• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Advertising
  • Write for Us
  • Job Board
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
    • Consulting
    • Advertising
  • Shop
    • Books
    • Shirts

The Educators Room logo

  • Start Here
    • Impact Statements: Teacher Expertise
    • Newsletter
  • Browse Topics
    • Content Strategies
      • Literacy
      • Mathematics
      • Social Studies
      • Educational Technology
      • ELL & ESOL
      • Fine Arts
      • Special Education
      • Popular Topics
        • Teacher Self-Care
        • Instructional Coach Files
        • Common Core
        • The Traveling Teacher
        • The Unemployed Teacher
        • The New Teacher Chronicles
        • Book Review
        • Grade Levels
          • Elementary (K-5)
          • Middle (6-8)
          • Adult
          • New Teacher Bootcamp
          • Hot Button Topics
            • Menu Item
              • Principals' Corner
              • Charter Schools
              • Confessions of a Teacher
              • Interviews
              • The State of Education
              • Stellar Educator of the Week
            • Menu
              • How to Fix Education
              • Featured
              • Ask a Teacher
              • Teacher Branding
              • Current Events
  • Podcasts
  • Courses
    • Practicing Self-Care to Avoid Teacher Burnout- An 8 Week Course
    • Becoming An Educational Consultant
    • Teacher Branding 101:Teachers are The Experts
    • The Learning Academy
    • Books
    • Shirts
  • Education in Atlanta
  • Teacher Self-Care
  • The Coach's Academy
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Advertising
  • Write for Us
  • Job Board
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
    • Consulting
    • Advertising
  • Shop
    • Books
    • Shirts
×

October 13, 2014 Instruction & Curriculum

Reconsidering Columbus: A Day Worthy of an Alternative

  • About the Author
  • Latest Posts

About Mike Dunn

Mike currently serves as the Director of College Counseling and Upper School History teacher at a small independent school outside of Philadelphia. He teaches courses in interest/career exploration, college essay writing, college admissions fundamentals, and World History. He is also the Principal Consultant for Mike Dunn Educational Consulting.
  • School Closures Are Hitting Preschools Hard - May 5, 2020
  • The Boutique Schools Of Our Future - August 1, 2019
  • The Power of the School Visit as PD - April 30, 2019
  • Responding to DeVos’s Negligent #SOTU19 Response - February 7, 2019
  • This HS Senior Was Accepted to 149 Colleges. That’s a Problem. - April 6, 2018
  • As a Teacher and Michigan State University Alum, I'm Embarrassed and Hurt - January 24, 2018
  • The Devaluation of the School Counselor - August 14, 2017
  • Summer Break: An Antiquated Institution That Needs To Go - June 26, 2017
  • The Post's 'America’s Most Challenging High Schools' List Is Deeply Troubling - June 5, 2017
  • I Tutored The Same College Student For 4 Years. Here's What I Learned. - May 15, 2017

For decades, students in elementary school classes have admired portraits and sang songs telling the tale of America’s hero, Christopher Columbus. In his well-documented 1492 journey, Columbus -- enroute to India -- stumbled upon what would become the Americas; Hispaniola to be exact. The rest of his journey is...history.

Somewhere in the depths of our history books, we overlooked a slew of key facts surrounding Columbus’ journey, actions, and subsequent celebration. We failed to note the abundance of native people already inhabiting the island -- Tainos, Arawaks, and Lucayans whose modern kin barely exist. We failed to note predecessors to Columbus -- Leif Eriksson and polynesian explorers. We failed to note Columbus moral character, or lack thereof. [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent="yes" overflow="visible"][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type="1_1" background_position="left top" background_color="" border_size="" border_color="" border_style="solid" spacing="yes" background_image="" background_repeat="no-repeat" padding="" margin_top="0px" margin_bottom="0px" class="" id="" animation_type="" animation_speed="0.3" animation_direction="left" hide_on_mobile="no" center_content="no" min_height="none"]We failed to note the true lasting legacy of the explorer’s exploits -- slavery in the Americas. Click To Tweet

The truths surrounding Columbus are well documented. In fact, many articles have cropped up in the past few years about Columbus. Bill Bigelow, a teacher of social studies from Portland, OR has written extensively about the atrocities of Columbus. His publication entitled Rethinking Columbus: The Next 500 Years is a tremendous resource for students and teachers looking for an expanded view on the early explorer. Other authors such as Roy Cook, Christopher Minster, and Eric Kasum have even gained popularity in their publications.

