 | |||||||||
|  | | |||||||
 | |||||||||
 | |||||||||
 | |||||||||
 | |||||||||
 | |||||||||
 | |||||||||
 | |||||||||
 | |||||||||
 | |||||||||
 | |||||||||
 | |||||||||
 | |||||||||
 | |||||||||
 | |||||||||
 | |||||||||
 | |||||||||
 | |||||||||
 | |||||||||
| The History of Progeny Press
Progeny Press is a family-owned and family-run business operated by Michael and Rebecca Gilleland since 1992. Michael and Rebecca started homeschooling their first daughter in 1991, but as they examined literature studies available to them, they could not find anything that helped them teach classic cultural literature combined with a Christian perspective. Michael and Rebecca wanted literature studies that were strong in literary analysis and terminology, that made their children think about the story and its contents, and taught Christian approaches to ideas contained in the stories without being preachy. They discussed this with other homeschooling parents and teachers in Christian schools, and over and over they heard, "If you find anything, let us know! We'll buy it, too!"
Finally, they arranged with a homeschooling friend from church, Carol Diehn, to write a study guide for Corrie ten Boom's story, The Hiding Place, and they offered it to a local Christian school for use in their classroom as a test run. At the end of the quarter, the principal of the school contacted the Gillelands and offered to purchase every title they had available. Michael and Rebecca realized they had a product and approach that was desperately wanted by Christian teachers and homeschoolers. So in 1992 they hired Andrew Clausen to oversee product development, and by the summer of 1993 Progeny Press was selling 18 study guides for literature.
Progeny Press produced two versions of its study guides: a small, cheaper version for the homeschool market, and a larger version for the Christian school market. The classroom version came with permission to photocopy the pages within the classroom and was priced higher as a consequence. By 2000, it became clear that many homeschoolers also wanted the right to photocopy questions for several of their children or for use in cooperative homeschooling literature groups, so Progeny Press began offering its study guides in a single full-sized version with permission to photocopy pages for use within a classroom or family.
Progeny Press has grown from 18 study guides in 1993 to 100 study guides at the beginning of 2010. Just as in the beginning, Michael and Rebecca edit and review each study guide to make certain that it adheres to their high standards of literary analysis and biblical application. Study guides are peer reviewed by education and literature professors and pastors for clarity, quality, and orthodoxy.
Progeny Press study guides can now be purchased anywhere in the world via its online store, and in bookstores and catalogs across the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand.
Michael and Rebecca Gilleland | | |||||||
 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
 | | | | | | | | | |
