Crazy ways American schools approach Columbus Day

[Count of Montesano]

Just read this AP article about how American schools are teaching kids about Columbus Day, and quite frankly I'm irritated. I don't have a problem in recognizing Columbus's flaws or that he didn't really "discover" America, but some of the following politically correct nonsense doesn't really help anyone IMHO:

In Texas, students start learning in the fifth grade about the "Columbian Exchange" - which consisted not only of gold, crops and goods shipped back and forth across the Atlantic Ocean, but diseases carried by settlers that decimated native populations.

In McDonald, Pa., 30 miles southwest of Pittsburgh, fourth-grade students at Fort Cherry Elementary put Columbus on trial this year - charging him with misrepresenting the Spanish crown and thievery. They found him guilty and sentenced him to life in prison.

"In their own verbiage, he was a bad guy," teacher Laurie Crawford said.

And my personal favorite - having the all the white kids be ridiculed by non-white kids so that they can "feel" what it was like when Columbus personally oppressed the entire Western Hemisphere:

However, there are people who believe the discussion has shifted too far. Patrick Korten, vice president of communications for the Catholic fraternal service organization the Knights of Columbus, recalled a note from a member who saw a lesson at a New Jersey school.

The students were forced to stand in a cafeteria and not allowed to eat while other students teased and intimidated them - apparently so they could better understand the suffering indigenous populations endured because of Columbus, Korten said.

"My impression is that in some classrooms, it's anything but a balanced presentation," Korten, said. "That it's deliberately very negative, which is a matter of great concern because that is not accurate."

http://www.seattlepi.com/national/41...olumbus11.html

[Marie Louise von Preussen]

Welcome to XXI century politically correct education.

[jankren]

Funny stuff!

[Angrychris]

?

[jankren]

?

Exactly.

[Monarchist]

America needs to be re-founded. Whites only!

But seriously; what a load of nonsense. "Children, celebrate our true founding as a European outpost! However, don't celebrate it too much or the Injuns will get all angry. Plus, we don't want to insult the Norwegians and their ancestors. Oh, and the Chinese might have visited America before Columbus too. Maybe some Germans... somehow." This makes me very sad and angry. The west no longer even tries to celebrate its own amazing cultural heritage; it's too busy, at all hours, defending its history (and doing a horrid job of it, too).

[Odovacar]

you left out the feminist. Do not celebrate much, the women might get angry. Colombus was just another opressing macho!

[Demetrios of Messene]

The day that they start teaching facts and nourishing free intellect in schools world wide will be a much better day!

[MathiasOfAthens]

The first two examples were not too extreme in my opinion. Both were facts and should not be interpreted as PC. The last example mind you was a little too much, but also consider the fact that this was a New Jersey school for which Im assuming is a public school and not the catholic school that the source went to. If this was a Public school then odds are the students were black with a couple whites.

Colombus was a rapist, theif, and drunkard who accidently discovered a landmass. I rather our generation learn the truth instead of whitewashing this period of history.

[Odovacar]

Colombus was a rapist, theif, and drunkard who accidently discovered a landmass. I rather our generation learn the truth instead of whitewashing this period of history.

Well, people just dont wage dangerous travels "accidentally". He was something like an adventurer, clearly not an idealist hero, but his voyage was a great and brave deed.

[MaximiIian]

Well, people just dont wage dangerous travels "accidentally". He was something like an adventurer, clearly not an idealist hero, but his voyage was a great and brave deed.

He thought he was going to land at China, and missed horribly. Hell, part of the reason people were not willing to fund him was because they knew his calculations were way off, and that a voyage to China via the Atlantic would be nearly impossible.
He discovered North America accidentally; he was a rapist, a cold-hearted murderer, and he embezzled from the Crown. He bears responsibility for the process that led to the annihilation of entire native populations- millions dead from disease and massacre.

Do not whitewash the horrible things this man has done; it is a great disservice to history.

[ivan_the_terrible]

He bears responsibility for the process that led to the annihilation of entire native populations- millions dead from disease and massacre.

What? No he doesn't. He only bears responsibility for the things done by his expedition. I'm no expert, but I don't think his expedition destroyed entire populations. Certainly not millions.

