OKCPS Banned Land Run

[Tydude]

I am being told by a Friend of mine that OKCPS has announced that it will banned the Land Run in its Elementary Schools. Big News for the state of Oklahoma

[ljbab728]

I am being told by a Friend of mine that OKCPS has announced that it will banned the Land Run in its Elementary Schools. Big News for the state of Oklahoma

Maybe we should wait until there is some official information about that before getting too excited.

[BrettM2]

Maybe we should wait until there is some official information about that before getting too excited.

What?!? Miss the opportunity to overreact based on incomplete or untrue information?

[ZYX2]

I am being told by a Friend of mine that OKCPS has announced that it will banned the Land Run in its Elementary Schools. Big News for the state of Oklahoma

Not really big news, many other schools in oklahoma have already stopped reenacting the Land Run.

[Mel]

Really don't want to teach them cheaters get ahead.

[hoya]

I am being told by a Friend of mine that OKCPS has announced that it will banned the Land Run in its Elementary Schools. Big News for the state of Oklahoma

Why do you hate the English language so much? You are killing it!

I count three separate verb tenses in your first sentence alone.

I am being -- This is the present participle.

OKCPS has announced -- This is the past tense.

that it will -- This is future.

banned -- Now we are back to past tense.

[dankrutka]

Any land run reenactments should be accompanied by lessons that detail the mistreatment and broken treaties/laws/promises from the federal government and many profiteering individuals. When the land run is taught simply as a celebration it is problematic because it whitewashes history. However, this doesn't mean that the land run could be done in responsible ways. I think the district should recommend historically accurate ways of doing this instead of banning it... if that is what is even happening.

[Urbanized]

Yeah, simply ignoring it isn't the answer. It's an incredibly important part of our history. So are the 1830 Indian Removal Act, the Trail of Tears and plenty of other (not always happy) lessons from Oklahoma's past that deserve thoughtful teaching.

[ZYX2]

I'd be surprised if OKCPS banned teaching of the Land Run. I took it as they would no longer allow reenactments of it, but I may be wrong.

[Urbanized]

And yet a properly-staged reenactment can be a powerful way to teach it to young minds. We just have to make sure they get the full story to go along with it.

[turnpup]

I agree with what all of you said above about teaching it responsibly, etc. Having said that, at the school my daughter attends, they do the re-enactment/celebration thing in the second grade. I'm not sure second-graders are quite ready to comprehend the realities of that situation. At least not in a detailed way. But I could be wrong...

[dankrutka]

I agree with what all of you said above about teaching it responsibly, etc. Having said that, at the school my daughter attends, they do the re-enactment/celebration thing in the second grade. I'm not sure second-graders are quite ready to comprehend the realities of that situation. At least not in a detailed way. But I could be wrong...

The point is that we don't lie about or mythologize history for children of any age. You just put it in terms that are age appropriate. So, of course, you don't discuss the worst aspects of abuse, but children have discussions on what's fair/right daily.

I often talk to my pre-service teachers about appropriate ways to teach Columbus Day that doesn't ignore the cruelty, murder, rape, and eventual genocide by the Spanish to the Arawak/Taino people, but accurately deals with the significance of Columbus' voyage AND deals with the human rights atrocities that followed. With older kids they read accounts from varying perspectives (Spanish, cruelty of Spanish cruelty Bartolome de las Casas, etc.) including the brutal stuff, but with younger kids you have to at least not tell the myths and make sure they get a sense of the Native perspective, culture, etc. It's actually pretty easy to do and I've seen first graders have great discussions about it that were appropriate and historically accurate.

[ZYX2]

I strongly agree that history should not be made into little tales with varying degrees of accuracy in order to accommodate children. However, referring specifically to holding a land run reenactment, how could it be accomplished in a manner that did not promote the settlers over the Native Americans? How could the detrimental impacts to Native Americans accurately be portrayed in a way that elementary students could recreate and understand with reasonable accuracy?

Please don't take my thoughts the wrong way. I do not believe that young children aren't intelligent enough to be capable of understanding this piece of history. Children have strong, curious minds and, as dankrutka said, can have great discussions about complex issues. However, in this specific situation, how could a land run reenactment be held without turning it into some sort of celebration?

[Jim Kyle]

However, referring specifically to holding a land run reenactment, how could it be accomplished in a manner that did not promote the settlers over the Native Americans? How could the detrimental impacts to Native Americans accurately be portrayed in a way that elementary students could recreate and understand with reasonable accuracy?

Speaking strictly of the Run itself, not the events that preceded or followed it, I'm not aware of any "detrimental impacts to Native Americans" that were involved. The Run was into the "unassigned lands," which were not part of any of the nations, and I'm not aware of any native Americans being displaced by settlers. On the contrary, by that time the Cherokee had more or less resigned themselves to coexisting with the influx of whites. The Bushyhead family, for example, proudly trace their ancestry to a red-headed Scot who joined the Nation long before 1889. The Chickasaws are spending tons of casino money these days telling folk, via TV, how they were responsible for most all the good things that have happened to this nation. The Cheyennes and Apaches aren't as vocal about it, but they were totally out of the picture in 1889 -- not until the run into the Cherokee Strip were they impacted.

