Thanksgiving lessons jettison Pilgrim hats, welcome truth
November 24, 2020 2:37PM AKST
Susannah Remillard, right, works with one of her sixth-grade students at Cape Cod Lighthouse Charter School, Thursday, Nov. 19, 2020, in East Harwich, Mass. In a growing number of U.S. schools, students are now learning a more complex Thanksgiving story that involves conflict, injustice and a new focus on the native people who lived in New England for hundreds of years before European settlers arrived. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
By COLLIN BINKLEY AP Education Writer
BOSTON (AP) — More U.S. schools are rethinking traditional Thanksgiving lessons that focus on the English settlers but teach little about Native Americans. They are updating lessons to include more about the Wampanoag people, the Native Americans who attended the 1621 feast. In Arlington schools near Boston, students are getting new lessons this year meant to debunk common myths around the holiday. Advocates for native education applaud the recent wave of action but they also warn that there’s much to improve. They say that progress has been slow and spotty and that many schools still teach outdated and insensitive lessons.
