to want to correct DS's teacher?

[cornflakegirl]

DS1 is in Y1. He came home yesterday saying that they'd learned about Christopher Columbus, and how everyone was against his trip because they thought the world was flat. I told him that that wasn't true, and that people had known for a long time before that the world is round. I'm wondering if I should write a note to his teacher to point out the error. I know it's not particularly important in the grand scheme of things, but it is a pervasive myth and it leaves children with the impression that people then were a bit stupid. So AIBU?

I remember being taught that people were against his trip for the same reason the teacher gave your son. I'm gonna have to double check now

I'd point it out stating your son came home with a story to tell that was just that, and you would like him to be told the facts!

FFS.

I'm not even going to grace this with a biscuit.

why dont you google it, stick it in ds's book discretely

I think the world's looking a bit pear shaped at the moment.

same as LDNmummy, was always told he wanted to proove the world was round.

YANBU at all. But it's not necessarily her fault if she's been told it herself. Wikipedia says it was listed as 2nd of 20 most pervasive myths about history in the 1940s. I think it's worth correcting her, but no idea of the most tactful way of doing it?

Maybe a big lie saying 'Dear Ms X, I thought you might be interested to know that, when little Cornflake came home talkinga bout Christopher Columbus, he wanted to know mroe about him, so we looked him up on the internet and we found out that the flat earht thing is a myth! Have a look at - I was really surprised as I had no idea it was so much earlier that humans had known the earth was round! Love Cornflake Girl

SoAngry - why the FFS?

did she tell them he was the first to discover America as well? I would correct her and not feel awkward about it at all.

maisieMoo I just snorted pepsi max.

OP - get him to google it or read an information book and learn the facts for himself - much more productive and educational for him.

Flamingo - you're way more tactful than me!

chillichill - don't know, but I guess probably. I might let her get away with that though - he might not have been the first, but he was one of the first, wasn't he? (Apart from everyone living there, obviously!)

mumbar - think I'll do that actually. Like you say - it'll be good for him, plus there's a good chance that he'll tell everyone else in the class and save me the bother ;)

MaisyMoo

YANBU to correct in a polite way, then there will be at least one bunch of children with more accurate knowledge.

As an aside, even if people then did think the earth was flat, the children shouldn't interpret that as stupidity! This could be a good chance to explain how facts build up over time, and things that seem painfully obvious now were not obvious in the past etc.