By Scott Smyers
On November 2, 2023 the Student Representative from the High School provided an update to the School Committee. She was frustrated that dressing up in costumes is no longer allowed in the Junior High or ANY elementary schools.
The student explained the School Committees’ nonsensical reasons included cultural opposition (religion) and economic (not being able to afford costumes). Then she easily refuted why these reasons should be dismissed.
The student concluded with,
Overall, it is important for kids to have joy as part of their schooling experience and Halloween is a great way to provide that opportunity.
I agree with most of the points from the statement, but I disagree with some of the analogies. It is important to put this decision into context and compare it with two other School Committee decisions that have been publicly criticized.
I suspect many students and teachers may relate to the three hypothetical quotes (below) modified for our place in history. These quotes embrace the spirit of the supporters of the School Committee’s objective to undermine traditions and parental rights in the name of equity.
“First they came for The Colonial and I supported it.”
The School Committee claimed that students were/are offended by the word Colonial because it is derived from the word Colony and Colonies are bad (there’s more to it, but that’s about the depth of their reasoning – the fix was in). This offense was so severe it justified changing tradition and rewriting local history to fit their political agenda. The Committee disregarded historical facts, underrepresented potential economic implications, and intimidated pro-Colonial students and teachers.
Furthermore, the Committee disregarded their own naming policy, declined options to extend the process, discounted community concern that was growing as more people were made aware, and the Committee unanimously voted to cancel Colonial.
“Then they came for anti-gay people (parents against exposing children to pornography and hook-up Apps in School Libraries), and I supported it.”
The School Committee claimed that even if a few students could be helped by providing access to books and graphic novels about growing up, self-discovery and sexuality (including topics and images of pornography amongst underage children and how to access online hookup Apps/grooming), it is worth the possible costs. These costs include losing more trust within the community by dismissing concerns from many parents who spoke at meetings and submitted emails.
When Parents learned these books were added to school libraries with no notification to the community, many were critical. The common but baseless ad hominem arguments labeling anyone against pornography in school libraries as anti-gay, book burners, was disturbing and a trend we saw across the country. Many of the parents actually stated that their criticisms were focused on the explicit age-inappropriate content not the gay content. It is an insane to connect concern about age-inappropriate content to homophobia, but this is the world we live in.
However, with their collective heads-in-the-sand about the consequences, the District has knowingly exposed itself to future law suits. What happens if a student uses their knowledge learned from one of these library books to meet an older pervert or two and they actually rendezvous? We all know there are plenty of perverts looking for underage victims. Its only a matter of time before an angry parent is looking for a big institute to sue.
Families have a right to maintain traditional/religious moral foundations that prohibit premature exposure to such content. Don’t children have enough obstacles to overcome in their young lives? The Committee does not have the right to use tax dollars to provide explicit sexual content in all SCHOOL libraries and celebrate these publications as “literature”. Just because these books are not available in School Libraries does not mean they are BANNED! These are all abundantly available and the authors are making lots of money. Go buy them and read them to your kids at home. Anyone is free to do so with their own children. Leave everyone else alone.
“Then they cam for Halloween! Now wait a second!”
The School Committee claimed that even if only a very small minority is offended by this tradition or cannot afford costumes, this offense and economic burden is so severe it justifies changing tradition and eliminating a fun celebration to fit their political agenda and establish more control. The kids are already wild that day anyway, let them have some fun.
We can all see the pattern. The current culture of the School Committee allows them to pick and choose a traditional target, identify a minority group who is offended (if they are not offended, talk them into being offended using teachers, councilors and clubs) then remove the symbolic pillar of tradition using policy loopholes and traditional bullying to convert supporters.
Sometimes minority opinions are held in such high regard they cannot be questioned and the Committee swoops in to protect them from mean people that have some reasonable questions. Other times, minority opinions are shunned and disregarded. When someone points out specific parts of their agenda that have not/do not hold up to scrutiny, they simply ignore the question.
In Acton and Boxborough, it does not seem to matter if a person is in the minority or majority opinion so long as they are aligned with the Politically Correct agenda. It is long overdue for someone from within the School Committee to speak out against these topics since the Chair continues to restrict public comments further and further to avoid answering difficult questions demonstrating their overall weakness as a committee. We can only hope one of the new members of the Committee will speak up and vote for common sense to regain some public faith.
Some readers, I’m sure recognize the structure of the above hypothetical quotes. The original is credited to Niemöller and should be carefully considered during this ongoing advancement of tyranny.
First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me
It was only a matter of time before the left started eating their young.
This was an impressively written response to actions taken by the school committee recently. The writer listed three actions taken that were controversial and resulted in considerable discontent. But, I believe the comparison to the Holocaust is very inappropriate and detracts from the writer’s arguments. That poem wasn’t referring to human rights but to human decency, because so many people died while so many people stood by and watched. A decision by the schools to cancel Halloween celebrations in favor of having a day of learning doesn’t quite stack up to that. Furthermore, including the writer’s opinions regarding the results of the decisions in question was irrelevant, given that the community was broadly divided over the first two issues and remains that way.
As for the third issue, we are all struggling to deal with the sense that life is a lot less fun now that we have to consider the needs of others. Despite the behavior of our politicians over the last six years or so, we are still a country founded on the belief that it is precisely those individuals, the “very small minority [who] is offended by this tradition or cannot afford costumes,” that we must consider first. This is no different from LGBTQ issues. The fact that the transgender population in this country is relatively small didn’t stop states from enacting special protections for those people, because if our governments won’t protect the most helpless among us, then what do we need them for?
A school should be a place where every child can feel safe and comfortable every time they walk into the building. I don’t see where it matters if there is only one child out of the whole high school for whom Halloween is an issue – it is a small sacrifice to make. There is plenty of time after school for kids to dress up and have all the fun they can under the guidance of their own personal values and what is allowed by their parents or guardians.
In this time of division and hostility in our government and in the world, choosing not to have a party at the expense of a few students’ misery is exactly the sort of lesson a school system should be promoting. Emphathy and compassion for others who you may not understand could very well be the most important thing you learn in high school.
I am impressed that this is coming from a student. Perhaps we were right to vote for allowing 16 year olds to vote in municipal elections. Anybody know the status of the home rule petition?