Columbus From Hero to Zero (#SSchat)
On Monday evening, October 12, 2015 –Columbus Day– I will moderate #SSchat on Twitter, a conversation for Social Studies teachers and anyone else interested in how we teach history.
Once Columbus was an intrepid hero with a federal holiday in his honor. Not so much anymore.
Here’s the bigger question: How do we deal with changing attitudes toward one-time heroes who are being reassessed in the classroom?
Lowering the Confederate flag, changing currency, removing statues of Confederate leaders such as Nathan Bedford Forrest and Jefferson Davis.
Yale University is questioning the , high priest of white supremacy.
But if harsh treatment of American Indians and slavery have become unpardonable sins, what do we do with the other heroes of American history who are linked inextricably to America’s slaveholding past and genocidal Indian policies?
How far do we go in revising our hero-worship in this new mood of removing the stain of America’s original sin?
Most important how do we teach these changing attitudes? Here are some of the other questions we will ask:
Q1: It’s Columbus Day; How do you discuss Columbus and his role in your classrooms today?
Q2; Should we rename Columbus Day?
Q3: There is a move to add a woman to the ten dollar bill. Many argue that Jackson should go instead? Is this a classroom topic for you?
Q4: 5 of first 7 presidents, 10 of first fifteen were slaveholders. How do you deal with this issue as it relates to Presidents like Jefferson and Jackson?
Q5: Army bases are named for Confederate generals. Should they be changed?
Q6: Is the Geography textbook that called African slaves “workers” a topic of discussion in your classroom?
Once Columbus was an intrepid hero with a federal holiday in his honor. Not so much anymore.
Here’s the bigger question: How do we deal with changing attitudes toward one-time heroes who are being reassessed in the classroom?
Lowering the Confederate flag, changing currency, removing statues of Confederate leaders such as Nathan Bedford Forrest and Jefferson Davis.
Yale University is questioning the , high priest of white supremacy.
But if harsh treatment of American Indians and slavery have become unpardonable sins, what do we do with the other heroes of American history who are linked inextricably to America’s slaveholding past and genocidal Indian policies?
How far do we go in revising our hero-worship in this new mood of removing the stain of America’s original sin?
Most important how do we teach these changing attitudes? Here are some of the other questions we will ask:
Q1: It’s Columbus Day; How do you discuss Columbus and his role in your classrooms today?
Q2; Should we rename Columbus Day?
Q3: There is a move to add a woman to the ten dollar bill. Many argue that Jackson should go instead? Is this a classroom topic for you?
Q4: 5 of first 7 presidents, 10 of first fifteen were slaveholders. How do you deal with this issue as it relates to Presidents like Jefferson and Jackson?
Q5: Army bases are named for Confederate generals. Should they be changed?
Q6: Is the Geography textbook that called African slaves “workers” a topic of discussion in your classroom?
I hope you will join us for lively conversation.
Don’t Know Much About the Civil War (Harper paperback, Random House Audio)
Don’t Know Much About History (Revised, Expanded and Updated Edition)
New York Times Bestseller
America’s Hidden History
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