I'm amazed.
I shouldn't be...but I am.
Totally and utterly amazed.
According to a news article, Bill Morgan, an elementary school teacher in Long Beach, Ca., decided to teach his class a new variation on an old theme. He walked into class and began snatching pencils, books, and other bits of property from the students. Because afterall, he said, isn't that what the pilgrims did? It outraged the kids who immediately wanted their property back. Bingo! said Mr. Morgan. That's how the Indians -- who apparently were nomadic and didn't believe in "owning" something -- felt.
Come on, Mr. Morgan! What are you really accomplishing by teaching what you consider the "truth" on history made nearly 400 years ago??
What do we really know about that time period? No one alive then is alive today. We only have what was written by the early settlers...and what was passed down orally by the Native Americans. Hmmmm....
I worked for 3 years as a reporter. I tried very hard to be accurate in my reporting. I wanted to represent whomever I reported on in the most exact way I could. Did I ever misquote them? Absolutely. I'm human. My ears can only hear so fast, and my pencil only write as quickly as my fingers can help it.
Can we really know exactly what happened during that first Thanksgiving? Or is there some surmising on both sides?
Teach the truth, Mr. Morgan.
It's fairly basic. There were pilgrims. There were Indians. Both had some issues, but somehow managed to overcome those in order to share a meal together to give thanks for the pilgrims making it through another year. Friendships were formed. Agreements were made. They traded recipes and farming tips. Somehow they went on to live in "perfect" harmony....
And that's what should be taught. Not the mistakes made (and there were plenty, I'm sure)...but the good stuff that was learned and practiced afterwards.
That's the kind of world we want for our kids.
Because we cannot rewrite history...only learn and grow from it.
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Just for giggles and grins, perhaps our government should try a re-enactment of its own. Have a "First Thanksgiving" feast together...to give thanks for what we as a nation have.
2 comments:
Love it! You hit the nail right on the head! You need a column...
XXX!
A.
BRAVO! As both an Indian and a "pilgrim" (okay, my "pilgrim" family arrived via Ellis Island 350ish years later...) I have had it up to my plaid feathered head dress with the "Native American politically friendly history". Us Indians (and I do not know of one Indian who calls them self a Native American unless they are running for some political office) are very proud but also know when to carry forward and not look back. We live for the future, not the past. Had it not been for those pilgrims, MANY of us mixed bloods would not exist. Unless of course there had been an Indian invasion across the pond. That would have been an interesting re-writing of history, LOL!
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