Remembering and Re-enactments
Remembering:
I have been to Gettysburg, Pa; visited the monuments to death and dying for the rights of others in Washington, D.C; have been to the memorial grounds of Flight 93 and the 9/11 Memorial in NYC. (It was nothing short of a miracle that the plane of Flight 93 crashed and the fuel exploded in an empty field, in a rural area just east of Pittsburgh- a few hundred miles away from its intended target- the people on the plane had angels directing their hands or other assistance; and that the buildings in NYC did not topple sideways). Remembering the dead means so much more when it happens to your own family. We are always thankful for miracles in war because in war, the violence is never prevented. Miracles are needed.
Psalm 91 is called the “soldiers’ prayer”. I have read and distributed a book about the miracle stories told in war. Men and women retell how the prayer worked in their lives. I found it interesting that the t-shirt the injured teacher at the Indiana school, Noblesville West Middle School, site of the most recent nationalized shooting on May 25, 2018, wore a t-shirt: #91 NOB STRONG. He said it was the number he wore for football. (I hate slogans after a massacre. We are----)
We know miracles happen and we know war in a fallen world is inevitable. Unless heads are firmly planted in the sand, all know that war is not the answer. Normal people actually try to avert war. We are supposed to remember so “it never happens again”. But generations who remember, die off. The new kids on the block are not only leading the charge, the new kids are also the ones leading. The learning curve of pain and heartache starts over. Adult leaders are sleeping.
In 1998, the Director of the National School Safety Center, someone I corresponded with many times, said for school districts it is not “if” it is when. In 1998, he could see the handwriting on the wall because he studied the issue. War hasn’t ended either. I have heard survivors of the massacres, including a personal testimony of a psychologist from Jonesboro. She said it was like a war zone that day.
When we re-write history, as is the current climate in this country, we will forget. Maybe a statue of someone you don’t like would invoke a conversation. But, we remove them so they can’t “say anything.” I know that is why the removal of our history, good and bad, is being changed by the ignorant who are leading and leading the charge. How many teachers ever discuss the past school shootings in their preparation on becoming a teacher? Police and fireman sign up to be injured on the job. Teachers do not.
Remembering:
I have been to Gettysburg, Pa; visited the monuments to death and dying for the rights of others in Washington, D.C; have been to the memorial grounds of Flight 93 and the 9/11 Memorial in NYC. (It was nothing short of a miracle that the plane of Flight 93 crashed and the fuel exploded in an empty field, in a rural area just east of Pittsburgh- a few hundred miles away from its intended target- the people on the plane had angels directing their hands or other assistance; and that the buildings in NYC did not topple sideways). Remembering the dead means so much more when it happens to your own family. We are always thankful for miracles in war because in war, the violence is never prevented. Miracles are needed.
Psalm 91 is called the “soldiers’ prayer”. I have read and distributed a book about the miracle stories told in war. Men and women retell how the prayer worked in their lives. I found it interesting that the t-shirt the injured teacher at the Indiana school, Noblesville West Middle School, site of the most recent nationalized shooting on May 25, 2018, wore a t-shirt: #91 NOB STRONG. He said it was the number he wore for football. (I hate slogans after a massacre. We are----)
We know miracles happen and we know war in a fallen world is inevitable. Unless heads are firmly planted in the sand, all know that war is not the answer. Normal people actually try to avert war. We are supposed to remember so “it never happens again”. But generations who remember, die off. The new kids on the block are not only leading the charge, the new kids are also the ones leading. The learning curve of pain and heartache starts over. Adult leaders are sleeping.
In 1998, the Director of the National School Safety Center, someone I corresponded with many times, said for school districts it is not “if” it is when. In 1998, he could see the handwriting on the wall because he studied the issue. War hasn’t ended either. I have heard survivors of the massacres, including a personal testimony of a psychologist from Jonesboro. She said it was like a war zone that day.
When we re-write history, as is the current climate in this country, we will forget. Maybe a statue of someone you don’t like would invoke a conversation. But, we remove them so they can’t “say anything.” I know that is why the removal of our history, good and bad, is being changed by the ignorant who are leading and leading the charge. How many teachers ever discuss the past school shootings in their preparation on becoming a teacher? Police and fireman sign up to be injured on the job. Teachers do not.
I have been remembering the past this week. Why? Because what happened to me may be part of my history and Northfield’s history (whether they accept it or not), but the issue is not history. 2018 is proof that the new ones leading the charge are probably paying close attention to the chargers in the past. Those leading, especially in the school districts that have failed to protect the safety of the kids, have forgotten how to lead.
War is an adult topic but with varying degrees of information, appropriate for the developmental age of the children, war is discussed. After a visit to Auschwitz, then Governor Kean, of NJ was moved enough to have the Holocaust Curriculum mandated to be taught. I attended a mandatory teacher workshop, presented by the experts at the Stockton State College (now university) before I left teaching. Then after I left teaching, I attended another one. It was after Columbine. The curriculum was updated to include that massacre. Violence prevention was the reason the curriculum became mandatory, not to glorify the violence.
