I was afraid of giving my kids a shallow, disjointed view of history. But I realized something important:
When history is taught in order, it’s a story—and the arts help bring that story to life.
I assumed there would be a curriculum that did this well.
There wasn’t.
There was no context. No cause and effect. Too much glossing over what really mattered.
So we built what we couldn’t find—history taught as a connected narrative, using discussion, analysis, and the arts to help students see, feel, and understand the past.

That journey—artist, homeschool parent, and educator—is why we now teach history and help families navigate middle school, high school, and college prep.