My dear friend Sonya, curious about homeschooling I suppose, wondered what we were doing for Columbus Day. Would I teach my kids about Columbus as courageous explorer or obnoxious conqueror? Should he be celebrated or despised? What about immigration? Manifest destiny?
How could I tell her that I actually, um, hadn't really thought about it? That we didn't really have anything planned. That I usually forget that it's a holiday until I can't figure out why I didn't get any mail. But now of course, I did think about it. And then providentially, I realized that our next history lesson was on Columbus and his illustrious voyage to America.
Two years ago, when we took our kids out of school and began our homeschool adventure, we decided to review history from the beginning, back to the Sumerians, Egyptians and friends. We've spent two years travelling through the Greeks, the Romans, the Middle Ages and the dawn of the Renaissance. And then wouldn't you know it, TA-DA! just in time for Columbus Day, we had reached the story of Columbus! So this morning, we read how Columbus tried for years and then finally convinced Ferdinand and Isabella to loan him some ships for his crazy plan of going to India the "short way."
Afterwards we had a theatrical reading. I found a play about Columbus in an old book I have, sweetly entitled Holiday Programs for Boys and Girls. The plays are rather cheesy and intended for large classes, but once the little brother was down for his nap, we made it work. My highly dramatic daughter read the part of Columbus with great undulations of voice and sweeping of arms to distant horizons, my son read the part of Pedro his steward with a little help from mama, and we all chimed in as the grumbling sailors, ready to throw Columbus in the drink and skeedaddle back to Spain.
The setting is October 10, 1492 and things are coming to a head. Columbus pleads (dramatically) with the sailors for another two days of sailing, promising that he'll turn back if they haven't sighted land by then. Then the play wraps up with Columbus saying, "As I told you before, Pedro, I need only a day or two more. It is the voice of destiny telling me." What a line! I am sure I'll hear that again soon, as in: "Mom, we need a kitten. It is the voice of destiny telling me!" "Mom, I didn't finish my chores because I knew you would do them. It was the voice of destiny telling me!"
So anyway, that was our Columbus Day play. Afterwards we talked a little about some of the ramifications of Columbus' voyage. How he was an amazingly courageous and singleminded man. But how he was also so into his own glory that he took advantage of the ignorance of the native peoples to get it. How taking advantage of other people's ignorance for any purpose is Not Good.
Then we talked about why we have Columbus Day anyway. I recall as a kid wondering why he got his own special American holiday. In the first place, he wasn't American. He came from Spain, but was actually Italian...kind of. Add the fact that he didn't even land in New Jersey or Wisconsin or Florida or anywhere slightly American, and it was rather confusing. The kids agreed with me. If we're going to celebrate explorers, we think Lewis and Clark are pretty cool. That was one big hike. And if we're going there, I think that in honor of Sacagawea, who went the whole way with her baby on her back, we should all get a whole week off.
