In Fourteen Hundred and Ninety Two...

[along-for-the-ride]

...Columbus Sailed the Ocean Blue."

Monday, October 12th, is Columbus Day in the US.

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A darker side of Columbus emerges in US classrooms



By CHRISTINE ARMARIO, Associated Press Writer Christine Armario, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 32 mins ago

TAMPA, Fla. – Jeffrey Kolowith's kindergarten students read a poem about Christopher Columbus, take a journey to the New World on three paper ships and place the explorer's picture on a timeline through history.

Kolowith's students learn about the explorer's significance — though they also come away with a more nuanced picture of Columbus than the noble discoverer often portrayed in pop culture and legend.

"I talk about the situation where he didn't even realize where he was," Kolowith said. "And we talked about how he was very, very mean, very bossy."

Columbus' stature in U.S. classrooms has declined somewhat through the years, and many districts will not observe his namesake holiday on Monday. Although lessons vary, many teachers are trying to present a more balanced perspective of what happened after Columbus reached the Caribbean and the suffering of indigenous populations.

"The whole terminology has changed," said James Kracht, executive associate dean for academic affairs in the Texas A&M College of Education and Human Development. "You don't hear people using the world 'discovery' anymore like they used to. 'Columbus discovers America.' Because how could he discover America if there were already people living here?"

In Texas, students start learning in the fifth grade about the "Columbian Exchange" — which consisted not only of gold, crops and goods shipped back and forth across the Atlantic Ocean, but diseases carried by settlers that decimated native populations.

In McDonald, Pa., 30 miles southwest of Pittsburgh, fourth-grade students at Fort Cherry Elementary put Columbus on trial this year — charging him with misrepresenting the Spanish crown and thievery. They found him guilty and sentenced him to life in prison.

"In their own verbiage, he was a bad guy," teacher Laurie Crawford said.

Of course, the perspective given varies across classrooms and grades. Donna Sabis-Burns, a team leader with the U.S. Department of Education's School Support and Technology Program, surveyed teachers nationwide about the Columbus reading materials they used in class for her University of Florida dissertation. She examined 62 picture books, and found the majority were outdated and contained inaccurate — and sometimes outright demeaning — depictions of the native Taino population.

The federal holiday itself also is not universally recognized. Schools in Miami, Dallas, Los Angeles and Seattle will be open; New York City, Washington and Chicago schools will be closed.

The day is an especially sensitive issue in places with larger native American populations.

"We have a very large Alaska native population, so just the whole Columbus being the founder of the United States, doesn't sit well with a lot of people, myself included," said Paul Prussing, deputy director of Alaska's Division of Teaching and Learning Support.

Many recall decades ago when there was scant mention of indigenous groups in discussions about Columbus. Kracht remembers a picture in one of his fifth-grade textbooks that showed Columbus wading to shore with a huge flag and cross.

"The indigenous population was kind of waiting expectantly, almost with smiles on their faces," Kracht said. "'I wonder what this guy is bringing us?' Well, he's bringing us smallpox, for one thing, and none of us are going to live very long."

Kracht said an emerging multiculturalism led more people to investigate the cruelties suffered by the Taino population in the 1960s and '70s, along with the 500th anniversary in 1992.

However, there are people who believe the discussion has shifted too far. Patrick Korten, vice president of communications for the Catholic fraternal service organization the Knights of Columbus, recalled a note from a member who saw a lesson at a New Jersey school.

The students were forced to stand in a cafeteria and not allowed to eat while other students teased and intimidated them — apparently so they could better understand the suffering indigenous populations endured because of Columbus, Korten said.

"My impression is that in some classrooms, it's anything but a balanced presentation," Korten, said. "That it's deliberately very negative, which is a matter of great concern because that is not accurate."

Korten said he doesn't believe such activities are widespread — though the lessons will certainly vary.

In Kolowith's Tampa class, students gathered around a white carpet, where they examined a pile of bright plastic fruits and vegetables, baby dolls, construction paper and other items as they decided what would be best for their voyage.

"Do you think it would be good to take babies on a long and dangerous boat ride?" he asked the class. "No!" they replied.

Fifteen miles away, in Seffner, Fla., Colson Elementary assistant principal Jack Keller visited students in a colonial outfit and gray wig, pretending to be Columbus and discussing his voyages. The suffering of natives was not mentioned.

"Our thing was to show exploration," he said.

Meanwhile, Crawford's Pennsylvania class dressed up as characters from the era, assigned roles for a mock trial and put Columbus on the stand. Out of a jury of 12 students, nine found him guilty of the charges.

"Every hero is somebody else's villain," said Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, a scholar and author of several books related to Columbus, including "1492: The Year the World Began."

"Heroism and villainy are just two sides of the same coin."

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What do you think?

Attached files

[Lon]

I think truth is important, whatever the truth is, but what's the truth?

[gmc]

Lon;1250929 wrote: I think truth is important, whatever the truth is, but what's the truth?


