What about the students? They loved it. They still get the daylong educational program without the 20-30 minute battle re-enactment.
One of the students showed more wisdom about the re-enactment than any of the adults involved in the decision-making process.
Said Jamie Cronce;"The battle was like the climax of the whole day," she recalled. "It was what everyone was looking forward to. I guess (school leaders) are looking at how violent it was, but that's how history was."
From the Appleton Post Crescent:
"A school program designed to offer fifth-graders a feel for conditions faced by soldiers during the Civil War will no longer include its most popular feature.
The daylong education program will proceed as before, but without the 20- to 30-minute battle segment, Judy Baseman, assistant superintendent for the Appleton Area School District, said Wednesday. The battle segment was scratched after a group of parents raised concerns it conflicts with violence-prevention efforts and a district policy banning look-alike weapons at schools.
Jamie Cronce, 17, who participated in the mock battle as a Huntley Elementary School fifth-grader in 2003, said Wednesday she understands the district's position but disagrees with it.
"I can see where they are coming from" on the policy question, said Cronce, a junior at Appleton North High School. "But I don't think they should be altering the lessons they are teaching because of school policies."
Cronce said this year's student participants are bound to be disappointed.
"The battle was like the climax of the whole day," she recalled. "It was what everyone was looking forward to. I guess (school leaders) are looking at how violent it was, but that's how history was."
Parents of the nearly 800 fifth-graders scheduled participate in this year's Civil War programs learned of the change in letters distributed March 5.
The letter stated the battle portion of the re-enactment was dropped to fit with district policy "related to weapons" and efforts to promote "the desired school climate."
Nan Bunnow, the district's director of humanities, said principals of the 15 participating schools recommended the change to program leaders. Bunnow said students were generally disappointed, but complaints of the change from parents have been few.
"This has been such a popular and important event to the students, we hadn't really thought about (the violence)," Bunnow said.
"I know Johnston (Elementary School) had one parent that came forward" to protest the change, Bunnow said. "I think there have been a couple at Franklin, but it hasn't been a whirlwind of controversy because it's only the last 20 minutes of the event.
"With everything we've been doing with anti-violence and anti-bullying policies … we knew we had to take a look at this."
A group of parents concerned about the battle re-enactment began contacting school district officials last summer, Baseman said. The resulting review showed the Civil War re-enactment groups that made the program possible had eliminated battle segments from events held in other school districts after similar concerns were raised, she said.
Baseman said some students will carry the mock weapons during marching exercises, but not in combat situations.
"They'll learn about what it's like to be a soldier, but they won't have that one moment in time when they are attempting to shoot at and kill each other out on the battlefield," Baseman said. "That is the only aspect that is going away."
Baseman said students at Fox River Academy, which had withdrawn its participation in the re-enactment because of the battle segment, chose to rejoin the program this year after learning the battle was dropped.
Jean Herron, a parent of three children thrilled to participate in the mock battle as fifth-graders and a school counselor in the district, said she recalls mixed emotions when taking pictures of the battle when her son participated in 2002.
"It was exciting, but then … I remember thinking, here we have an entire park full of kids fake-playing like they were killing each other," Herron said."
Jamie Cronce, 17, who participated in the mock battle as a Huntley Elementary School fifth-grader in 2003, said Wednesday she understands the district's position but disagrees with it.
"I can see where they are coming from" on the policy question, said Cronce, a junior at Appleton North High School. "But I don't think they should be altering the lessons they are teaching because of school policies."
Cronce said this year's student participants are bound to be disappointed.
"The battle was like the climax of the whole day," she recalled. "It was what everyone was looking forward to. I guess (school leaders) are looking at how violent it was, but that's how history was."
Parents of the nearly 800 fifth-graders scheduled participate in this year's Civil War programs learned of the change in letters distributed March 5.
The letter stated the battle portion of the re-enactment was dropped to fit with district policy "related to weapons" and efforts to promote "the desired school climate."
Nan Bunnow, the district's director of humanities, said principals of the 15 participating schools recommended the change to program leaders. Bunnow said students were generally disappointed, but complaints of the change from parents have been few.
"This has been such a popular and important event to the students, we hadn't really thought about (the violence)," Bunnow said.
"I know Johnston (Elementary School) had one parent that came forward" to protest the change, Bunnow said. "I think there have been a couple at Franklin, but it hasn't been a whirlwind of controversy because it's only the last 20 minutes of the event.
"With everything we've been doing with anti-violence and anti-bullying policies … we knew we had to take a look at this."
A group of parents concerned about the battle re-enactment began contacting school district officials last summer, Baseman said. The resulting review showed the Civil War re-enactment groups that made the program possible had eliminated battle segments from events held in other school districts after similar concerns were raised, she said.
Baseman said some students will carry the mock weapons during marching exercises, but not in combat situations.
"They'll learn about what it's like to be a soldier, but they won't have that one moment in time when they are attempting to shoot at and kill each other out on the battlefield," Baseman said. "That is the only aspect that is going away."
Baseman said students at Fox River Academy, which had withdrawn its participation in the re-enactment because of the battle segment, chose to rejoin the program this year after learning the battle was dropped.
Jean Herron, a parent of three children thrilled to participate in the mock battle as fifth-graders and a school counselor in the district, said she recalls mixed emotions when taking pictures of the battle when her son participated in 2002.
"It was exciting, but then … I remember thinking, here we have an entire park full of kids fake-playing like they were killing each other," Herron said."
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