But, the truth is that we continue to teach the cute little song. In so many schools we continue to perpetuate the image of Columbus as the “founder” of America and thus deserving of an entire day off school. Click To TweetWe continue to lead our young people to believe that the strength of European connection to America comes in the form of a man whose true lasting legacy is opening the door for Spanish imperial domination of land and peoples stretching from San Francisco to the Falkland Islands, an area about double the size of the Roman empire. Not to mention the fact that Spanish lust for gold resulted in the further decimation of countless native North American people from disease and enslavement, thus paving the way for African slaves to supplant the quickly dwindling population of Native American slaves.

We teachers are, sadly, guilty of this perpetuation. We have fallen for the tricks of textbooks that briskly cover the journey of Columbus. We have fallen for the federal recognition of Columbus Day as permission to teach about the admirable Columbus, rather than the actual Columbus. We have further fallen in line with school, district, and state standards that promote the untruthful story of Columbus. Click To Tweet

As teachers, we must take a moment to step back and remind ourselves of the responsibility we have to teach our young people to be thoughtful and critical consumers of knowledge. Luckily Columbus Day affords us this unique opportunity. We can reconsider Columbus, teach the truth about his exploits, and we can do so with backing. Seattle’s Public School district, the city of Minneapolis, and Hawai’i are currently spearheading the movement to reclaim Columbus Day, asking people to celebrate other groups of national importance that are not Columbus.

To be clear: though this movement is one to right historical inaccuracies, it must not be undertaken with an angry heart. There are far too many “anti-” movements in the world. True change must be pushed by positivity and humility. We must embrace the fact that the research has supported a different view of Columbus for some time, and now is an appropriate and measured time fo a change.

As you read this article and reflect on the “celebration” of Columbus Day, I implore you to consider an Alternative Columbus Day. As you have conversations with your people, consider a group, idea, or notion that is deserving of our sincere recognition as a nation.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Related posts:

Default ThumbnailIn Defense of Affirmative Action: The Difference Between Opportunity & Results Say No to Columbus Day And Yes to Indigenous Peoples' DaySay No to Columbus Day And Yes to Indigenous Peoples' Day Teaching About Christopher Columbus and the Truth of History Default ThumbnailAvoiding Round Robin in All Subject Areas
« Reflecting on What Works: Elementary Classroom Management
Teaching About Christopher Columbus and the Truth of History »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

The Educator's Room was launched in 2012 to amplify the voice of educators. To date, we have over 45+ writers from around the world and boast over twelve million page views. Through articles, events, and social media we will advocate for honest dialogue with teachers about how to improve public education. This mission is especially important when reporting on education in our community; therefore, we commit our readers to integrity, accuracy, and independence in education reporting. To join our mailing list, click here.

What we do

At The Educator's Room, we focus on amplifying and honoring the voice of educators as experts in education. To date, we have over 40 staff writers/teachers from around the world.

Popular Posts

  • "Let's Make This Happen": Following Student Interests to Interest-Based Mentorships
  • Want to Keep Special Education Teachers? Try Mentorship
  • An Idaho teen who won his school board election has a message for educators
  • Moving Beyond Diversity to Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging: Lessons from a Sunday Sermon

Featured On

Buy Our Books/Courses

How to Leave Your Job in Education

Practicing Self-Care to Avoid Teacher Burnout

Using Your Teacher Expertise to Become an Educational Consultant

Check out our books on teaching and learning!

The Learning Academy

Footer

↑ back to top

About

  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Accessibility Policy

Newsletter

  • Sign Up! for emails and updates

Contact

  • Contact
  • Services
  • Media Kit
  • FAQ

 

Copyright © 2021 The Educator's Room.