Basil,

John Paul Jones was a pirate - not the sort of person who is we want to
inspire our young people. He was forgiven his criminal acts on the high seas
in exchange for his agreement to only commit his criminal acts against
British ships. He continued his piracy under the guise of the US Navy.

It was problematic for at least one first grade teacher whose dismay was in
part  responsible for my setting up the Famous Americans website. The summer
I got it up to speed, the SOLs were changed and John Paul Jones was off the
list.

The SOLs = Standards of Learning - the learning objectives for Virginia
students. Go to: http://www.pen.k12.va.us and search for Standards of 
Learning.

Nat Turner is not specifically noted in the SOLs. How much is taught
probably depends on what is in the textbooks used in 5th and 11th grades.

In general, Nat Turner should be taught about as a "freedom fighter". He
sought to free the slaves by doing away with the slaveowners who oppressed
them. Typically, the slaveowners over-reacted to his attempt and squashed
the cry for freedom under more oppression.


Anne

Anne Pemberton
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http://www.erols.com/apembert
http://www.educationalsynthesis.org

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