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Saturday, March 2, 2013

Is Your School Mascot Insulting Someone? - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher

Is Your School Mascot Insulting Someone? - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher:


Is Your School Mascot Insulting Someone?

I am pretty much the walking embodiment of political correctness. I think that a lot of what's sarcastically labeled "PC" is also, deep down, morally correct. When it comes to school mascots, however--and the ongoinglawsuit-based drive to rid high schools of their Native American/Tribal/American Indian mascots and nicknames--I find myself wondering if this battle isn't the elevation of form over substance.
Don't get me wrong. I understand that America has been maligning, ignoring and mistreating its citizens who lived here first, for four or five centuries now. And I believe that schools should take responsibility for teaching good citizenship, and nurture respect for the inherent worth and dignity of all peoples. But frankly, I'm a lot more worried about the Pilgrims-as-heroes "Thanksgiving story" curriculum, beginning in kindergarten. Glossing over those smallpox-infested blankets and mass slaughters in American History textbooks is more offensive than the