The Statue Situation

It’s Columbus Day. In the past, I’ve asked teachers on our Facebook page if they teach their students about Christopher Columbus. It’s a touchy subject, with some teachers ignoring the day completely and others giving brief facts about the man. And that led me to think: What about statues and monuments to Christopher Columbus? I know they’re out there. I discovered this article from history.com that spotlights the issue. And so I was curious, teacher friends–if it were up to you, would you:

  1. Leave statues of Christopher Columbus alone.
  2. Remove statues of Christopher Columbus.
  3. Add plaques near the statues giving a true history of the man.

 

 


8 thoughts on “The Statue Situation

  1. I agree, it is history. But history that needs to be righted. Most explorers were not nice men. They ravaged the countries they discovered. That was left out of history books when I was a child. You share history so that we don’t repeat the mistakes of the past. Keep the statues but add a plaque.

  2. I agree – leave them. It is part of our history & removing a statue won’t change that. All we can do is learn from it and teach history in perspective (perspective at the time & our perspective today).

  3. I agree leave all the statues alone. I can see adding plagues to tell the true story. But tearing them down is destroying our history and the chance to learn from it. Perhaps we need to teach the truth though

  4. Taking down the statue of Christopher Columbus or any other historical figure for that matter, neither compensates for his crimes nor makes significant progress in solving centuries-long consequences. Taking it down only makes us feel momentarily virtuous. The country cannot change its past, but it can take action to reflect that past more accurately.
    Plaques can be placed on the statue(s) to explain controversies surrounding their existence.
    It should be used as an educational monument to help people understand the reality of this history.

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