Social Justice Warriors

Arlington Public Schools Are Canning Elementary School Colonial Day Because Kids From Different Cultures Shouldn’t Have To Dress Up As Their Oppressors

Arlington Public Schools Are Canning Elementary School Colonial Day Because Kids From Different Cultures Shouldn’t Have To Dress Up As Their Oppressors

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The best part about growing up in Massachusetts is the fact that we’re sitting at the forefront of American history. The American Revolution started here because we were BY FAR the most bad ass of the 13 colonies, and we didn’t take crap from redcoats who thought they could push us around. From Plymouth Rock, to Bunker Hill, to Lexington and Concord, to the Freedom Trail, to Faneuil Hall. All the things kids across America learn about in social studies (or at least used to learn) happened here.

Well, the town of Arlington celebrates “Colonial Day” day so kids can reenact the history of the state they live in. And it’s apparently something that kids in particular look forward to a lot:

An annual tradition for third-graders in all of Arlington, Colonial Day is a chance for students to dress-up and actually re-enact all the things they have studied in their History class’s unit on Colonial Times. The students churn butter, dip candles, play Colonial games, punch tins, make sachets and wear their Colonial best. “This is a great hands-on experience,” said PTO Co-President Kristen Garrigus, one of the parents helping to run the event. As for the third-graders themselves, they all took to the games and even practiced some on their own during free play.

One group of girls, in particular, spent part of the morning playing “Oats and Beans and Barley Grow,” a game they likened to Ring Around the Rosy, only ” a lot more fun,” explained Peirce third-grader Venice Mountain-Zona. The costumes are kept through the years and passed down. The district has been doing the event so long, it is not easy to say when it started. “I know high schoolers who still talk about Colonial Day,” said Brenda Kokubo, one of the organizers at Peirce. As fun as it is for the students, the parents also join in the fun, dressing up, playing the games and helping to facilitate the transitions between activities.

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So let me get this straight. Kids learn about history, pickup valuable life skills such as sewing, and they still have a great time? Obviously no one would ever have a problem with this, right? Oh wait, I forgot – it’s 2017 and everything is offensive to everyone. And this is the same town that banned the pledge of allegiance in schools. Here’s an email sent from Arlington School Committee President Paul Schilchtman, which was drafted by superintendent Kathleen Bodie. The email is italicized and our rational thoughts follow in bold…..

Date: Mon, 24 Apr 2017 15:10:40 -0400

From: Paul Schlichtman <paul@schlichtman.org>

To: Leah Okumura <lokumura@gmail.com> Cc: A-List <arlington@arlingtonlist.org> Subject: Re: [arlington] sad – finding a good solution for Colonial Message-ID:

Please see the following email from Superintendent Kathleen Bodie pertaining to Colonial Day.

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Within the past few weeks, we have received feedback from parents regarding the decision to eliminate costumes as part of third graders’ Colonial Day experience. While there were many families who welcomed this change, there were other families who felt that the change so close to the event did not seem reasonable given the time and resources parents had already put into planning their child’s costume.

The intent of the original decision was to create a more inclusive experience for all students in response to concerns expressed by families and community members who believe that because of their family’s history or cultural heritage, the historical narrative of Colonial Day has not been reflective of what their ancestors may have experienced. We realize, however, that information about this change could have been communicated more clearly, earlier in the year, and have been informed by additional input from parents and community members.

So let me get this straight. We can only encourage third graders to participate in a historical reenactment, so long as the history being reenacted is something their ancestors experienced? So that eliminates Colonial Day for pretty much everyone, except for the one percent of kids who can trace their lineage in Arlington back to the 17th and 18th century. Did your ancestors immigrate through Ellis Island? If not, then Colonial Day does NOT represent your history, and thus should not be forced upon you in school. Because any kind of history that makes you feel uncomfortable should be forgotten about. 

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For this year, therefore, in the elementary schools that have a “Colonial Day,” students will be given the option of wearing a colonial costume, but will not be required to do so. Students are also welcome to dress in a manner that represents their culture and heritage.

So…….then it’s not really Colonial Day anymore. It’s multicultural day. Latino kids have to come dressed in sombreros, Irish kids come with kilts and lice, Italians come with meatballs and gravy, and black kids come dressed for Kwanzaa. Because what better way to learn about different cultures than to pretend like no other cultures exist besides your own? What do you think this is, some sort of melting pot??

Next fall, we will convene a committee of parents, teachers, and administrators to examine Colonial Day as an event – how it fits into the social studies curriculum and how it can be meaningful, relevant, and inclusive for all students. We apologize for any undue stress or confusion that the recent announced change may have caused. We hope to use this experience to create a wider dialogue about issues of diversity and multiculturalism in our schools.

