In the past, when Columbus Day was first held, Columbus was treated as a hero and celebrated for "discovering" America. Today, there's controversy about how to teach about him. Many historians question Columbus's motives and strive to bring attention to the bad treatment Native Americans received from members of Columbus's expedition. They also note that Columbus was not the first to "discover" the Americas: Native Americans already lived there, and 500 years before Columbus's first voyage, Viking explorer Leif Ericson visited the shores of North America and even attempted to start a colony there.
If Columbus is not a hero or the discoverer of America, then why is there a holiday named after him? Should we continue to celebrate his actions? What of value can a teacher teach children today about him?
How Columbus Created a Connection Between Europe and the Americas
Without ignoring the negative aspects of Columbus's story, teachers can focus on his positive role as an explorer. For example, Columbus Day by Vicki Liestman [Carolrhoda Books, 1991] presents information about Columbus and Columbus Day in a simple, objective way that focuses on the fact that "whether the results were good or bad, Christopher Columbus made a voyage that changed the world."
Columbus's voyages led other Europeans to make trips between Europe and the Americas, paving the way for further exploration and the eventual colonization of the Americas. Without his voyages, history would have taken a different course. Understanding his actions helps people understand why the world is the way it is today.
Use "The Egg of Columbus" as a Focus for Discussing Columbus's Accomplishments
Lead into a lesson about Columbus and his accomplishments by sharing the James Baldwin story "Columbus and the Egg" with students. This story makes the point that often a thing might seem easy to do, but that's only because someone else has already paved the way first by showing how to do this thing.
- Explain to children that after Columbus returned to Europe, some people tried to dismiss his accomplishment as something anyone could have done.
- Share "Columbus and the Egg" up to the point where Columbus challenges the other gentlemen to balance an egg on its end.
- Display a (raw) egg and ask children for ideas for how to balance it.
- Finish the story, compare Columbus's solution with children's solutions, and demonstrate the solution with your egg.
- Discuss the theme of the story: it is easy for someone to do something once someone else has done it first. Use this as the focus for how you teach about Columbus: although Columbus wasn't the first person to "discover" America, he was the one who showed Europeans that it was possible to travel west to America, and once he made that first trip, many others followed and changed the course of history in both Europe and the Americas forever.
- To wrap up, children can discuss other examples of accomplishments that seem easy now, but only because others have shown us how these things can be accomplished.
Debunk Myths and Misconceptions About Christopher Columbus
Another important goal for teaching about Columbus is to teach facts, not legends (or at least to identify the legends as legends). Common misconceptions include that Columbus wanted to prove that the Earth is not flat and that he landed in what is now the United States. Research and provide information to correct these and other myths about Columbus.
Columbus Day is a valuable teaching opportunity. Instead of blindly celebrating Columbus, use this holiday to help students examine his actual impact on the world.
Renee Carver - Renée Carver has an Elementary Education degree and over ten years of experience writing and editing children's educational products.
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