Reply #54: I teach early American History

[doni_georgia]

What I see is that most of the teachers at my school leave pretty much just teach the traditional first Thanksgiving story. They do not teach their kids about the religion and politics of the time. Our book offers about 1 page to the Puritans and although it does treat the Puritans and Separatists as separate entities, it muddies the waters a bit. I teach my students extensively on this period, because I believe it is very important to what would occur later. I spend a great deal of time on studying the early colonies and how the New England, Middle, and Southern colonies differed. I go into great detail of the religions of the New England colonies and what religious tolerance looked like as opposed to what religious intolerance looked like. My little fourth grade history nuts can tell anyone the difference between the Separatist Pilgrims of Plimouth and the Puritans of Connecticut. They can explain Quaker beliefs and why the Puritans found them so odd as to accuse them of witchcraft. Most of the kids in my school are Baptist and have had little if any exposure to other religious beliefs. For that reason, I take great care to teach the religious dynamics of the colonial period to my students. I had kids in my class who did not know what Catholocism was. None had ever heard of the Episcopal church, nor had any ever heard of Quakers. My guess is most of these kids parents have never stepped foot into a church other than a Baptist one themselves. Most adults I know are woefully ignorant about early American history and religion. People just assume things are the way they have always been.