Hey morons, we’re talking about third graders here. They’re just trying to get dressed up and churn some butter. They’re not actually imperializing or killing Native Americans. They haven’t learned about any of that stuff yet, but they will when they’re older. But for now they’re just kids getting dressed up and reenacting life like kids their age who lived in Arlington did 300 years ago. Oh, and ZERO KIDS have a problem with this day. They all like it. It’s jut a few whiny WHITE parents, who are riddled with white guilt, and feel bad that their kids dress up as the “oppressors.”

This is School Commitee President Paul Schlichtman:

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Check out his Twitter and Facebook page and you’ll understand what we’re dealing with here:

He’s just another partisan hack trying to make children swallow his politics. These are the type of people who become administrators in the public school system. 

*April Letter to Parents Regarding Colonial Day:*

The modification of not having students dress up for Colonial Day is related to Arlington Public School’s commitment to creating an inclusive community. Over the past few years there have been some concerns expressed by families and community members who believe that because of their family’s history or cultural heritage that the historical narrative of Colonial Day is not reflective of what their ancestors might have experienced. Learning about our country’s history is a significant part of the social studies curriculum, but doing so in a way that is inclusive and welcoming to all of our students is also important. Ultimately we want to everyone to feel like part of the “we” and not the “they” in our community.

Once again, “some concerns expressed by families and community members.” In other words, they’re allowing a group of small but vocal perpetual malcontents to dictate policy in the elementary schools, and take away a day that kids enjoyed while also learning about American history. But then again, the needs and desires of the children aren’t nearly as important as the sense of satisfaction a social justice warrior gets when they arbitrarily decided what is and isn’t offensive. 

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We feel that the modifications we have made as an administrative team will help make all families and students feel comfortable and preserve the main social studies curricular goals. We would encourage parent volunteers to continue dressing up in colonial clothing so that students still have the experience of seeing what people wore in colonial times. In the end, we want all of our students to feel excited and welcome every day when they enter our school buildings. Small steps like this which open up a greater dialogue about our wonderful, diverse community contribute towards this aim.

Kathleen Bodie, Ed.D. Superintendent of Schools kbodie@arlington.k12.ma.us 781-316-3501. Paul Schlichtman Arlington School Committee paul@schlichtman.org “I became convinced that noncooperation with evil is as much a moral obligation as is cooperation with good.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Wonderful and diverse community? Ummm….check the facts. Less than 3% of the town is black or Latino. As usual, “diversity” in these wealthy, elitist Boston suburbs really just means “we have some Asian people.” Most kids in the district are white, and those white kids more likely than not have no genealogical ties to any sort of colonists in Arlington. Yet they suffer through the pain and oppression of dressing up like people who they have no attachment to once a year. Remarkable. 

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From the looks of it on the Facebook machine, most Arlington residents seem to agree with Turtleboy:

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But your kid’s memories are actually microagressions and hate speech, and it simply will not be tolerated by the tolerance patrol.

Of course the superintendent could easily just tell these parents to calm down. But that would require actual guts, and people like superintendent Kathleen Bodie don’t get to where they are by having any sort of principles. They get to where they are by being as politically correct as possible, and giving the loudest person in the room whatever they want to shutup.

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The bottom line is that yes, there have been lots of racial and social injustices perpetuated by a large amount of white people in this country’s history. These injustices should most definitely be taught in schools, as any well-rounded graduate should learn about history from more than just a Eurocentric point of view.  But we’re talking about third graders here. They don’t have the mental capacity to get into that yet. They just like to get dressed up and see what life was like for kids their age in Arlington 300 years ago. And God forbid we allow children to be children.

 

 

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29 Comment(s)
  • Jean Popik
    Summergal
    May 1, 2017 at 4:40 pm

    What numbnuts! Over the years I have always heard that if you were born in the Good Ol’ U.S. of A. you were an American!! I volunteered for both of my children’s Colonial Days activity over 20 years ago, and their clay candleholders and punched-tin covers still sit in our family room bookcase. All of the students loved dressing up in their “colonial” garb no matter what their background was — black, latino/a or asian. It was and still is (thank goodness) a much anticipated event in our town. Tell the SJW jerks to get their heads out of their asses! And, by the way, I still help with the music portion of the program! What’s next–will the SJW’s forbid us from visiting other countries to experience their cultures because it is Un-American!

  • Sterling Turtle Rider
    April 29, 2017 at 3:18 am

    Don’t tell these helicopter parents about Olde Sturbridge Village, they’ll lose their damn minds!

  • Ray Sullivan
    April 27, 2017 at 3:41 pm

    For any America, no matter what his or her background, to deny America’s history would be akin to Coptic Christians in Egypt denying the existence of the pyramids. We, native born and immigrant, all owe our current state of freedom to those “colonials” who fought and died for it. I am shocked that ANYONE could be that disloyal that he or she would deny our history! Mortui vivos docent!

