Please sign this petition to support the revision of educational standards related to the study of "European Explorers" (Christopher Columbus, John Cabot, Juan Ponce de Leon, Vasco Núñez de Balboa, Jacques Cartier, Henry Hudson, etc.). 

Educational standards currently require the study of European explorers in schools. Learning about American and world history are important and the standards should require students to understand history from multiple perspectives.

“Curriculum and lesson plans that continue the glorification of oppressive historical events and leaders are not productively serving our children. Many educational systems do not explicitly address real historical facts from multiple perspectives nor do they authentically focus on character-based education, multicultural learning and civic responsibility.”- Tarece L. Johnson, EdD, CEO The Global Purpose Approach

Teachers should be required to teach historical facts related to European explorers that go beyond celebrating their "achievements" and also teach the impact of their actions on Indigenous people. Educators should also be held accountable to teaching students responsibly. Glorifying European explorers, assigning positive attributes to colonizers, creating life-sized posters and honoring individuals who facilitated genocide and slavery should not be allowed in schools. Celebrating the massacre of Indigenous people and slavery (unconsciously or consciously) should be prohibited. Instead, teachers should be required to responsibly educate students about European explorers as well as other multicultural explorers around the world. 

Standards should be more intentionally inclusive of other diverse explorers around the world (not just European explorers). Teachers are evaluated based on their execution of educational standards and student comprehension of lessons presented. For this reason, The Global Purpose Approach created this petition to get your support to encourage a change in educational standards that exclude facts and do not include diverse people and perspectives. We must teach students historical truths and this starts with revising educational standards that currently honor colonizers (intentionally or unintentionally) and do not explicitly address the impacts of their actions (sponsors and explorers). We must teach our students historical facts related to events, symbols, places and people. 

“If kids are taught to view similar kinds of historic events within the framework of common circumstances rather than as a straight up chronology by region, they could see how the history does repeat itself and how tendencies in human nature are at the heart of conflicts, biases, travesties. Slavery, genocides, exploitation stem from what kind of circumstances? What does that tell you about power and victimization? What can we learn about how we behave towards others?” asks Wendy Kalman, one parent who has signed the petition.

Please sign this petition if you support a change in educational standards that celebrate colonizers and exclude other multicultural explorers who also made an indelible impact in our nation and world. Please sign this petition if you support holding teachers accountable to teaching historical facts and inclusively teaching about the rich diversity of our nation and the world.

* Please also consider donating to the building fund for Global Purpose Academy. *