Posts Tagged ‘Massachusetts’
Honorable mention
It leapt out at me as I drove past the marquee sign in front of the high school. I wasn’t annoyed so much as bemused. I took a picture and posted it on Facebook with the light-hearted comment, “Did they run out of letters?” The responses from the local “Kindness is Everything” community were anything […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays | 5 Comments
Tags: Christmas, Easter, holiday, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Opinion, patriotism, School Committee, schools, sign, Spring Break, veteran, Veterans' Day, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield High School, Wakefield Junior High School, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Memorial High School, WHS, Winter Break, WMHS
Happy fall celebration!
When we spoke of a war on Christmas, they rolled their eyes. They told us to “grow up” when we wanted to keep our high school logos. They said cancel culture was a myth. Now, they can’t believe that the forces of diversity, equity and inclusion want to cancel Halloween.
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Community, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 4 Comments
Tags: cancel culture, Columbus Day, COVID, Critical Race Theory, culturally responsive teaching, diversity, equity, fall celebration, groupthinkHalloween, Humor, inclusion, Julie Kukenbergerger, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Melrose, Melrose Public Schools, Opinion, Politics, School Committee, schools education, social justice, students, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Human Rights Commission, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Warrior Logo, War on Christmas, Youth Council
Decolonizing Columbus
I love Columbus Day because it reminds me of a bygone era before children were taught to hate their own country, its founding and its history. Now, we teach students that they live on stolen land and are descended from genocidal oppressors. Must do wonders for their social emotional wellness. Our local Human Rights Commission […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 3 Comments
Tags: America, Christopher Columbus, Columbus Day, explorer, Galvin Middle School, General John Galvin, headdress, History, humor Wakefield High School, Indians, Indigenous People, Indigenous Peoples Day, Majorettes, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Native Americans, Opinion, Politics, restorative justice, schools, Wakefield, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Human Rights Commission, Wakefield School Committee, Wakefield Warriors, Warrior logo
Policy of truth
“We’re only getting rid of the Warrior logo. The Warrior name can stay.” How many times did we hear those soothing words of assurance over the last year? I didn’t believe it the first time I heard it and I don’t believe it now. Even before they cancelled the logo, I said, “They’ll be back […]
Filed under: Art, Columns & Essays, Humor, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 18 Comments
Tags: Cyrus Wakefield, definition, dictionary, Eagle Feather, Hiker, Humor, immigrants, Indian, Lakers, logos, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Native American, Opinion, policy, Politics, Richard Bayrd, School Committee, schools, team names, violence, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield High School, Wakefield Human Rights Commission, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Public Schools, Wakefield Warrior, war, warrior, wicker, Youth Council
If the sudden urgency to eliminate the Wakefield Warrior logo last spring after 75 years struck you as curious, perhaps it shouldn’t have come as such a surprise. In retrospect, you wouldn’t have to be a conspiracy theorist to conclude that the logo’s elimination was merely setting the stage for something bigger, like the local […]
Filed under: History, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 7 Comments
Tags: America, American University, children, colonialism, colonizers, CRT, culturally responsive teaching, culture, educators, History, Humor, Indians, Indigenous Curriculum, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, melting pot, Mishy Lesser, Native Americans, Opinion, Politics, public schools, students, teachers, United States, Upstander Academy, Upstander Project, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield School Committee, Wakefield School Department, Wakefield Warrior Logo, WakefieldMA, Youth Council
Train in vain
WAKEFIELD, MA — The closure since last November of the Broadway commuter rail crossing has certainly been no picnic for many, and the damage to nearby businesses is not to be minimized. At the same time, I’m an optimist by nature, and in the spirit of this week’s theme of arcane 1970s pop culture references, […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, Humor, News, Opinion, Wakefield | 2 Comments
Tags: Boys & Girls Club, Broadway, crossing, Federal Railroad Administration, FRA, Greenwood, gridlock, Harvard Mills, Humor, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Monty Python, New Englnd Dragway, Opinion, Politics, quiet zone, railroad, traffic, train, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, Wesr Side
Forum follies
It was a cavalcade of cancel culture, featuring a Who’s Who of Wakefield’s woke elite at their virtue signaling best. Last week’s online “public forum” on the Wakefield Warrior logo was utterly predictable in its participation and tenor. In fact, I did predict it.
Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 9 Comments
Tags: activists, cancel culture, culture, election, heritage, History, Human Rights Commission, Humor, Indians, Indiginous Peoples, Jason Lewis, logo, Mark Sardella, mascot, Massachusetts, Native Americans, networking, Opinion, political correctness, public forum, public opinion, School Committee, school logo, speakers, sports, technology, tradition, Wakefield, Wakefield Daily Itempolitics, Wakefield Warrior, warrior, WCAT, William Carroll, woke, Youth Council, Zoom
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
The longest year
Time flies when you’re having fun, which explains why 2020 has been the longest year since the asteroid traveling at 40,000 mph crashed into the Yucatan Peninsula 66 million years ago, wiping out nearly 80 percent of life on earth and disappointing thousands of spring breakers. Kind of puts 2020 in perspective, doesn’t it?
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Humor, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 2 Comments
Tags: asteroid, business, coronavirus, COVID-19, defund, facemask, Festival Italia, fun, Holiday Stroll, holidays, Humor, hybrid, jobs, July Fourth, Mark Sardella, Mask Police, masks, Massachusetts, mute button, Opinion, pandemic, plague, police, Politics, Saint Nick, Santa Claus, School Committee, schools, supermarkets, Town Council, unmute, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, work, Yucatan, Zoom
Mark Sardella 