Staci Stawar, Andrea Streckfuss, Alecia Williamson, Chrissy Wilson
Final Project Topic Justification Paper
Too often in public schools, teachers teach the history straight from the one-sided, politically correct texts without ever encouraging students to question or search for history that may have been lost or forgotten. As educators, we teach students that the White man came and turned a savage nation into a civilized one. However, as educators, we also need to teach our students that the United Stated has made some grave errors and caused great calamity for many people. Often, these negative stories are lost, only to be replaced with ones that spur patriotism. Nevertheless, these stories must be told and their outcomes should and must be recognized and cherished.
One such forgotten subject that this group longs to educate our children about is the Underground Railroad. Yes, we teach our children that the US enslaved an entire nation of people and that they risked death and other cruel punishments by escaping on the Underground Railroad. But, what we fail to teach them is the courage and bravery of these African American slaves. So often, we focus on the oppression and belittlement of African Americans in the 1800’s that we scarce think about what these people have overcome and how strong they are today.
Rather than focus on the illegal aspect of the Underground Railroad or its reason for existence, we want to focus on its success and profound impact it had not only on the abolition of slavery but on the advancement of the race as a whole. The Underground Railroad enforces the value of the African American race when we consider their bravery, their wisdom, their peacefulness, and their humbleness.
Instead of teaching lessons and having students memorize facts and destinations of the Underground Railroad, we want them to learn from, to understand, to respect, to relate to, and to remember the Underground Railroad, its passengers, and its conductors. Children should learn of the brilliance of using quilt squares as maps to freedom, the secrecy of spirituals, and the special traditions like “jumping the broom,” all of which originated because of the Underground Railroad.
Not only do students need to learn the often forgotten legacy of the Underground Railroad, they also need to learn to question, to be inquirers. Present students with this information and allow them to form their own opinions and judgments on the matter rather than telling them what is write and what is wrong. Despite what our texts often preach, history is not black and white, it is one massive fog of gray.
Therefore, we hope by educating our students about the Underground Railroad and its richness, they may have a better understanding and appreciation of not only the struggle of African Americans but the struggles of all oppressed people. The only way to prevent this history from being repeated is by educating our students about the atrocities of the past. Also, we want them to be beings that think and question, that refuse to take anything at face-value. Even if we only open one mind, that is still one more open-mind amongst millions of closed ones.