  • April 27, 2017 at 11:15 am

    Dear “Turtleboy”: If you are expressing your opinions in public, which I applaud, I think you should stand behind them with your full, real name. Why do you use a pseudonym?

    Note that Paul Schlichtman is not “president” of the School Committee. Jeff Thielman is.

    Bob Sprague, YourArlington.com (my real name for 73+ years)

    • Larry
      May 10, 2017 at 9:05 am

      Spraque carries the Water for local Pols in Arlington. He is a fraud. He is the King of Spin.
      Especially for the School Committee, who have provided him with Private school Tuition.

      He is also the center Player in a EMAIL Scandal that caused harm in Arlington that has NEVER HEALED.

      He and his Blog are Dangerous Alt-Left media

  • Vig
    April 27, 2017 at 10:11 am

    This is a very ignorant article. You consider it some “stupid pc crap” but that is because you don’t seem to have the experience of a person of color or oppressed minority.

    1) this policy in no way ends colonial day, it simply makes the event far more inclusive. You say only 3-4% of students are Hispanic or Latinx, so that means of the 500 or so there are in third grade across the district, 15-20 may claim that heritage. Then I ask you this: isn’t it egregious that you’d force a kid to dress like the people who oppressed his ancestors?

    2) this policy is not some political hack making random decisions, but responding to the asks of people, who have expressed that they are hurt by some aspects of colonial day. At most it is an incremental reform.

    And finally all of the commenter s relating this to trump must realize that this is the opposite: inclusivity of the simplest kind in an effort to respect children’s unique backgrounds.

    I ask you to step out of your place of privilege and try to understand that people have different experiences than you. Until you can understand and embrace that, and until you stop writing ignorant, sensationalized articles quoting current sophomores and claiming them as third graders, you cannot claim to be that different from our president.

  • SatansGiantCock
    Smearing Feces
    April 26, 2017 at 10:20 pm

    Arlington should have Taliban Day instead. Have the girls wear those full scary ghost burkas, and the boys wear turbans and carry toy guns. Maybe have the boys throw rocks at the girls that talk too much? The teaching possibilities are endless.

  • David D.
    April 26, 2017 at 8:11 pm

    MORE Virtue Signaling from Shitman and Bodie:

    they wrote this to entire school district today: Read it first: then go look at the Pictures of all the Whites Playing Colonial Dress up day, what FRAUDS these Moonbats are ! ASSKLOWNS !

    Please understand that Arlington Public Schools does not:

    · Ask students or their families about immigration status
    · Share personally identifiable information
    · Share immigration status, if we are aware of it, with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services or Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

    • David D.
      May 10, 2017 at 9:12 am

      Follow up on Schlictman:

      On Monday Night 5/8/2017 He voted AGAINST sanctuary Cities in Arlington a vote AGREEING TO FULL CO-OPERATION WITH ICE and the Federal Government regarding Illegal Aliens.

      The language of the Article of Rule he voted on was a little tricky, intentionally by its writers.

      Cleary those of Low Intellect voted as they were told, and AGAINST Sanctuary Cities.

      HOORAY for those on the Progessive Left of Low Intellect !

  • Larry
    April 26, 2017 at 8:01 pm

    VIRTUE SIGNALING……….This is the Definition of it.
    Notice the “Diversity” of the students?? Ya, Uh, try NONE. All whites………..

    Schlictman is bozo, he previously was neck Deep in the great Email Scandal several years back that nearly tore the community apart. He stepped down, then slide back in after a resignation of another Committee Member. Spends most of days (while at work in Lowell Public Schools) Posting on various blogs and chat sites. Guys like him and the ASSKLOWNS on the Human Rights Commission all feel good about themselves “Virtue Signaling” each other with this type of Crap.

    Also: he is a founding Facebook member of “Arlington Resists”, A locked Facebook Page for only those who agree with other “Virtue Signalers”. (Liberal Fascism)

    The Superintendent Bodie is a nice enough little old lady, who spends most of her time at her WASP Country Club Dining and Golfing. BUT has been caving into the Virtue Signaling crap a awful lot lately.

    I quote Bodie/ Curro of Human Rights of a great Virtue Signaling BS Quote: “We are living through unsettling times”. This Signals to Other Moonbats like a Beacon in a Light House.

    However, per the Poll from Marketplace-Edison Research(4/24), Americans “Anxiety Index” has PLUMMETED since Trump has become POTUS. Regarding the Economy, Safety and Security of the country and its children.

    Its a known Federal Statistic that these people run a school systems that punishes Minority Students at Draconian Levels. Swastikas are everywhere, Racial Fights.

  • Anti-American
    April 26, 2017 at 7:57 pm

    That’s really sad, more fun tradition is eliminated. American history too, which is hardly taught now.