And try to tell the Edmondson family, or the Rogers clan, that the impact of white culture into this area was detrimental. Not to mention the Skinners, Tallchiefs, or Mankillers...

The way in which OKC went from a single railroad station to a city literally overnight is something that can inspire youngsters. And heaven knows far too many of our young need that inspiration these days!

[ZYX2]

Many Native Americans had no cultural concept of land ownership, therefore lands being "unassigned" didn't really mean much to some tribes.

The issue is complex, and deserves more discussion than most schools give it. However, the Native American way of life was definitely impacted. And for many, it was not in their interest.

This article gives a brief account from a Native American standpoint: http://www.nativetimes.com/index.php...ahoma-land-run

[ZYX2]

The way in which OKC went from a single railroad station to a city literally overnight is something that can inspire youngsters. And heaven knows far too many of our young need that inspiration these days!

While interesting, what about this is inspiring to young people?

[turnpup]

I will find out more about what they study relating to the Land Run when the time comes later on this school year. It'll be interesting to see if there's anything more serious discussed/taught. My guess is that there will be. It's a real big deal at her school. What I *do* know is that this year, when studying about the Pilgrims, the kids did learn that the first Thanksgiving in North America was in Canada, that many of the first U.S. Pilgrims died, etc. So it looks like they're being "real" at least to an extent.

I'm all for not sugar-coating things with my child, probably to a fault. Sometimes I wonder if I tell her too much. She seems quite accepting of my level of reality and detail, so hopefully I'm doing all right. Parenting isn't easy. Teaching is probably just as difficult. I certainly admire a person who can sit in a room full of kids all day and actually accomplish something. I couldn't do it.

[OKCisOK4me]

Whether this is true or not it is asinine for it to be possible. We, as adults, think we know whats right when it comes to everything. Look back on your Land Run experiences. Did it really, really, really harm you? I mean seriously, I had one helluva time. I have no remorse or bad feelings for the time I spent re enacting that for way back when. Not a thing is wrong with Land Run Re-Enactment.

[ZYX2]

I had a blast during mine. My wagon fell apart and my "family" was the last to stake a claim.

Just because it's fun doesn't mean it should be continued. That's a really strange logic.

[Jim Kyle]

Many Native Americans had no cultural concept of land ownership, therefore lands being "unassigned" didn't really mean much to some tribes.

Quite true, especially for the nomadic peoples such as the Kiowa, Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Sioux. The "Five Civilized Tribes" (the label applied to them during most of our history, patronizing though it is) on the other hand had a highly developed concept of ownership although the details differed from one nation (a much better term) to another. The Cherokee, in particular, had even embraced the concept of owning people!

I don't believe that a single unified "Native American standpoint" exists, any more than does a single unified "western culture." Viewpoints are intensely personal things, although they tend to be shaped by one's surroundings and one's neighbors. And of course, every culture includes its percentage of extremists, who can be quite vocal...

[windowphobe]

This is probably official enough:

Instagram

Also, there's a meeting Monday night dealing with, um, mascots.

[dankrutka]

Whether this is true or not it is asinine for it to be possible. We, as adults, think we know whats right when it comes to everything. Look back on your Land Run experiences. Did it really, really, really harm you? I mean seriously, I had one helluva time. I have no remorse or bad feelings for the time I spent re enacting that for way back when. Not a thing is wrong with Land Run Re-Enactment.

Done poorly a LandRun reenactment can be incredibly insulting and miseducative. There are some fantastic articles written on this. I'll see if I csn scrounge one up so I don't have to explain the many reasons a LandRun reenactment can be problematic.

Having said that, a LandRun reenactment that is part of a historically accurate curriculum can be educational. It depends on the pedagogical approach.

[jerrywall]

My mother is a elementary school teacher. She regularly dresses up in colonial garb, and such, to teach early american history. She also organizes yearly class trips to Colonial Williamsburg. The idea is to get the young children interested in American history. I guess she should stop because the founding fathers had slaves, took land from Indians, and pushed a white, christian, patriarchy. Jeebus folks.

[dankrutka]

My mother is a elementary school teacher. She regularly dresses up in colonial garb, and such, to teach early american history. She also organizes yearly class trips to Colonial Williamsburg. The idea is to get the young children interested in American history. I guess she should stop because the founding fathers had slaves, took land from Indians, and pushed a white, christian, patriarchy. Jeebus folks.

If you've read this thread I think you'd see that no one is really saying that.

[HangryHippo]

My mother is a elementary school teacher. She regularly dresses up in colonial garb, and such, to teach early american history. She also organizes yearly class trips to Colonial Williamsburg. The idea is to get the young children interested in American history. I guess she should stop because the founding fathers had slaves, took land from Indians, and pushed a white, christian, patriarchy. Jeebus folks.

What are you talking about? I think the point of most of the posts was to illustrate that your mother should be addressing those aspects of our history, as opposed to creating the impression the colonials were flawless pilgrims that prayed to Jesus peacefully around a turkey dinner with the Indians because, well, that wouldn't be history. Your mother would be teaching literary fiction.