Would I have a detailed descriptive discussion of war with very young children? I got flack when my kids were younger because I didn’t forbid certain shows- teen aged mutant ninja turtles were a hot topic in the early 90’s. They were the good guys, right? I have discussed child assault prevention with children as young as preschool in a developmentally appropriate presentation.
Two movies that were a huge mistake to watch or allow children to watch was the Batman movie with the penguin and watching Dick Tracy with children in the room. To say the least, they were very dark movies and not my taste at all. Boy, were we fooled by the connection to the comic strip and campy television show of the 60’s. Some lessons we learn the hard way. If not the good guys, the bad guys will. (Oh, wait, good and bad- probably not acceptable to call someone bad anymore.)
Re-enacting History:
The Columbine kids were ahead of their time, right? Their deadly efforts are now referenced as the “Columbine effect”. Copycats try to outdo their heroes. Who did the killers study? The Nazi’s are just one of the groups per information left behind. In America, we have people who re-enact war for entertainment, and of course, in the following example I am not talking about the romanticized versions of war shown on television and the big screen.
September 1997, a group of re-enactors from the south Jersey area took up camp in Birch Grove Park. I would hear about it in my classroom that fall. One of my second graders was an active participant. It became one of my documented concerns.
In their own words in an article by Erin Ruth, working for The Current, interviewed and covered the events of the weekend.
The title: Union Soldiers protect N’field during Civil War Weekend. Excerpts of the article are in italics below:
“Soldiers toting 10-pound rifles that could hit a target 500 yards away shot and killed their enemy on the football field at Birch Grove Park this weekend.
The tranquil field, encased by trees, was littered with slumped-over bodies. Nearby, a family celebrated a birthday and ducks contentedly gobbled stale bread out of stubby hands.
The group chose to represent Company K, (Sixth Regiment of Wisconsin) called the Iron Brigade or the Black Hat Brigade, because it was a famous brigade with the highest percentage of casualties in the Civil War.”
War is an adult topic but with varying degrees of information, appropriate for the developmental age of the children, war is discussed. After a visit to Auschwitz, then Governor Kean, of NJ was moved enough to have the Holocaust Curriculum mandated to be taught. I attended a mandatory teacher workshop, presented by the experts at the Stockton State College (now university) before I left teaching. Then after I left teaching, I attended another one. It was after Columbine. The curriculum was updated to include that massacre. Violence prevention was the reason the curriculum became mandatory, not to glorify the violence.
Would I have a detailed descriptive discussion of war with very young children? I got flack when my kids were younger because I didn’t forbid certain shows- teen aged mutant ninja turtles were a hot topic in the early 90’s. They were the good guys, right? I have discussed child assault prevention with children as young as preschool in a developmentally appropriate presentation.
Two movies that were a huge mistake to watch or allow children to watch was the Batman movie with the penguin and watching Dick Tracy with children in the room. To say the least, they were very dark movies and not my taste at all. Boy, were we fooled by the connection to the comic strip and campy television show of the 60’s. Some lessons we learn the hard way. If not the good guys, the bad guys will. (Oh, wait, good and bad- probably not acceptable to call someone bad anymore.)
Re-enacting History:
The Columbine kids were ahead of their time, right? Their deadly efforts are now referenced as the “Columbine effect”. Copycats try to outdo their heroes. Who did the killers study? The Nazi’s are just one of the groups per information left behind. In America, we have people who re-enact war for entertainment, and of course, in the following example I am not talking about the romanticized versions of war shown on television and the big screen.
September 1997, a group of re-enactors from the south Jersey area took up camp in Birch Grove Park. I would hear about it in my classroom that fall. One of my second graders was an active participant. It became one of my documented concerns.
In their own words in an article by Erin Ruth, working for The Current, interviewed and covered the events of the weekend.
The title: Union Soldiers protect N’field during Civil War Weekend. Excerpts of the article are in italics below:
“Soldiers toting 10-pound rifles that could hit a target 500 yards away shot and killed their enemy on the football field at Birch Grove Park this weekend.
The tranquil field, encased by trees, was littered with slumped-over bodies. Nearby, a family celebrated a birthday and ducks contentedly gobbled stale bread out of stubby hands.
The group chose to represent Company K, (Sixth Regiment of Wisconsin) called the Iron Brigade or the Black Hat Brigade, because it was a famous brigade with the highest percentage of casualties in the Civil War.”
In a second article (not dated but from 1997-98
"They travel to other re-enactments on weekends, practice drills and receive instruction at Camp Dawes in Mays Landing the month before the re-enactment season which starts in March and ends in November. ...Bob R. of Gettysburg, Pa, said involvement in the group is physically, financially and emotionally draining."
The pictures of the uniform on a young child and holding one of those rifles was worth a thousand words. Not part of an educational record.. public record.
Does anyone have any questions? Connect the dots. Our schools have become battlefields. The bodies are slumped over. The leaders are charging, while those who lead, sleep.