  • really?
    April 26, 2017 at 6:26 pm

    Time to fire the superintendent.

  • True Reality Speaks
    True Reality Speaks
    April 26, 2017 at 5:42 pm

    The PC programming by the Left starts earlier and earlier.

    • Rightwinger
      April 26, 2017 at 8:47 pm

      I agree, I heard that on Alex Jones last night!

  • MB
    April 26, 2017 at 4:04 pm

    So many inaccuracies. First – the town never banned the pledge of allegiance, you just didn’t have to stand for it if you didn’t want to. Second – Colonial Day is not cancelled, they just said you don’t have to dress up anymore if you don’t want to (but you can). Third – some of the third graders you are quoting are sophomores in high school now. Finally – it’s more about the other cultures than black and latino children. The town has a large number of students from Asian countries, India, China, etc.

    • Joe R.
      April 26, 2017 at 8:19 pm

      sorry MB but it was definitely Banned. The school committee was forced to bring it back because they were in VIOLATON (again & as usual ! ) of State Law.

      What your referring to is the compromise to bring it back, which was “volunteer” participation.

      It was an incredibly ANTI-American Move by Progressive Moonbats, and Yes, Shitman was involved in that Fiasco as well.

      This school committee is NOT full of good people………….

    • Born In The USA
      April 26, 2017 at 8:32 pm

      This is America. We teach American history! These other cultures you mentioned should go to their country of origin where the requirement is that nation’s history. Don’t rain on everyone’s parade because YOU can’t handle a hands on fun tradition or the fact that your kid might have fun learning! Get therapy because the dysfunction is all YOURS!

    • Lygia Grigoris
      April 27, 2017 at 9:31 am

      What this ridiculous agenda is actually doing is robbing children of the creative and imaginative outlet that children possess. How cool is it to imagine you lived in a different century, wore different clothing, played different games, and learned different skills like candle-making and butter churning? I thank God that my daughter was able to experience this wonderful day When she was in 3rd grade. She has great memories of it and has been reading about American history ever since. Kids can and should dress as native Americans if they wish. It is historically accurate that early settlers and native Americans shared at least one meal of thanksgiving together. This is American history we are studying, not multi-cultural day. Why not have a town-wide and school-wide international day so all ethnicities can dress in costumes of their ancestors and serve ethnic food, intro all to ethnic music etc.? Kids could dress as any group they admire, not just their own. To destroy a wonderful imaginative day for so many innocent, impressionable school children is both selfish and criminal. Wake up , you short-sighted fools. By the way, I grew up in Arlington and it was far more diverse in the 1970s than it is now. And we all celebrated Colonial Day because we all considered ourselves – guess what? – Americans!

      • Jean Popik
        Summergal
        May 1, 2017 at 4:48 pm

        And our Middle School students do have a multicultural day as part of their Social Studies curriculum where small groups have to research another countries cultures and cuisine, dress in traditional costumes, if they want, and prepare foods from that country’s culture. An guess what it’s not always black students representing African or Island Nations, or Asian students representing the Asian cultures, Latinos and Latinas showcasing Latin countries, etc. It shows real diversity and creativity on the parts of all the students!

  • Diane Woods emerson
    Wtf
    April 26, 2017 at 4:03 pm

    This is just stupid.

  • JoeMomma
    April 26, 2017 at 3:34 pm

    Paul, apply for any Federal job…usajobs.org
    You will not need to provide any tax returns, you WILL need to provide a birth certificate, college transcripts and diploma, proof of registration with selective services and a social security card.
    Why weren’t you crying over Obummers lack of documentation for almost a decade?

    • True Reality Speaks
      Mirror Mirror
      April 26, 2017 at 5:46 pm

      Rules don’t apply to libs.

      • Rightwinger
        April 26, 2017 at 8:50 pm

        Or the Trump administration! I heard that on CNN last night!

  • Rich
    April 26, 2017 at 3:07 pm

    Not to mention the patriots day parade theme….dress i garb that represents your heritage, country, faith and show your pride colors at the parade…..um what?

  • Rightwinger
    April 26, 2017 at 3:02 pm

    Thanks Trump!

  • Rich
    Rich
    April 26, 2017 at 2:08 pm

    So glad I was in public school back in the 60’s and 70’s. NONE of this PC crap went on.

  • Karen millet
    April 26, 2017 at 2:01 pm

    When Americans live abroad we embrace a different culture. It’s called learning. It seems that Arlington Schools System has for gotten what their job is…..

    • True Reality Speaks
      True Reality Speaks
      April 26, 2017 at 5:44 pm

      No, they have not forgotten.

      This is their agenda.

      • Rightwinger
        April 26, 2017 at 8:43 pm

        I agree, I heard that on Hannity last night!

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