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Throughout the interview process we realized that revealing factual knowledge contradictions generally did not elicit a response beyond, "Oh okay...cool." What was made apparent to us was that many teachers are choosing not to teach students about Christopher Columbus because of the controversy surrounding him and his voyages.
When teachers on Facebook were asked about how they teach Christopher Columbus, a majority of respondents said that they do not mention him in their curriculum.
A first grade teacher said that she mentions him on “Columbus Day” as part of a standard about national holidays.
Several teachers mentioned that they used to teach about him but have ceased those lessons since they learned more about the disappointing truths.
Specifically teaching about Christopher Columbus is not mentioned in any educational standards.
The problem we have discovered is that instead of simplifying the topic of Christopher Columbus as our elementary teachers did, teachers are now excluding the subject, assuming that it will be taught to students later.
The question then becomes: Is it better to simplify a subject when introducing it at a young age or leave it out in hopes of avoiding misconceptions when the subject is taught at a later age?