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Literature review on diversity in the classroom
Literature review on diversity in the classroom
Literature review on diversity in the classroom
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As educators it is important that we analyze the materials that we use in our classrooms to provide our students with anti-bias and anti-stereotype curricula. Analyzing our materials so that they are anti-bias and anti-stereotype provides our students with factual historical accounts and teaches our students to see things from multiple perspectives. As a result of this, our students will view the world in a different way, as well as think critically about things. One historical account that is often portrayed from one perspective is Christopher Columbus’ “discovery” of the new world.
One piece of Children’s literature that presents Columbus’ voyage in a more factual way than I have experienced in the past is Christopher Columbus: Sailing To A New World by Adrianna Morganelli; however, the book still does provide some ambiguity of Columbus’ account. This literary work provides information ranging from Columbus’ biography to the Spanish conquest after Columbus’ voyages. In this book, it not only tells the story of Columbus’ voyage from his side, but also provides information about the Native people and how the Europeans conquered them. This helps provide the reader with multiple perspectives of the account and not just from the Eurocentric point of view. Furthermore, at the end of the book the author provides a disclaimer about the information presented in the book. The disclaimer mentions how most of the information in the book was based on journal and first hand accounts that the European explorers sent back to the king in Spain. In addition it talks about how there were no cameras in the time period so the illustrations are based on the information in the book and may not be accurately portrayed.
Even though the book provides...
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... so that students can become critical thinkers and view the world in a different way. Many of the materials that we use in the classroom are written from one perspective and do not always portray historical events as accurately as they should; this is not fair to other cultural groups that had a part in the historical event. As educators, it is crucial that we analyze the materials that we use in our classroom. We should use a multicultural approach on content to build our students’ civic competencies and capacity for respecting others’ perspectives. History is not a one-sided story and we should not take a one-sided approach to teaching it.
Works Cited
Bigelow, B., & Peterson, B. (1998). Rethinking Columbus: the next 500 years (2nd ed.). Milwaukee, WI: Rethinking Schools.
Morganelli, A. (2005). Christopher Columbus: sailing to a New World. New York: Crabtree.
In Symcox and Sullivan’s Christopher Columbus and the Enterprise of the Indies, another side of not only Columbus but also his peers is brought to light. I have never read anything written by Columbus’s contemporaries before reading this book, so it gave me some refreshing insight as opposed to the repetitive glamorized content in high school textbooks. I also appreciate how legal documents such as the Treaty of Tordesillas between Spain and Portugal are included because they give a sense of what else was going on during the time that Columbus was going on these voyages.
Many books have led children to believe Columbus discovered America. Myint discovers “Leif Eriksson is the first European believed to have sailed to North America, having reached Canada 500 years before Columbus set sail to the west.” (Myint, 2015, Para. 2). Columbus did not plan to reach America; the voyage was to reach Asia. It is also believed Columbus set sail to prove the world was round. This is dismissed by Myint as “it was an idea that had been established by the Ancient Greeks in the 5th Century BC.” (Myint, 2015, Para. 4). Historians fail to provide these facts; this creates a false image of Columbus in a child’s
The controversy of whether or not Christopher Columbus should continue to be acknowledged by a federal holiday proves that his legacy has not escaped the scrutiny of history. Arguments born of both sides of the controversy stem from issues such as genocide, racism, multiculturalism, geographical land rights, and the superiority of certain cultures over others. In The Christopher Columbus Controversy: Western Civilization vs. Primitivism, Michael Berliner, Ph.D. declares that recognition of Columbus Day is well-deserved, claiming that Western civilization is superior to all other cultures and Columbus personifies this truth. On the contrary, Jack Weatherford's Examining the Reputation of Christopher Columbus equates Columbus' so-called discovery with brutal genocide and the destruction of ancient sophisticated civilizations. These articles demonstrate two extreme points of view in a manner that makes clear each authors' goals, leading the reader to consider issues of author bias, motivation, and information validity.
Despite being one of the most renowned explorers in history, Christopher Columbus’ legacy remains controversial. The debate on whether Columbus should be celebrated has captured news headlines for decades. While many view him simply as a gifted Italian navigator who laid the seeds for the colonization of the New World, history paints a much more complicated picture. His journal entries and eye-witness testimony reveal Columbus to be a man of intolerance and indifference towards those deemed inferior to himself. Christopher Columbus’ treatment of Indigenous’ people, in addition to his ethnocentric worldview, allows for the conclusion that he should not be idolized as a hero in the modern age.
In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue. And, when he reached his destination he killed, raped and enslaved innocent natives. Was Columbus a villain? The answer to that question, in my opinion, would be yes. Christopher Columbus was a cruel, self-centered, delusional man who does not deserve to be praised for the discovery of America.
