Columbus Day
Given how many Americans Columbus killed, you have to wonder why we don't have Hirohito and Osama days as well.
From Lalo Alcarez. (Actually, I doubt if the people Columbus killed lived in teepees, but that's one of the best cartoons I've seen, even if it's more appropriate for 9/11 than Columbus Day.)
Professor Warren Goldstein explains why he loves Columbus Day:
From Lalo Alcarez. (Actually, I doubt if the people Columbus killed lived in teepees, but that's one of the best cartoons I've seen, even if it's more appropriate for 9/11 than Columbus Day.)
Professor Warren Goldstein explains why he loves Columbus Day:
The point is not to make students feel guilty, but rather to help them think about their history -- and their present -- in a different light. They ask about other heroes. They realize that the history they've learned might not be adequate for an adult (or a child, for that matter). Those training to be teachers vow not to let Columbus become simply an occasion for cut-out hats and pretty pictures of the Niņa, Pinta and Santa Maria.If you're not familiar with the crimes of Christopher Columbus, here's a brief introduction.
Others worry about how to broach the subject in their families. "My father's from Italy," said one young man, "and there's no way I can tell him this. Just no way." To get this point across, and many want to, they have to think like teachers, which is never a bad exercise.
Months later I ask students to write down the most significant things they've learned in the course. Most come back to Columbus. It's rare that a teacher happens onto a single story that teaches so much, and engages students so thoroughly. I suspect the Knights of Columbus wouldn't approve, but I love Columbus Day.
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