The philosopher George Santayana told us that, “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” This makes a report in The Times Record from last week all the more troubling. The report states that a long-running educational program and historical reenactment of the Civil War and Pickett’s Charge from the Battle of Gettysburg is about to come to an end at Brunswick’s Stowe Elementary School.

The Civil War reenactment is falling victim to a curriculum change within the school department. What would replace the reenactment in the social studies program has not been announced. Although, whatever change is made, this cherished learning tool may be gone for good.

The reenactment consumed my family for the latter half of the most recent school year. My son, would recount some little known fact about a Civil War soldier, their equipment or the life that they lead on a daily basis. Through the course and discussions, he showed real excitement and a desire to learn.

The Civil War was not an abstract idea or a theory in a textbook. Through his teacher, Mr. Sullivan, the Civil War, and the period surrounding the war, came alive. The period was tangible. It was real. The reenactment was much more than a discussion about the battles and more an explanation of the travails that each person in that era had to overcome.

One of the reasons given for the change in the curriculum was that the students at the Stowe School have lived their entire lives in a climate of war. In The Times Record article, Jean Skorapa, principal of the Stowe School, made clear that the students were treated sensitively as to the concept of the war. Skorapa went on to say that the teachers, “are not promoting war.”

In the educational arena, the discussion of an idea or a theory is not a blanket promotion of that which is being taught. Simply discussing slavery does not support everyone owning a slave. Discussing the use of drugs and their impact on a life does not suggest that every student should take up a drug habit. These things are taught to give a knowledge base to the student and allow them to make an informed decision as to what they believe.

At a time when flags are being torn down and monuments are being protested, does it make sense to insulate a child from the context of that which is going on around them? To deny students a necessary forum for discussion? To cast aside an understanding of the actions and decisions that lead to this great chasm? Should we not strive to empower our children with the tools to answer the questions they may have in a fashion that allows them to understand our history? The reenactment did just that.

Regardless of the topic, school children should be exposed to various viewpoints and their impact on their lives and the lives of those through history. How do we explain to our children who Joshua Chamberlain is without discussing what he did at the Little Round Top? How do we explain who Harriet Beecher Stowe is without discussing slavery and the impact of her book on the Civil War? Exposing children to the totality of these events is the only way to ensure that complete understanding will be found.

Have we come to a point where uncomfortable topics, timely as they may be, are pushed aside in order to protect the sensitivities of the students being taught? Using this template, school children should not be taught about the Holocaust or Hitler. They should not be taught about the Cold War and its long history. This very line of thinking might have been used to perpetuate the idea that the world was flat. After all, falling off of the planet could be an uncomfortable situation for a student sitting in a classroom. Thankfully we know better today.

Students in and out of today’s classrooms are exposed to uncomfortable or different ideas. These students are resilient and soak up knowledge faster than it can be provided. With the contextual background that a teacher, a parent, an adult can provide, the student will flourish.

Before the discussion regarding the removal of the Civil War reenactment and study is complete, I hope that the School Board and the School Department look at what is being gained by removing the program. More significantly, I hope that the two bodies understand what it is that may be lost in the desire to be sensitive to our children.

That is my two cents …

———

Jonathan Crimmins lives in Brunswick.