Civil War reenactment causing division

From Appleton, Wisconsin,(Courtesy of  WLUK-TV Channel 11) March 12, 2009:

APPLETON – It’s a war that divided the nation, now it seems to be dividing parents and administrators in the Appleton School District.

“Hopefully we can get people to change their minds,” said Theresa Kersten.

“This is 20 minutes of a living history day we are taking a look at,” said assistant superintendent Judy Baseman.

The controversy is over replica guns that students from most Appleton elementary schools use during an annual mock Civil War battle. Last spring, principals got together, and reviewed parent concerns. In the end, they decided to drop the mock battle from the event this year.

“Pointing even though it’s a mock weapon, to point that at another student, even as part of a reenactment just didn’t feel it was a good match with the culture and climate we’re trying to promote at our schools,” said Baseman.

But the decision has been met with a real battle from parents and students who recently submitted a petition to the district. Theresa Kersten’s 5th grade son goes to Foster Elementary. She says he’s been looking forward to the battle event since kindergarten.

“And he is very sad that they may not be able to do the reenactment,” said Kersten.

“And anytime you make a change from something you’ve done traditionally it’s difficult,” said Schmidt.

Bobbie Schmidt, the principal at Richmond Elementary says even without the mock battle, the students are still learning about the horrors of battle in the classroom.

“And within those lessons there is study of the atrocities of the war, the number of deaths on the union and confederate sides,” said Schmidt.

The battle over the mock battle isn’t over.

“We’ve been doing a lot of listening,” said Schmidt.

In the hopes of finding a truce to this division, amicable to both sides, that will have a much happier outcome than the real thing.

Administrators say they plan to meet with all the school principals, weigh the comments they’ve received, and make a decision by the end of the week.

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Comments

6 responses to “Civil War reenactment causing division”

  1. mike momot Avatar
    mike momot

    I so have to comment here. I will likely be politically incorrect by today’s standards but what the heck is going on in this country when you try to shelter kids to the point of being backwards?!!

    I grew up in an era when most of us were the products of WWII and Korean War veterans. We played with guns! Remember cops and robbers, cowboys and Indians, and every other war from the Revolution to the ones our fathers fought? Did we grow up delusional or shooting each other in school? Heck no! We had discipline at home. We’d get our tails whooped if we got out of hand or talked back to anyone. We accepted responsibility for our own actions and were told the difference between right and wrong and fantasy and reality…remember the Red Rider BB gun in a Christmas story? That “I told you so?”

    Well cheers to the parents here. You can’t deny a part of childhood, and you can’t deny a fact of life such as war. Isn’t it better to let a child explore in a supervised and educational environment than repress an emotional outlet and a curiosity to explore?

    My son is a Scout and participated with his Pack in a sleep over at Ft. Mifflin. The boys got to play with the wood mock ups and you should have seen the fun they were having. I think if anyone had their Nintendo DS and PSP with them it was quickly forgotten about. Great to see them getting exercise. Many “professionals” sell these kids short I think.

    An unfortunate incident (to me) occurred at my son’s after school program last year when he and two other boys were put in time out for playing “guns.” I asked for the details and was told – get this!
    They weren’t shooting at any of the other kids – they were shooting at a TREE! I asked what they were using for guns – their FINGERS! My God man, what kind of a society are we becoming. I told the director we practice good gun safety at home, he is just being a normal boy, I expect to be called next time and not have him put in “time out.” She explained to me that the center has a policy about “playing guns.” I asked for a copy and still have not seen it…8 months later.

    I think you breed a problem by creating a mystique about it. Haven’t you ever been told “no” and wanted to do it all the more? Let kids be kids but be involved as a parent or responsible adult.

    In reenactment you meet all types when the public comes to see. The ones who have the issues with: “You are glorifying war” I think are missing the point. Isn’t it curiosity? Satisfy that need my friends because denying it is denying an education.

    God Bless America!

  2. Matt Gillespie Avatar
    Matt Gillespie

    I’ve got to say something about this too. I’ve taught in the public school system for 23 years and am weary of school boards and such actions. I once had a principal refuse to let me take my Civil War reenacting rifle to her school’s Civil War demonstration for fear of psychological damage to her students. Never mind these kids were from rural central WV and 90% or more of their homes contained at least one real gun. I guess I was supposed to teach the kids soldiers don’t use rifles for fear of hurting the enemy.
    If some parents truly had reservations about their kid’s participation in the reenactment, a school can easily set up an alternate activity. Make them doctors, nurses, civilians, support personel, wagoners, the list goes on and on. But all too often, in our society, if one person doesn’t like something, it’s ended for everyone.
    Also, being in the school system, I’m exposed to lots of studies. The only study I’ve ever seen on the subject, of kids playing guns, showed there was no difference in violence or gun related crime, between either group; the kids who played guns and the kids who weren’t allowed.

  3. Jim Barnes Avatar
    Jim Barnes

    Matt,

    That’s why I don’t do the school thing anymore myself. I was invited to present at Mountainview Elementary here in Morgantown about ten years ago and I went anyway. The kids loved it. When I was leaving I mentioned that I was wearing a bayonet, the teachers were distressed. Guess I should be glad they didn’t have me arrested. Guess there is a fear that kids may grow up to hold up Mini-marts with ’42 Springfields. The problem is not that we have a lot of stupid jerks around. They have always been here. The problem is that they have too much say over other people’s lives. Just my two cents.

  4. mike momot Avatar
    mike momot

    That’s a great comment Jim. Going off on a tangent here, that’s why you’ll never see things like the ‘stooges’ anymore. The world’s greatest babysitter is the TV. I guess people are too busy to spend time with their children and explain these things and in our litigation based society the districts don’t want to get sued. They figure it’s best to deny it exists so when these kids grow up and we experience another 911 everyone will be running around crying “I didn’t know” and “Why?”

    Sure, my views are simplistic and I don’t go into detail but my children are well adjusted and don’t have problems dealing with realities. We talk and I listen…the greatest key of all.
    Mike

  5. Chuck Critchfield Avatar
    Chuck Critchfield

    I won’t add much to this argument other to say I have been fortunate in that I have been invited to two schools a number of times. Each time clearing with the principal ahead of time, the fact that I was bring a weapon with me. Each time, there was no problem. I demonstrated to the ROTC classes for a number of years, finishing my demonstration (outside the school) by actually firing the Enfield on school grounds…again with full knowledge of the principal. So I was lucky.

    We (meaning our culture) rely more and more on our schools to raise our children (my opinion). It is inevitable that our schools reflect the no risk, liablity at the drop of a hat, culture which reigns through the land.

  6. Jim Barnes Avatar
    Jim Barnes

    It probably depends on the school district and who you know there. I don’t think you could ever be allowed to take anything like that to a school in this county now. All the more reason to put on quality events and get the kids out to them.

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