When I was younger, and most of you can relate, I learned about Christopher Columbus every year in history class. When Americans today are asked who this man was, they might respond by saying "He was a brave explorer who sailed across the Atlantic and discovered the New World, and proved the world was not flat." It's funny because this is what we were taught and this is what we know to be true, however it is not. By continuing my education, and learning more, I have learned that what I was taught in elementary school was not correct. In college I learned that at that time, no one thought the world was flat in 1491. Columbus knew the world was round, and the Queen of Spain even knew the world was round. In fact, I believe the Ancient Greeks had figured this out thousands of years before Columbus' time.
When it comes to the "fact" that Columbus discovered the New World, I now know that Leif Ericsson found the New World around 500 years before Columbus. Columbus did however, mark the age of a new era when he came to the New World. What they also don't tell us in school is that during this process of conquering the new world, Columbus' main priority was gold. With his greed, came a lot of mistreatment of Native people, like enslavement, torture, rape, and murder. Yet, this man has his own federal holiday as an American tradition.
When I learned all this information, I was shocked, and wondering why we would ever be lied to in this way. As a future educator, I believe that students should know these details about Christopher Columbus. I believe that being truthful to students is learning. Even today, Americans can think thatt Native American people are part of the past but they are living with us today with a lot of their old traditions and beliefs. In fact, I am deeply fascinated with the Native American culture and research it quite often. In the article "What Not to Teach About Native Americans" by June Dark Heinrich, is says, "Today, about two million Native Americans live in what is now the United States, many on reservations and many in cities in towns." Basically, Native Americans are people who make up our society, just like you and me, just like the children in our classroom and they should be acknowledged and respected.
I think that if we teach our children the facts and the truth about Christopher Columbus, children will learn and be aware of other things. In the article "We Have No Reason to Celebrate an Invasion" Susan Shown Harjo says, "Explaining the unpleasant truths about Christopher Columbus, does not take away from the fact that he was able to lurch over these shores in three little boats. In fact, it gives the story of Christopher Columbus more dimension. It also makes it easier for kids in school to accept not only Columbus, but other things." I couldn't agree more. For example, if teachers can be more open with this topic, then they can be more open to Martin Luther King Jr., and go into learning more about his other speeches, ones that weren't so positive and give a more true light to what was going on during that time. Like I said previously, with more truth, comes more learning.
I believe I can make a difference in my future students learning by teaching them the truth, how it really is in the world. I want my students to do research, and do hands on learning. I want to push them to be more culturally aware of the things that surround them, or even may be hidden, like the Native American culture. That way, my students will be more knowledgeable, and ACCEPTING.
:)https://elearning.salemstate.edu/courses/935572/files/38149853/download?wrap=1
https://elearning.salemstate.edu/courses/935572/files/38149770/download?wrap=1
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