To: Wyckoff Board of Education
Wyckoff Observation of MLK Day
Once again the Wyckoff School District is proposing not to observe MLK Day in its 2018/19 Calendar. They will be submitting a proposal to the BOE on Monday evening at 6:30 at the Wyckoff School District, Eisenhower School -- 241 Morse Ave., Wyckoff, NJ 07481.
This decision should be challenged to ensure we are building a healthy sense of cultural awareness with our children. MLK is a day of Community Service, Love for All, and it is about Peace and Justice. Last year, when the school did not observe the holiday and had the chance to teach the children about Dr. King, Rosa Parks, and the Civil Right movement, they spent very little time that day on teaching it; instead they went about the day as a regular school day with unmemorable teachings about Dr. King. If the school does have a school day, the entire day should be a day of reflection and community service to send a very important message to our children.
The Board of Education should be aware of the message they are sending our children by not observing this day in any real way and how they are depriving the children of foundational educational needs and helping them to grasp the core concepts of Dr. King's teachings.
Interestingly, the District brought in consults this year to work with the teaching community on building better competencies around "cultural awareness", yet even after spending our tax dollars, they are still missing the point. In one 4th grade class, the Spanish teacher (this year), assigned the children a "cultural awareness" project -- she wanted them to learn more about the Hispanic community. To initiate the project, she asked the children to identify someone of Hispanic background that they could interview. When suggesting how they find people of that background, she told them to go to their gardeners and housekeepers and look at waitresses at local restaurants, along with cashiers at groceries stores; she also suggested they go to the police and fire department. Clearly, there is an issue if this is what is being taught. And by not taking MLK Day seriously, they continue to misguide our children in this area.
The Wyckoff School District is sending all the wrong messages for a better future global community and for our children's overall success since 60% of their generation is identified as nonwhite.
In signing H.R. 3706, Public Law 98-144, the bill making the birthday of MLK a national holiday, President Ronald Reagan noted that Dr. King had awakened something strong and true, a sense that true justice must be colorblind, and that among white and black Americans, as he put it, “Their destiny is tied up with our destiny, and their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom; we cannot walk alone.” President Reagan also recognized that traces of bigotry still mar America. So, each year on Martin Luther King Day, our nation has decided to honor Dr. King by setting aside a day each year to remember him and the just cause he stood for.
The danger in the school board’s action in Wyckoff, in opting out and not recognizing MLK’s birthday as a holiday, sets a harmful precedent. After a while, and before we even know it, the exceptions swallow up the rule, and the principle is lost in a sea of pragmatic, comfortable excuses.
Please sign this petition so that it can be presented to the BOE Monday evening.
This decision should be challenged to ensure we are building a healthy sense of cultural awareness with our children. MLK is a day of Community Service, Love for All, and it is about Peace and Justice. Last year, when the school did not observe the holiday and had the chance to teach the children about Dr. King, Rosa Parks, and the Civil Right movement, they spent very little time that day on teaching it; instead they went about the day as a regular school day with unmemorable teachings about Dr. King. If the school does have a school day, the entire day should be a day of reflection and community service to send a very important message to our children.
The Board of Education should be aware of the message they are sending our children by not observing this day in any real way and how they are depriving the children of foundational educational needs and helping them to grasp the core concepts of Dr. King's teachings.
Interestingly, the District brought in consults this year to work with the teaching community on building better competencies around "cultural awareness", yet even after spending our tax dollars, they are still missing the point. In one 4th grade class, the Spanish teacher (this year), assigned the children a "cultural awareness" project -- she wanted them to learn more about the Hispanic community. To initiate the project, she asked the children to identify someone of Hispanic background that they could interview. When suggesting how they find people of that background, she told them to go to their gardeners and housekeepers and look at waitresses at local restaurants, along with cashiers at groceries stores; she also suggested they go to the police and fire department. Clearly, there is an issue if this is what is being taught. And by not taking MLK Day seriously, they continue to misguide our children in this area.
The Wyckoff School District is sending all the wrong messages for a better future global community and for our children's overall success since 60% of their generation is identified as nonwhite.
In signing H.R. 3706, Public Law 98-144, the bill making the birthday of MLK a national holiday, President Ronald Reagan noted that Dr. King had awakened something strong and true, a sense that true justice must be colorblind, and that among white and black Americans, as he put it, “Their destiny is tied up with our destiny, and their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom; we cannot walk alone.” President Reagan also recognized that traces of bigotry still mar America. So, each year on Martin Luther King Day, our nation has decided to honor Dr. King by setting aside a day each year to remember him and the just cause he stood for.
The danger in the school board’s action in Wyckoff, in opting out and not recognizing MLK’s birthday as a holiday, sets a harmful precedent. After a while, and before we even know it, the exceptions swallow up the rule, and the principle is lost in a sea of pragmatic, comfortable excuses.
Please sign this petition so that it can be presented to the BOE Monday evening.
Why is this important?
To remind our community about the importance of reflecting on Dr. King's foundational work around "Equality and for All" and to ensure our children are being taught that message in order to carry it forward for future generations to create a more fair and just world.