Circling around the internet lately has been this gem:
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/columbus_day
The oatmeal is not necessarily known for posting political or seemingly controversial comics, but this one has definitely gotten attention. The Columbus we learned about in elementary school, the explorer who "discovered" the new world, is a lie-or at the very least a lie by omission. Children are not taught about his slaughtering of innocent persons, or his tendency to buy, sell, trade, and rape young women. People probably argue that it would be difficult to put these sorts of actions into an elementary school curriculum, but is that true?
I've been thinking a lot about our discussion of Rosa Parks. As with many people, for the longest time if you had asked me about the bus incident, I would have said "An old lady was too tired to stand up for the white man!" I would've said that, because that was what I was taught and told by all people of authority pretty much until I went to college. (If people discussed Civil Rights at all, in Arizona it's not exactly a common topic of education). I thought Parks was a feeble old woman who accidentally started a revolution. Not only does this portrayal do a huge disservice to Parks herself-and her legacy- it is tragic for every child that learns this incorrect meta-narrative. Imagine how influential as a role model Parks could be for young women, especially young women of color, if they were taught her true magnitude. So few history classes (elementary school and otherwise) actually give women the time of day, let alone talk about incredible women of history who have helped shape the world for the better. I know personally I would have loved more historical role models as a child.
So what do Rosa Parks and Christopher Columbus have in common? Not a lot (thank god), but their stories are being reshaped and co-opted to satisfy the general desires of society. I'm not saying we should go into an elementary school class and discuss in detail Columbus's travesties, but mentioning that he wasn't a good person might be a good start. And for figures like Rosa Parks, it would be important to realize how many children are missing out on great learning opportunities and experiences by spending their entire lives thinking she was a feeble old woman.
A blog for the Civil Rights Movement class at Rhodes College, Fall 2014
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ReplyDeleteWow. What I enjoyed most from the Oatmeal piece is it's attempt to bring de la Casas to the surface of such a dark and dismal period of time, one which I am literally now understanding for the first time. I see a sense of nobility in the writer of the piece; he/she goes further in just an attempt to blast the character of Columbus, but rather bring out virtuous elements of at least one individual within what seemed to be an environment with no moral sense or value whatsoever.
ReplyDeleteWhat you point out in your argument is so true. We, as Americans, tend to glaze over certain things in our history in order to protect our oh-so-sensitive sensibilities, especially in young children's education. This not only does a disservice to the children of America but it greatly diminishes the quality of our early education. We send children into the world believing that everything is all lollipops and bubbles, and in doing so we set them up for disappointment. Of course, like you said, young children should not be exposed to all the gruesome details, but the true nature of whatever they are learning should at least be alluded to.
ReplyDeleteI am acutally currently enrolled in a course on the colonization of Latin American, and one of our assigned texts was las Casas's testimony of the brutal crimes committed against the indigenous people of these lands. They are so horrific that they are almost unbearable. We have created an idealized Colombus to represent the American qualities we want to elevate while erasing every other aspect of his history.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you that we do a severe disservice to children by not only putting Columbus on a pedestal, but by knocking Rosa Parks off of the one she deserves. However, because she was an outspoken, African American woman, we want to change her narrative to only include the qualities of what we think she should be, a meek woman who was too tired to stand on a bus. Parks deserves so much better in how her story is told, while Columbus deserves to be forgotten. She is a true role model that deserves to be accurately celebrated.
It amazes me how our history is full of so many illusions. As mentioned in class, we distort the facts of history into a narrative that we feel we need as a nation. A happy narrative that brings enlightenment and unity. Christopher Columbia discovering America is an innocent origin story for our nation, but it overlooks the truth of his flawed character and heinous actions.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Andrea that details probably shouldn't be taught in elementary school, but students should get the facts in middle school and high school just as they learn of Hitler and history's other monsters.