The truth is often uncomfortable and real life history is more unbelievable and startling and inspiring than anything you can dream up. Often it's what ordinary people did that is the most amazing and also the most depressing. The truth you take out and look at closely, wonder what you would have done had you been alive then and what are you going to do today. there are those who want to hide the reality of what happened and pretend it all happened for the best and gloss over the brutality. No reason to feel guilt just be aware of what happened and what it meant for those involved and who did not survive.

[chonsigirl]

They teach the Columbian Exchange style of lessons here in Maryland also.

It is a two-fold story-that of the native population, that of the European explorers. You know it was native land, the conquerors took it, the natives have remnants today.

But to teach it fairly, you have to view both sides. gmc has a good point, we should learn from history, and take the lessons we have learned and make sure we do not repeat the mistakes.

[along-for-the-ride]

"we should learn from history, and take the lessons we have learned and make sure we do not repeat the mistakes."

Do we ever learn from history and not repeat the mistakes made then?

[chonsigirl]

Yes, I am a historian. I have learned many things, and spend my free time assisting specific groups with historical knowledge lost through the process of assimilation and civilization. It helps bridge the gaps that remain between two different cultures-much closer than in the beginning as time has shaped us, but still to regain something that was lost and an integral part of their collective. In fact, I spent my whole free time this weekend on an inquiry of just this sort. I try to achieve a balance of what is needed-because of course at first I jumped up and down and thought to myself-oh boy, sock it to the government. But that is not what is needed, but a general regard for something lost over the space of half a century, that was there from the beginning of their known time. That is where you take that step back, rethink what is needed, and what would benefit the people on both sides of the issue.

History is lost as decades go by-there is more than one way to record history. Oral history, cultural artifacts, sacred places-these are things that need to be reviewed and integrated into a group if it is their desire. They always have the choice to do this, or not. I have once been told no, they did not want to know and to continue with what is. That is their right. I dropped that research, and it will go to my university when I pass on, with whatever else I have not finished. And sometimes having the knowledge of some things, and whether to write about them or not, is something I think of all the time.

But sometimes very nice things happen, and long lost relatives are found, the meaning of something taught long ago is brought back into the soul, many things are learned from history.

[Lon]

chonsigirl;1251118 wrote: Yes, I am a historian. I have learned many things, and spend my free time assisting specific groups with historical knowledge lost through the process of assimilation and civilization. It helps bridge the gaps that remain between two different cultures-much closer than in the beginning as time has shaped us, but still to regain something that was lost and an integral part of their collective. In fact, I spent my whole free time this weekend on an inquiry of just this sort. I try to achieve a balance of what is needed-because of course at first I jumped up and down and thought to myself-oh boy, sock it to the government. But that is not what is needed, but a general regard for something lost over the space of half a century, that was there from the beginning of their known time. That is where you take that step back, rethink what is needed, and what would benefit the people on both sides of the issue.

History is lost as decades go by-there is more than one way to record history. Oral history, cultural artifacts, sacred places-these are things that need to be reviewed and integrated into a group if it is their desire. They always have the choice to do this, or not. I have once been told no, they did not want to know and to continue with what is. That is their right. I dropped that research, and it will go to my university when I pass on, with whatever else I have not finished. And sometimes having the knowledge of some things, and whether to write about them or not, is something I think of all the time.

But sometimes very nice things happen, and long lost relatives are found, the meaning of something taught long ago is brought back into the soul, many things are learned from history.


As a historian I would be interested in your take of Howard Zinn and his book '

"A People's History of the United States."

[chonsigirl]

I have not read it, but read your link. (and never encountered it in any undergrad or graduate class) I would have to read it to give an honest comment.

You hear terms in the historical field-revisionism, social histories, cultural histories, etc. A wide ranging survey that would include all these things would be difficult. That is usually why, in history and other disciplines, you focus in specific fields and topics.

If I have time over winter break I will read it, and let you know. (that is the best I can do, the hunt is on for that one piece of research now, it will be my focus for the next two months, and gosh, you love it when things like this pop up!)

Have you read it, Lon?

[Lon]

chonsigirl;1251182 wrote: I have not read it, but read your link. (and never encountered it in any undergrad or graduate class) I would have to read it to give an honest comment.

You hear terms in the historical field-revisionism, social histories, cultural histories, etc. A wide ranging survey that would include all these things would be difficult. That is usually why, in history and other disciplines, you focus in specific fields and topics.

If I have time over winter break I will read it, and let you know. (that is the best I can do, the hunt is on for that one piece of research now, it will be my focus for the next two months, and gosh, you love it when things like this pop up!)

Have you read it, Lon?


Yes I have and it's a shocking read in that it paints a totally different picture of history as we learned at least through high school.

[gmc]

posted by lon

Yes I have and it's a shocking read in that it paints a totally different picture of history as we learned at least through high school.




We have a similar debate in the UK. There are those who think history should be all about the great landmark events and dates and great people and ignore social history and what life was really like for ordinary people and not really question the received version or that in a lot of cases we were pretty nasty shits if you were on the receiving end of it all. It's seen as unpatriotic which is bullshit.

I got to know a lot of west indians while working in london. A surprising number have scots and irish names which seems nice until you realise a fair proportion of the land owners and even more of the overseers were scots or irish whose slaves took their masters names. A shaft of light on something some people would like to pretend never happened.