VOA慢速英语--美国学校希望扩大感恩节历史的教学

US Schools Look to Expand Teachings of Thanksgiving History

More American schools are rethinking the ways they teach the history of Thanksgiving.

Students often learn that the holiday dates back to 1621, when English settlers in the present-day United States shared a thanksgiving meal with Native Americans.

But in some schools, teachings about the history of this major U.S. holiday have become more complex. Lessons now include issues of conflict and injustice¹. They also include greater attention to the people who lived on the land long before European settlers arrived and named it "New England."

Schools in New England and other places are beginning to hear more about what some experts call "hard history" - shameful² events of the past.

The students may still learn about the meal that is said to have taken place in 1621. But they also learn that relations between white settlers and Native Americans were uneasy. And they learn about the resulting years of conflict.

Language arts teacher Susannah Remillard had noticed that her sixth-grade students had been taught much more about the English settlers than the Wampanoag people, the Native Americans who sat down with them to eat. She said she now tries to add more balance to her lessons.

"We carry this Colonial view of how we teach, and now we have a moment to step outside that and think about whether that is harmful for kids, and if there isn't a better way," said Remillard, who teaches at Cape³ Cod⁴ Lighthouse Charter School in East Harwich, Massachusetts. "I think we are at a point where people are now ready to listen."

Arlington Public Schools near Boston, Massachusetts is working to expand its lessons on Native Americans. This includes pointing out what educators and other experts call Thanksgiving "myths" -- untrue stories and ideas.

Students as young as 5 years old learn that harvest feasts and thanksgiving were part of Wampanoag life long before 1621. They are also taught that the early settlers - known as Pilgrims -- and the Wampanoag were not friends.

School officials believe it is important to, in their words, "unlearn" false ideas about the Thanksgiving holiday feast.

"We don't want the coloring books of the Pilgrims and the Native Americans," said Crystal Power, a social studies teacher with Arlington Public Schools. "We want students to engage with what really happened, with who lived here first, and to understand that there was no such thing as the New World."

Groups that support Native American education welcome the recent wave of action at schools in Massachusetts and other states. But they also say that progress has been slow and uneven⁵. Schools in many places, they say, still teach insensitive, outdated⁶ lessons.

"Progress seems to be gaining momentum⁷, but there's still a lot of work to do," said Ed Schupman. He oversees⁸ Native Knowledge 360, the national education effort at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. He is also a citizen of the Muscogee Creek⁹ Nation of Oklahoma.

Schupman and the museum have worked with states as they create new lessons on Native American cultures. Some states now require schools to teach such histories. Even in states where such lessons are not required, however, classrooms are becoming more inclusive.

School officials say they are not changing history, but adding parts that have been left out. Usual social studies school books have included little about Native Americans. And, classroom materials that included more about Native Americans were hard to find. Teachers say that is changing, thanks to native experts who have written children's books, lesson plans and other materials.

In Massachusetts this year, every public school is getting copies of a new state history book that a Wampanoag writer and historian helped create. The book was published in time for the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the Mayflower -- the ship that carried a group of European settlers to North America. But the book tells about the history of the Wampanoag people, and includes information from thousands of years before the Pilgrims' arrival.

Before the coronavirus crisis, schools around Boston organized yearly visits from Annawon Weeden, a performing artist and member of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe.

Weeden chooses to arrive in classrooms wearing modern clothes. He aims to push back against false ideas about Indigenous¹⁰ people today. After taking questions from students, he changes into traditional clothing and demonstrates tribal¹¹ dances.

"A lot of the kids think we're only in the past. A lot of the kids think we live in a longhouse or a teepee or whatever," Weeden said. "Stereotypes¹² like those are very hard to defeat."

Words in This Story

feast - n. a special meal with large amounts of food and drink

engage - v. to get and keep (someone's attention, interest, etc.)

momentum - n. the strength or force that allows something to continue or to grow stronger or faster as time passes

insensitive - adj. showing that you do not know or care about the feelings of other people

longhouse - n. the traditional homes of the Iroquois and some other North American groups

tepee - n. a tent that is shaped like a cone and that was used in the past by some Native Americans as a house

1 injustice   

n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利

参考例句：

• They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
• All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。

2 shameful   

adj.可耻的，不道德的

参考例句：

• It is very shameful of him to show off.他向人炫耀自己，真不害臊。
• We must expose this shameful activity to the newspapers.我们一定要向报社揭露这一无耻行径。

3 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

4 cod   

n.鳕鱼；v.愚弄；哄骗

参考例句：

• They salt down cod for winter use.他们腌鳕鱼留着冬天吃。
• Cod are found in the North Atlantic and the North Sea.北大西洋和北海有鳕鱼。

5 uneven   

adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的

参考例句：

• The sidewalk is very uneven—be careful where you walk.这人行道凹凸不平—走路时请小心。
• The country was noted for its uneven distribution of land resources.这个国家以土地资源分布不均匀出名。

6 outdated   

adj.旧式的，落伍的，过时的；v.使过时

参考例句：

• That list of addresses is outdated,many have changed.那个通讯录已经没用了，许多地址已经改了。
• Many of us conform to the outdated customs laid down by our forebears.我们许多人都遵循祖先立下的过时习俗。

7 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

8 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网

9 creek   

n.小溪，小河，小湾

参考例句：

• He sprang through the creek.他跳过小河。
• People sunbathe in the nude on the rocks above the creek.人们在露出小溪的岩石上裸体晒日光浴。

10 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

11 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

12 stereotypes   

n.老套，模式化的见解，有老一套固定想法的人( stereotype的名词复数 )v.把…模式化，使成陈规( stereotype的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Such jokes tend to reinforce racial stereotypes. 这样的笑话容易渲染种族偏见。
• It makes me sick to read over such stereotypes devoid of content. 这种空洞无物的八股调，我看了就讨厌。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》