Pembroke School Committee debates "political and social advocacy" policy in classroom
PEMBROKE - Hundreds of people packed into the Pembroke High School auditorium Tuesday night for a school committee meeting on a proposal centered around "political and social advocacy" in the classroom.
There is already a policy in place that deals with this. However, this draft to enforce and expand the rule to include any symbol that could be deemed as distracting to the educational environment, was at the center of a school committee meeting Tuesday night.
Susan Bollinger is the Pembroke School Committee Chair and said she drafted this proposal after hearing from several parents. Many of them, she said, expressed concerns over LGBTQ pride flags on display in classroom. Bollinger said the current policy that addresses "political and social advocacy" had gone underenforced and that his draft proposal would allow for more neutrality.
Bollinger made clear that her motivation. "Teachers should be helping the students how to think, not what to think," said Bollinger. "No student should know how their teacher feels about any political or controversial issue. Teachers should be neutral and be able to present all sides of an issue. Not just the side they agree with."
Students as young as 10 years old spoke out on both sides of this proposal. One fourth grader said, "I want to see more than just the American flag and I think it would be good support of other kids."
Another student spoke out in support of the stricter rules and said other minority students often feel under-represented. "Teachers should be teaching kids about what is in the curriculum, but they don't need to go out of that. It is out of their bounds to be influencing kids in any other sort of way," the student said.
Chris Regan is a senior at Pembroke High School and said, "You may not realize what the adverse effects of removing this flag will produce. By doing so it will send a message to the students, but it will also send a message to the faculty who may be LGBTQ that this community does not accept them."
Parents and teachers spoke out on both sides of the issue. One said she was concerned on where this proposal would end if it was passed. One teacher said, "Please note this proposed change doesn't stop at a pride flag. It could also include posters related to autism awareness and a slew of other topics that others might find uncomfortable."
Some school committee members brought up concerns that if passed, the measure could open the door to costly lawsuits that could go on for years.
After nearly four hours of public comment and debate, the school committee decided not to move forward with the draft.
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