[MathiasOfAthens]

Yeah Im not saying he didnt embark on an adventure and his voyage wasnt something to be admired. His governance on the other hand is something of another matter. In that field he lacked.

[konny]

His governance on the other hand is something of another matter. In that field he lacked.

I don't think that there is a Columbus Day to celebrate Columbus' achievements as a governor, nor that anyone ever would have claimed him being a good governor - not even his contemporaries.

On the other things: the existence of a large land-mass somewhere out in the Atlantic was known in Europe throughout the entire Middle Ages, at least to those who would have cared. We not only have the Viking expeditions, that were recorded and known of at least as far as northern Germany, but also Irish monks that might have traveled that far, and at least since the 14th Century Bretonic fishermen frequently crossing the Atlantic.

So, Columbus either was the worst navigator ever who made it to admiral; or he clearly knew where he was heading to when setting sails.

[conon394]

He bears responsibility for the process that led to the annihilation of entire native populations- millions dead from disease and massacre.

That's ridiculous statement. To bear responsibility he (or the Europeans in general) would have to a working modern understanding of epidemiology and biology that nobody had at the time. Moreover the Spanish would in addition have to have some reason to imagine the populations of North and South America would be comparatively vulnerable to Old world illness and that there would be little in the way of a reverse effect.

Secondly Columbus may have sped up the process of widespread contact with the old world, but it was inevitable. Give improvements in European sailing and navigation, combined with the nature of the Portuguese route south round Africa and the pursuit of North Atlantic fisheries I doubt America could remain undiscovered for more than a decade or two more.

edit: I did not notice I kept 'massacre' in that first quote. But that's just the nature of the game at the time - The Aztecs played hard ball too and its not like the Spanish played with kid gloves in Europe - see Dutch rebellion, 30 Years War, Crusades etc.

Also what of the apparent mass murder of Spanish sailors and than Europeans by new world syphilis? bastard Taino's (please note sarcasim here)

[Monarchist]

That's ridiculous statement. To bear responsibility he (or the Europeans in general) would have to a working modern understanding of epidemiology and biology that nobody had at the time. Moreover the Spanish would in addition have to have some reason to imagine the populations of North and South America would be comparatively vulnerable to Old world illness and that there would be little in the way of a reverse effect.

Secondly Columbus may have sped up the process of widespread contact with the old world, but it was inevitable. Give improvements in European sailing and navigation, combined with the nature of the Portuguese route south round Africa and the pursuit of North Atlantic fisheries I doubt America could remain undiscovered for more than a decade or two more.

Blavo. Blavo!

[Poach]

Ah political correctness. If I were forced to not have lunch whilst being ridiculed by ethnic minority kids at school I'd have personally punched the teacher responsible.

[antares24]

sometime i wonder what happened to sanity...to those that dislike Columbus, if it wasn't for him, the American continent will still be discovered by someone else, but we don't know when and by who, so history could have played quite different and a lot of you (and me) would probably don't be alive. Also, he was a man with a dream, smart and brave enough to venture in unchartered ocean waters with 3 very small ships. So i have a lot of respect for the men and can't really understand this "let's rewrite history and make the whites feel guilty" mania.

Ah political correctness. If I were forced to not have lunch whilst being ridiculed by ethnic minority kids at school I'd have personally punched the teacher responsible.

ditto.

Maybe they can also find some with indios blood and make them fight bloody battles and stage human sacrifices, and can also divide black kids in two groups where one beat and enslave the other and then sell the losers to the white kids of the class. That will also be a good history lesson and teach those involved how people suffered in the past no?

[MathiasOfAthens]

Columbus didnt have to enslave the indian populations in dwarves like he did.

It was a new jersey school Poach, and it was a class, it was prob a all black class to begin with.

[Romano-Dacis]

Columbus didnt have to enslave the indian populations in dwarves like he did.

Am I the only one imagining midget Native Americans?

I am not sure what these kids should be ashamed of more: Columbus, or the crappy school they seem to attend.

I eagerly await the day they "prove" Ramses II was a racist... but that will likely never happen, because they will "prove" he was Black first, and as we know, Blacks can't be racist.