"He did so! It's written on the first page of our schoolbook!" (Satrapi, 19)
I love the childlike innocence of believing whatever you are told. Growing up, I learned about Christopher Columbus. I was not the best student but I remember thinking how brave and amazing he was, sailing to a new world, discovering a new world, taking his discovery back to his people. And then, in college sociology, I learned that Columbus was a drunk, abusing his own people and dogs in horrific ways and treating the natives like dirt. That last part is not really surprising, but still.
I felt as if my eyes were open for the first time. As if I had been lied to my whole childhood and now I was old enough to be taught the truth. I still have a little of that childlike innocence, but I don't always believe things just because I learn about it in a textbook, regardless of the age of student it is intended for.
Hi, Jennifer. This is a really good observation. Why do we teach children to believe in all of these cultural ideals and then later provide the truth? I have a feeling that part of school is indocrination. We want children to have a shared understanding of the good things in our culture, but I wonder how much harm that does when they find out, as they inevitably will, that aspects of those good things are lies? Nancy
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