Along the Columbus journey bits of gold were found amongst the Native Indians which led to Columbus concluding that there was more (Zinn, 2009, p.481). The Native’s were turned into servants looking for a certain amount of gold for Columbus. If they had not met the daily quota their arms were to be cut off (Zinn, 2009, p.481). This is just part of the brutality that Columbus had put upon the Natives. More cruelty can be seen when Columbus sent five hundred Natives as slaves to the King and Queen in Spain. Also stabbing of Indians was done as a sport and those that resisted against the Spaniards were hunted down as animals (Zinn, 2009, p.482). Zinn shows that the Columbus story is one of the many myths of Western civilization. All the stories about Columbus especially in the USA since, it is a celebration are seen as a heroic adventure. However, many teachers argue that children should not be told such a violent story filled with horrific history (Zinn, 2009, p.485). It is important to teach children at a young age the truth about the Columbus story, so that they know what a monster he
I didn?t know much about Columbus, but when it was taught to us as a class, which was rarely, the lessons were brief and covered only the ?positive? things that he did. That is, from the eyes of those who believe Columbus was a noble man. It wasn?t until 6th grade when my teacher showed my class the book Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James W. Loewen that we opened our eyes and saw reality. We had been deceived. Deceived by videos. Deceived by books. Deceived by teachers. But at least it felt good to know the truth-finally.
In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. However, even after centuries later, little is truly known of the mysterious voyage and findings of the new world.1 By examining “Letter from Columbus to Luis Santangel”, one can further contextualize the events of Columbus' exploration of the New World. The letter uncovers Columbus' subtle hints of his true intentions and exposes his exaggerated tone that catered to his lavish demands with Spain. Likewise, The Columbian Voyage Map read in accordance with the letter helps the reader track Columbus' first, second, third, and fourth voyage to the New World carefully and conveniently. Thus, the letter and map's rarity and description render invaluable insight into Columbus' intentionality of the New World and its indigenous inhabitants.
Hart, Diane, Bert Bower, and Jim Lobdell. History alive!:. Palo Alto, Calif.: Teachers' Curriculum Institute, 2002. Print.
A People’s History of the United States, written in 1980 by Howard Zinn, approaches history from a new perspective. Aware that the conquerors write the history books, Zinn wants to show history from the point of view of the victims, those who did not come out as winners. Chapter one covers Columbus, the Indians, and Human Progress. He writes about the native people on the Bahama Islands saying, “[they] were remarkable (European observers were to say again and again) for their hospitality, their belief in sharing” (Zinn 1). He quotes Columbus saying, “‘[the Indians] are so naïve and so free with their possessions that no one who has not witnessed them would believe it. When you ask for something they have, they never say no. To the contrary,
In Loewen’s book, Lies My Teacher Told Me, talks about the real point of view of textbooks in the classroom. Many textbooks create this idea of Heroification, were people from the past are perfect creatures without conflicts and pain. The idea is to influence the students to strive for great things and become like these people. However, by showing only the good side of people or events is misleading. We need to show both sides- the good and the bad in order to show a complete picture of the past. Another, thing textbooks do is hid events or makes them more simplistic. Many textbooks show the idea that racism is over, and hid the fact that society is still dealing with racism. The textbook companies do this because they want not to have students have the tough conversations. The la...
...ntinuing story: Developing a culturally sensitive, integrated curriculum in college and elementary classrooms. The Social Studies, 91 no.4 151-8.
Some of the problems when studying history are the texts and documents that have been discovered are only from perspective. Furthermore, on occasion that one perspective is all there may be for historians to study. A good example of this textual imbalance can be found from the texts about the discovery of the New World; more specifically, the letters of Christopher Columbus and Pêro Vaz de Caminha during their voyages to the New World. Plenty of the text from this time is written from the perspective of the Europeans, as the Indigenous population did not have any written text. What this means is that it provided only one perspective, which can drastically hinder how history is interpreted. Columbus’s letter of his first voyage to the Caribbean
Among the many flaws American history textbooks have, one that stands out above the rest is heroification. Heroification is, according to Loewen "A generative process that makes people over into heroes.”(pg.19) Through heroification national heroes such as Christopher Columbus are always portrayed as perfect individuals, with only the best intentions and absolutely no flaws. Textbooks use heroification to inspire, and instate a sense of national pride in students. Though it may instate a sense of national pride in students, it does not present the truth. Heroification leaves out important details of these "heroes" lives, and only presents trivial melodramatic details. By doing this students will never really fully understand why our "heroes" did what they did, and will never know the truth.
The cultural diversity in society, which is reflected in schools, is forcing schools not to solely rely on content-centered curriculum, but to also incorporate student-centered lesson plans based on critique and inquiry. This requires multicultural education to a dominant part of the school system, not just an extra course or unit. Further, it demands that learning itself no longer be seen as obtaining knowledge but rather, education be seen as creating knowledge. Multicultural education should be seen as affirming the diversity of students and communities, promoting the multicultural ideas of the United States, and building the knowledge and behaviors needed for students to be a positive and contributing member of society and the global community as a whole.