O'Green Day at Soule Road School: The News Story That Ran Away

Isn't that puppy adorable? I wonder if he's the reason the story of O'Green Day at Soule Road School has garnered such attention. Someone sure ran with it. Type "O'Green Day" into Google and check out the results.

Our local ABC/Fox channel ran a story--the video of which no longer appears online (at least I couldn't find it)--reporting the principal of Soule Road School, Mrs. Curtin, had changed the name of St. Patrick's Day to O'Green Day in an effort to be "'inclusive and diverse' and ease any discomfort that may go along with celebrating St. Patrick’s Day." The article further stated that Mrs. Curtin declined comment and the Superintendent of Schools, Martin O'Shea was not available for comment. Channel 40 said they reported the story based upon complaints from numerous parents.

If one looks at the school calendar posted on the Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District's website, it clearly states "Happy St. Patrick's Day," on Saturday, March 17th--which is the actual holiday. There is also "Happy St. Patty's Day" in the top right, decorated with clovers. If one then goes to the school's lunch calendar, she will also see traditional symbols of the holiday clearly depicted.

Confused yet?

One can also notice that there are other Fridays on the school calendar with silly names: "Anything Wacky Friday" (2nd), "Lunch Time Luau with DJ Chris Hamel" (9th), and "Team Spirit Day with DJ Chris Hamel" (30th). Last year at Soule Road School we had similar PTO sponsored activities for the students. I don't know the reason for choosing March, but I am guessing it has something to do with MCAS, the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System. These are the annual standardized tests required by the Education Reform Law of 1993. The students and staff work their tails off to get ready for these tests, so it's nice to give them a treat.

Even though Superintendent O'Shea and School Committee Chairman, Scott Chapman, issued statements stating the name of St. Patrick's Day had not been changed, that didn't stop pundits from hopping on the bandwagon to condemn this attempt at political correctness. Glenn Beck said the school administration had removed the name St. Patrick's Day "from all the flyers and everything else." He called it another attack on the Catholics. On Monday, March 19th, Rush Limbaugh also commented on the story. You can read the short transcript on his website.

What Limbaugh touches on, which Beck did not, is the name of St. Valentine's Day at Soule Road School being changed to "Caring and Kindness Day." Now, I had heard some of the teachers wished to celebrate this in their classrooms, but I never witnessed it firsthand. Perhaps this is where the problems arose for some people--assuming this is true.

I've been a fan of Rush Limbaugh for more than a decade. I also enjoy listening to Glenn Beck. It seems, however, that an incomplete initial investigation led to this issue being blown out of proportion. And the fact is that O'Green Day, like the other themed days in March, are sponsored by the PTO, which is run by parents, not the school's administration or the school district. I wouldn't have any qualms complaining about political correctness in my child's school, but in this case, it appears the school's reputation and that of the principal has been unfairly called into question.

Free for All Fridays - Is Family TV Extinct?

Many blogs run a Free for All Friday, so this feature isn't unique by any means. Even Rush Limbaugh has Open Line Fridays, where his listeners help dictate the direction of the show by sharing what is on their minds. For this blog, Free for All Friday is going to start off being about whatever is on  my mind at the time. It could have to do with family life, books, television, religion, politics (Did I just mention those two never talk about subjects?) or who knows what else. If this feature becomes popular enough, I would like to see readers directing our Friday conversations. We'll see how it goes.

Today's topic is spurred by two things:  my inability to find anything I can sit and watch with my kids on a regular basis, and an article about Collingswood, New Jersey (the home town of TV legend Michael Landon) misplacing a plaque that was dedicated in his honor.

I grew up with shows like Happy Days, Little House on the Prairie, The Brady Bunch, Diff'rent Strokes, and The Waltons. What do these shows have in common? They have strong family units with caring parents--or in the case of Diff'rent Strokes, a caring parent--who deal with the triumphs and tragedies of daily life. On a regular basis these shows provide viewers with some type of lesson. Modern-day counterparts seem more concerned with highlighting the total dysfunction of their families. Even on networks that are family oriented, some shows have self-centered parents who are so concerned with their looks or fulfilling their own dreams that their children are negatively impacted. Though the issues are resolved by the end of the show, why are parents portrayed this way?

One can't help but wonder what messages about authority figures are relayed to children when often times the children manage to outsmart the adults in their lives. There are cases where teachers are seen as argumentative kooks. Fathers are dumb as boxes of rocks--except on those few occasions where they dole out useful advice and declare their love of home and family.

Granted, our world has changed in the past thirty years, and in some ways we wouldn't want to reverse the clock. I still can't help but think, however, that highlighting dysfunction only leads to more of it, because children see this as the norm. They learn to challenge authority when their TV heroes manage it on a regular basis. A tiny part of me also believes that if quality family television from the '70's still existed, the plaque honoring Michael Landon never would have been mislaid.

What do you think? Does quality family TV still exist? Are there shows out there you feel comfortable watching as a family?