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Who Really Discovered America?

Parents, teachers, Board members, and Seniors (5th- and 6th-grade students) gathered on September 27 for the Middle Schoolers’ presentations about Who Really Discovered America.  The Seniors did a wonderful job listening, taking notes, and, after contemplation and discussion, deciding that the true discoverers of America are the Siberians or Paleo-Indians, who walked into the continent perhaps as early as 30,000 years ago, according to new evidence.  Claims by students representing the Japanese, Polynesians, Chinese, and West Africans also garnered some votes from our audience.  Presenters and audience both grappled with the definition of “discover,” with many coming away feeling that America has been discovered multiple times by multiple groups, and that some discoveries get more attention than others.  After presenting, Middle Schoolers reflected that they now understand how dynamic history is, as new evidence can challenge long-standing theories. Congratulations to the Middle Schoolers for an excellent and eye-opening presentation!

Many thanks to Coe Sweet Photography for capturing the presentations.

Joan of Arc Trial

NBS 7th & 8th Graders propose alternative to Columbus Day

After studying and researching claims of “Who Really Discovered America?” the North Branch School 7th and 8th graders decided to act upon what they learned. The class wrote a letter proposing Columbus Day no longer be a holiday and suggesting alternatives. Their request went to Senators Kaine and Warner, Representatives Hurt and Goodlatte, and President Obama:

We are a group of Middle Schoolers from North Branch School in Afton, Virginia.  We have been studying the “discovery” of America, and we would like to propose a new holiday instead of Columbus Day.  Christopher Columbus should not have a day named for him.  Instead, we think there should be an Indigenous People’s Appreciation Day (IPAD) or a Discoverers’ Day. 

Columbus was a cruel, selfish person.  He decreased the Taino population (the native population of Haiti) by millions.  Before he arrived, the estimated population was 8,000,000.  Fifty years later, the Taino were almost extinct because of attacks, suicide, illness, kidnapping, and more.  The Spaniards went on to enslave other people, too, including the Maya, Aztec, and Inca people.  Columbus mistreated so many people and then took over the Indians’ land.  For example, he cut off natives’ noses, ears, and hands, forced them to gather gold and cotton for him, and attacked them with dogs.  He kidnapped and enslaved hundreds of Taino and sent them back to Spain.  Many didn’t survive the trip. He mistreated women, as well.  To make matters worse, he did not discover America.  There were millions of people already in the Americas when Columbus arrived.  Therefore, we think Columbus should not have a national holiday named after him.  It’s like winning the Nobel Peace Prize for starting a war!

We think the USA should change the name of the holiday to Indigenous People’s Appreciation Day or Discoverers’ Day.  We think that schools should teach about all the people who were already here, and all of the explorers who made trips to America, whether they were discoveries or not.  These explorers all deserve recognition for their effort.  The Indigenous People deserve appreciation for their sacrifices, such as their lives, land, resources, beliefs, rights, and way of life.

This new holiday would be a way of recognizing the contributions of many people to America.  Removing Columbus’s name from the holiday acknowledges that he is not someone we want to emulate.  Changing the holiday would help people be more aware of our history and not repeat the past.  We hope you agree and will work to make this happen.  (We just heard that Vermont and Colorado have already changed their holiday’s name!)

Sincerely,

Victor, Luke, Baylan, Kieran, Rysun, Julian, Emily, Francesca, Wilson, Elizabeth, Ailey, Leza, Sage, Ty, Ian, Russell, Nhandi, and Ella

Students in the Middle School Class

(Teacher:  Katrien Vance)

North Branch School

Afton, VA

P.S. We still would not like to have school on whatever holiday we have.

Who REALLY Discovered America?

It’s a question that scholars are still debating.  Our Middle School students watched a History Channel video of the same title, which presents many, but not all, of the claims. Based on notes they took and classroom discussions, students chose the discoverer they wanted to represent. This is the first time in over 15 years that no Middle Schooler chose to represent Christopher Columbus. The students spent two weeks researching, adding information to their notes, creating visual aids such as maps, and preparing a presentation of their evidence. On September 27, the teams of discovery claimants made their cases to classmates, students in 5th and 6th grades, and parents. After extensive note taking, questioning, and discussion, the largest number of 5th & 6th grade students were convinced that the Polynesians were the true discoverers of America. The parents watching were more reluctant to declare a winner, but commented that there were theories they had not heard of before, and that every team gave them a lot to think about.

Who REALLY discovered America?

On Tuesday, the Middle Schoolers debated Who Really Discovered America?” The students presented twelve different people or groups, all demanding credit for the discovery.  Which one will convince you?  You might be surprised.  Watch the video below and then decide what you think. The audience included family members and the Senior class, who took notes and voted on the group they found most believable. Update, 10/12/12: the Solutreans won the vote!

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