The Story
Tackling racism is apparently super controversial.
Uh oh.
Since the surge of the Black Lives Matter movement last spring, Mr. Jozokos has attempted to address racism in our school district. However, some school board members have a lot to say about that. While you wouldn’t think that this would lead to an massive argument (read: catfight), the latest board meeting would prove you wrong. Grab some popcorn, because this one’s a doozy.
What actually happened?
An activity about racism, which included a video followed by a discussion, was planned for last Tuesday’s advisory day. However, after several concerns were raised, it was cancelled. The three main issues brought up at the board meeting were the content of the activity (labeled “inappropriate” by some), the process that the content was approved by, and the nature of advisory in general.
What was the content, anyway?
The video caused some disputes because it included two girls discussing inappropriate racial stereotypes. The worry was that it didn’t represent girls in Bedford well. It was also said to be unfriendly towards law enforcement in some opinions. While most members agreed that it maybe wasn’t the best choice, many thought that it was still coming from the right place. Board member John Schneller thought differently. His choice words for describing the video included “in very poor taste”, “highly questionable”, and “ill-conceived”, to name a few.
What about the process?
Another issue: The video was also never officially approved by the school board. This evolved into a bigger discussion about the general process of getting things approved. Schneller stated that it was a problem that there was no set screening process for advisory curriculum. He followed up by saying it was bad that some advisors played TED talks or had discussions about racism without approval after the official discussion was cancelled. The bottom line was that he wanted every activity in the future to be put through a screening to make sure it was “appropriate.” You interpret that how you want to.
And…
The kicker: Schneller said that he would make a motion to cut advisory from the curriculum all together. Evidently, this video was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Schneller called advisory meaningless and useless, too “touchy-feely” (yes, those are his own words), and said he didn’t care if it makes kids better citizens if it wasn’t putting physics or literature into their heads.
What was the response?
Schneller’s opinions about everything were controversial at best. Fournier said that advisory was foundational to the culture of BHS. This statement was supported by Jozokos and board member Cindy Chagnon. As for the content itself, Jozokos said that while it was never his intention to offend, he also didn’t believe the content was too mature for high schoolers. This, of course, prompted Schneller to question Jozokos’ qualifications for dealing with racism. His reply? “I am a loving human being.” Mic drop. Fournier called this accusation against Jozokos “ill informed” as well.
What were people’s reactions?
Anger! And lots of it! The Facebook moms, of course, popped off about the eloquence, or lack thereof, of certain board members. The general consensus on the meeting was that the dialogue was rude and disrespectful, and that teens need to be able to have a conversation about race. As for the students we discussed this with, they just seemed confused about why it was cancelled. We don’t blame them. We didn’t expect them to watch the entire school board meeting like we did. Commitment, people!
What’s going to happen?
Jozokos says he still feels an obligation to address racism in the school district, particularly for the kids who come to him saying they have been affected. However, judging from this meeting, he might have to go through some more bureaucratic hoops to get there. His email to the students on Wednesday stated that BHS’s fight against racism had been “delayed”, but that every adult at Bedford High School is still dedicated to shedding light on the topic.
The Runaway
This issue is probably not going away. But in the meantime, hold your advisories tight and don’t be racist. Seriously.
What to Say…
When you can’t prevent the inevitable…
Batten down the hatches, because BHS has its first three cases of COVID-19. On Tuesday, an email was sent to parents, informing them that a student had tested positive. The email said no other people were impacted. But you didn’t think that was the end of the story, right? Another email sent out on Thursday said an additional person had coronavirus, but this time, five other people had been possibly exposed, including one staff member. And on Friday, surprise! There was another email. It said there was one more case at BHS, along with one at McKelvie. Along with this, Lurgio also reached four positive cases on Monday. Eventful week much?
When the seniors are roaming the halls looking confused…
It’s because no one really knows what’s happening with senior project. The current SP curriculum page is concerningly barren, with only the sentence (“More Info to Come!”) being displayed. Incredibly helpful and informative, we know. After a quick email exchange with the Senior Project Committee, we learned about just as much as the website told us: senior project is apparently happening for Quarters 2, 3, and 4. The school is still making changes to the curriculum to accommodate the lovely coronavirus and they’ll be sending out more information within the next few weeks.
When you’re getting sick of the fall sports already…
You might have to hold out a little bit longer. According to the all-knowing Corey Parker, the official winter sports season might be delayed until mid-January. Say what?! We know that sounds crazy, but there’s a couple of reasons behind the idea. Tons of people in Bedford go away for Thanksgiving and/or Christmas vacation, meaning they would have to quarantine for 14 days before going back to school in person. That means those kids wouldn’t get to try out for anything. Bummer. Also, some sports need different facilities to rent space to the school, like a rink for hockey or a pool for swimming. So it sounds like this might actually happen. But don’t fret. If the season is delayed, there will still be optional workouts for teams, instead of official practices.
Things to Know
Want to sit at home in a costume?
Spirit week is this week. Get ready to impress your Google Meets.
Say cheese.
Temporarily take off those masks, because picture retakes are Monday and Tuesday.
Even though hockey might be delayed…
Its counterpart, field hockey, has playoffs on Monday!