Born Araminta Ross in 1820, the life of Harriet Tubman continues to be of monumental courage and determination. As an African-American abolitionist, humanitarian and a Union spy during the Civil War, Tubman greatly contributed in ending slavery and women suffrage. Dubbed as the Black woman whose cruel experiences as a slave in the South led her to seek freedom in the North for herself and for others through the Underground Railroad, Tubman as a self-liberated heroine has a life continuously being glorified in children’s literature, film and history books. Drawing from the bravery demonstrated by Tubman, her life is said to be an exemplification of a particular virtue that will serve as the perfect material for character education intended for elementary schools.
As such, how Tubman fight for freedom, how she managed to be the “conductor” of Underground Railroad and how being “ill and penniless” implicate a character building framework suitable for the young ages in addition to her being a hard working slave and being an emblem of servanthood. Though Tubman was born into slavery, she used her ‘Biblical literacy’ to save more slaves from 19 expeditions even though the act posed greater risks to her own life. Also known as the “Moses of her people”, integrating the life story of Tubman in elementary education would assist pupils to take proactive responsibility in building one’s own characters.
The premise however lies on the extent of effectiveness of the integration with respect to successful character building. This qualitative study will attempt to explore the efficacy of such integration into teaching values through studying of Harriet Tubman’s life. In lieu with this, the paper maintains that having a good character depends on the willingness to do so and not on educational videos. Harriet Tubman though it may influence some students, how she would likely to influence these students is not clear and therefore not achieving the intended purpose of developing a good character.
Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com
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