Just for Teachers
Teaching with Respect & Sensitivity

When studying about 17th-century Plymouth or visiting Plimoth Plantation, students will encounter two cultures that are probably quite unfamiliar to them. Teachers can help students by preparing them to approach the colonists and native Wampanoag with curiosity and an open mind.

But students can't begin to move beyond a surface impression of these or other cultures, until they accept the equality and worth of people who may be very different from themselves. People from other cultures, both past and present, are not just "us in funny clothes." A culture is a distinct group bound by shared customs, languages, arts and behaviors.

The challenge for educators is to help students recognize their own cultural biases and to avoid judging others by their own standards. It can be especially challenging to respect cultures of the past, since we tend to feel superior to "primitive" people.

Sensitivity is acting with respect. When encountering other cultures, it is our responsibility to be polite and respectful as we get to know the people of that culture. While we can endeavor to learn and have empathy for cultures other than our own, we can never know what it is like to be them. It is considered disrespectful by the Wampanoag to dress as they do or to re-create their ceremonial activities. Doing so implies a simplistic and one-dimensional view of what makes up the Wampanoag culture.

Once students learn to be respectful, they can begin to identify and value perspectives other than their own. By better understanding the people of 17th-century Patuxet and Plymouth, students can begin to see how each group's cultural ways determined their actions and, ultimately, the course of history in New England. This more thoughtful approach will help students avoid the stereotypes and superficial judgements which could lead to insensitive and hurtful behavior on Plimoth Plantation's sites.

Cultures at Plimoth Plantation

When studying Plymouth Colony in the classroom or preparing for a field trip, we urge you not to study only the "Pilgrims." The story of the English colonists and the Wampanoag in the 17th century involves the oppression of one group of people by another. Native People today are still feeling the impact of this imposition. By considering only the struggles and courage of the colonists, students may not realize the devastating effect colonization had on the Wampanoag.

Plimoth Plantation strives to present the events of 17th-century Plymouth from many perspectives - not just the Wampanoag and colonists' perspectives, but those of individuals within these groups. In doing so, we hope museum visitors can begin to see why people of the past made the decisions they did. Rather than merely judging the choices made by the colonists or Wampanoag as right or wrong, we hope visitors will try to understand why the decisions were made.

Before students can begin to appreciate why the colonists and Wampanoag might have thought and acted as they did, they need to confront the assumptions and misinformation that have influenced our view of these two cultures. They need to realize, for instance, that the English colonists did not wear buckles on their shoes and hats and that they did not believe in religious toleration. They should also recognize the inappropriateness of stereotyping Native People by war whoops or by considering them super-human or sub-human.

Education Programs

hours: from 9:00 am to 5:30 pm, 7 days a week March 22 through November 30, 2008
address: 137 Warren Avenue, Plymouth, MA 02360 USA
telephone: 1 + 508 746 1622