Columbus School Students Know Namesake’s History, Mostly

It was 1979. No, it was about 50 years ago. No, make that 1492.

That’s when Christopher Columbus set foot in what is now the Americas, students said Monday during lunch at Christopher Columbus Middle School in Canoga Park.

Five hundred and seven years after Columbus set sail for India and landed in the so-called New World, students were a little hazy on the year, but otherwise solid on the history of their school’s namesake.

They knew he left from Spain, dispatched by Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand. They knew there were three ships: the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria. They knew most people thought the world was flat back then and feared sailing right off the edge of the horizon. And they knew Columbus didn’t believe that.

By and large, they were proud their school was named after the Italian explorer.

“Our school was named after a famous sailor because he traveled, like, all over the sea,” explained eighth-grader Moises Orozco, 13, standing in front of a cafeteria mural showing a Spanish ship being tossed on the high seas.

“He was trying to find Asia, but he stumbled upon America,” added eighth-grader Gabriel Gutana.

When it came to whether Columbus was a good guy or a bad guy, opinions were mixed.

“In the beginning, the Indians liked him,” 12-year-old Janine Evans said. “But then they didn’t, because the Europeans were stealing their land. He thought he found the land, and he put a flag in it.”

Columbus Middle School survived the 500th anniversary of Columbus’ landing in the West Indies--and the ensuing national debate about whether the visionary navigator was a hero who belongs in the pantheon of history, or an invading slave trader and mass murderer--without changing its name.

Yet teachers and the interim principal said the history is not taught the way it once was.

“I think most of us in public education have been sensitized to the lives of Native Americans and the fact that their part of history had not been sufficiently told,” said interim Principal Jack Moscowitz. He is a former principal of University High School in West Los Angeles, where the school mascot was changed from Warriors to Wildcats for reasons of racial sensitivity.

For similar reasons, Columbus Middle School did not hold any special celebrations Monday.

“There is nothing that is done on campus specifically to commemorate Columbus or his efforts to land a ship or two on the coastline of this country,” Moscowitz said. “There is also a sensitivity to the Native Americans. We respect [the holiday] and deal with it quietly.”