Archive for the ‘History’ Category
Undue process
“First we have the fair trial, then we hang him.” That quote from Judge Roy Bean came to mind last week as I watched the School Committee discuss the “process” that would be used to determine the fate of the Wakefield Warrior logo. After this “process” plays out, the School Committee, in its adopted role […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 4 Comments
Tags: Aimee Purcell, ballot question, Colleen Guida, court, Darci Burns, execution, Finance Committee, gallows, Greg Liakos, hanging, hangman, Humor, Judge Roy Bean, justice, logo, Mark Sardella, Mike Boudreau, Opinion, Politics, process, referendum, school, School Committee, sentence, Thomas Markham, Town Council, Town Election, trial, verdict, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield High School, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Warrior, Youth Council, Zoom
Offensive strategy
If nothing else, the current debate over the Wakefield Warrior logo has been educational. I’m not talking about learning the unique history of the logo. It’s been well-established that a local Native American family and the four-star general for whom we named the Galvin Middle School played key roles in the history of the Warrior […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Family, History, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 5 Comments
Tags: ancestry, athletes, children, education, Galvin Middle School, game plan, heritage, History, Indian, jocks, John R. Galvin, logo, Mark Sardella, Native American, Opinion, Politics, Richard Bayrd, school, strategy, students, tactics, U.S. Census, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield High School, Wakefield MA, warrior, Youth Council
Done Deal
Allow me to be the one to break the sad news. The Wakefield Warrior logo is history. Oh sure, the School Committee paid lip service Tuesday night to the lofty notion of having a “community-wide discussion.” But you didn’t need a degree in “English Language Arts” to read between the lines. There would be no […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 14 Comments
Tags: Community, conformity, COVID, cultural appropriation, History, Indian, logo, Mark Sardella, Native Amreican, Opinion, Politics, public opinion, racism, sports, survey, truth, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield High School, Wakefield MA, Wakefield School Committee, Wakefield Warriors, Warrior logo, Youth Council
Civics lesson
A certain kind of bias has long been suspected in public education but has always been vigorously denied. So, I commend Wakefield School Committee member Greg Liakos for his honesty and forthrightness this week in loudly and proudly confirming what many have long believed.
Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 1 Comment
Tags: bias, civic education, civics, civil discourse, classroom, demagogues, democracy, Donald Trump, education, Greg Liakos, learning, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Opinion, parents, Politics, President Trump, School Committee, schools, students, teachers, teaching, voters, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Public Schools
Happy Columbus Day!
Let me be the first to wish you and yours a happy Columbus Day. This year’s holiday is doubly special because it’s not just the second Monday in October. Monday also happens to be Oct. 12, which is traditional Columbus Day. It will be exactly 528 years ago to the day that the great Italian […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, Humor, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 5 Comments
Tags: cancel culture, China, Christopher Columbus, Columbus Day, COVID-19, Elia Sardella, explorer, genealogy, History, human rights, Humor, immigration, Indians, Indiginous Peoples Day, Italian, Italian-Americans, Italy, Luisa Padellaro, Mark Sardella, masculinity, Massachusettts, Native Americans, Nina, Opinion, Palermo, Pinta, Politics, Santa Maria, ship, Sicily, Steve Sardella, Wakefield MA, woke
Warriors forever
The writing has been on the wall for some time. The space on the Wakefield High School field house facade where the Wakefield Warrior logo was once proudly displayed has been conspicuously empty now for at least five years. Ever since an ill wind reportedly blew the Warrior off the building, the School Department has […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 11 Comments
Tags: American Indians, cancel culture, Dick Bayrd, Galvin Middle School, Humor, Jack Galvin, John Rogers Galvin, Leonard Bayard, logo, Mark Sardella, mascot, Massachusetts, Native Americans, NATO, Opinion, Politics, racist, Richard Bayrd, Saugus Sachems, U.S. Army, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield High School, Wakefield Human Rights Commission, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Warriors, warrior
The cost of learning
If there is one group of individuals about whom a discouraging word must never be uttered, it’s public school teachers. Wakefield teachers have been without a contract since last summer, which you’ve probably heard as their supporters have been using social media and other means to spread the word.
Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 1 Comment
Tags: budget, class size, contract, DPW, education, Galvin Middle School, Greenwood School, Humor, Mark Sardella, negotiations, Norma Rae, Opinion, police, Politics, Public Safety Building, salary, School Committee, School Department, schools, students, taxpayers, teachers, Town Meeting, union, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Education Association, Wakefield High School, Wakefield MA, Walton School, WEA
The spark of youth
Massachusetts state lawmakers are currently weighing a proposal that would allow 16 and 17-year-olds to vote. In other news this week, the latest viral trend among teenagers involves partially inserting an iPhone charger into a wall outlet and sliding a penny down the wall onto the exposed prongs, causing an explosion of sparks, electrical damage, […]
Filed under: History, Humor, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | Leave a Comment
Tags: Ayyanna Pressley, ballot, children, elections, electrical outlet, fires, Harvard, iPhones, Jim Morrison, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, penny, plug, Politics, schools, science, Sen. Jason Lewis, smoking, teachers, teenagers, viral, votong, Wakefield Daily Item
Old school
Coming on the heels of the great news that the Greenwood School would at long last be getting a new roof came the even better news that the 123-year-old structure would not support solar panels on the new roof. There goes the planet.
Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | Leave a Comment
Tags: bicycle, building, carbon footprint, Climate Change, coal, construction, cycling, Envision Wakefield, Global Warming, green, Greenwood, Greenwood School, Humor, Mark Sardella, Opinion, Politics, roof, solar panels, Town Report, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Memorial High School, walking
Mark Sardella 