Madelynne Brazile

I have used the Columbus trial lesson from the Zinn Education Project website, and it went fantastically well. I teach high school Spanish, and this lesson completely changed their outlook on: (1) Who Columbus actually was; and (2) What we as Americans value as a society. I saw their critical thinking skills broaden before my eyes, and the lesson was so easy to maneuver for me!

Plus, the Spanish version of “Los cargos” made it that much easier to differentiate the lessons. Now that they understand the beginning of Europeans in the New World, we’ll continue through the study of Latin American history throughout the next two years. I felt it important that they understand where much of the ill will started in this history, and between Columbus and Pizarro, I now believe that they have a good grasp of that. Thanks for your help in making this AWESOME unit!