9 Teaching Resources That Tell the Truth About Columbus.

But still, even reputable organizations like the National Education Association don’t offer a single online Columbus Day lesson plan we’d recommend. There are a few decent videos out there, but most of them say Natives came from Asia. Others gloss over the genocide as if worried about the delicate ears of the children they teach. But is it the children or the adults who feel the need to insulate their thin-skinned patriotism?

Consider the thoughts of Wisconsin high school student, Savana Stuhl, 17, who said, “I was probably in fifth grade when my mom told me about Columbus. At first I didn’t believe her because at school he was called a hero, he found America, he came here first. Then my mother read me a book about the true story that he wasn’t the first one here.” Stuhl now feels even very young children should be told the truth. “I think younger kids could handle it. It is important they know he wasn’t a hero.”

In Prescott, Wisconsin, AP History teacher Jeff Ryan agrees. “I would argue that anyone who thinks students aren’t capable of weighing different perspectives, boy that’s a dangerous way to think,” he said. Ryan’s lesson plans include the writings of Friar Bartolome Las Casas, who detailed the atrocities after Columbus’s arrival in horrific detail.

Describing the resistance of some people to accept the truth, Ryan said, “If factual information is so brand new, something they have never heard before, and if it is the opposite of what they believe, then they think it is biased. The challenge as a teacher is not about trying to change minds. It is about opening minds, and doing it rationally.”

In Wisconsin, ACT 31 makes Native Studies mandatory. “And it is filtering its way into primary and elementary grade levels,” Ryan said. I have an 8-year-old who came back from her first grade class—she told me, ‘You know Columbus was an explorer, but he did some really bad things. He did mean things to the Native people.’”

In this new era of honesty in history, where can teachers go for good information? We came up with a list of nine resources: good ideas, books and one lesson plan that work even for very young children.

Rethinking Columbus

The most highly recommended reading, by Oyate.org and American Indian Children’s Literature, is Rethinking Columbus. The book offers this summary: “…the Columbus myth is a foundation of children’s beliefs about society. Columbus is often a child’s first lesson about encounters between different cultures and races. The murky legend of a brave adventurer tells children whose version of history to accept, and whose to ignore. It says nothing about the brutality of the European invasion of North America.” Writings from N. Scott Momaday, Cornell Pewewardy, Barb Munson, Rosalie Little Thunder, Winona LaDuke and many more. It is a readily available source that offers a real Native perspective.

A whitetail deer in winter.

Putting Columbus on Trial

Teachers in McDonald, Pennsylvania, celebrated Columbus Day by putting Columbus on trial, where students gave Columbus a life sentence of imprisonment. In Texas, students learned not only of the import/export trade of gold and jewels, but also of smallpox blankets.

 

Lies My Teacher Told Me

 

Lies My Teacher Told Me About Christopher Columbus, What Your History Books Got Wrong by James W. Loewen, is the perfect antidote for teachers who want to show not only the truth about Columbus, but see a chart showing how textbook historians have hidden the truth from students. It’s a double lesson that teaches about Columbus and encourages students to do their research.

 

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A whitetail deer in winter.

 

The American Discovery of Europe

For high school students, the book The American Discovery of Europe by Jack D. Forbes presents the refreshing news that Natives were already traveling the world, and were met in Ireland and other countries more than a decade before Columbus arrived on these shores.

 

 

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A whitetail deer in winter.

 

Videos

 

There was not one YouTube video about Columbus that was found to be suitable. Avoid them. The only decent video we found was on the paid subscription site Brain Pop. The video, activities, and additional reading on The Columbian Exchange do more than gloss over the subject of Natives, and gives serious weight to the genocide and slavery.

 

Columbus Day Books

There are two books, both named Columbus Day, that are suitable for young children. One by Holiday Histories and the other by Vicki Liestman. They are not thorough, but are fair.

 

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A whitetail deer in winter.

 

Wikimedia Commons

 

A whitetail deer in winter.

 

Columbus’s Journals

 

Columbus’s journals offer many ideas for lesson plans. Exploring stereotypes, cultural norms, religious freedom, are all lessons that could be drawn from his journals.

Protests

 

Showing students a slideshow of anti-Columbus Day protests by modern day Natives shows mainstream children that indigenous people are still here and have strong feelings about the celebration.

Two Perspectives

 

Columbus Day From Two Perspectives offers students in grades 4-6 an opportunity to learn about what happened to the Taino people who suffered at the hands of Columbus and his men. The Lesson Plan website even asks for Columbus Day lesson plan submissions, admitting they only have a very few.

 

“The truth shouldn’t be hidden. Instead of hiding it, people should be able to learn from it,” said Anton Wazlawik, 17, a senior at Prescott High School in Wisconsin. “I feel grateful that our school hasn’t censored that information. Instead of tempers flaring, we should look at the facts. There are too many people who feel their way is the only.”

Source: https://bit.ly/2lBg8cq