Webster students were told to change out of their T-shirts that paid tribute to the victims of the Sandy Hook massacre last week, according to Fox 25.
One of the students, a first-grade boy, was wearing a shirt that read "Rest in peace, the victims of Sandy Hook Elementary School. And in the front is all the kids' names," his parent Tiffany Elliot told FOX 25.
Elliot told Fox 25 she talked to her son about the shooting and thought the best way to handle it was to have him show his support for the victims. But the school, said Elliot, disagreed, saying it wasn't their place to discuss the tragedy with students.
Instead, Superintendent Dr. Barbara Malkas told Fox 25, "... I don't feel it is the school's right to take that privilege of parenting away and supersede on their behalf."
Do you think the two students should have been allowed to wear their shirts in support of the Sandy Hook School victims? Tell us in the comments.
Dan B.
12:42 pm on Wednesday, December 19, 2012
I 100% agree with the school system. We're not talking middle or high school students, we're talking six year-olds. Even some (not all) of the students who survived the event, when interviewed, seemed to think it was more exciting than terrifying - not able to grasp the horrific nature of the events due to their expected lack of maturity/development. Parents should be able to have the right to keep their children as immune as possible from this if that is what they think is best. That being said, kids will talk no matter what, and sadly I feel that there is no student who doesn't know, on some level, what happened already.
DGM
11:40 am on Monday, December 24, 2012
Really Dan? Kids are already exposed to adult type themes in elementary school because of certain groups. I have young kids and they are way smarter than you give them credit. They know what is going on.
Bob Z
2:53 pm on Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Are you people serious, it's that kind of thinking that gets us into these situations. Get real!!!!
Joe Kane
5:02 pm on Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Bob Z - apparently you are not a parent. Kids go through growth stages mentally as well as physically. Which is why you have to be particular in what you share with them at younger ages. I saw this news article on the TV and it looks as if the shirt was made by a mother who was looking for notoriety and probably shares way too much with her own 6 year old. It would be different if we were talking middle or high school, but these are elementary kids who need to have things explained to them BY THEIR PARENTS at their own pace.
Bob Z
7:36 pm on Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Father of 5, all grown up and doing well, very well. They all learned from an early year about life and about all the good and bad around our society. I was not going the let them grow up as i did being protected from all the bad and only let in the good. For example the Vietnam war although i was a pre to early teen, it was not uncommon to have anything related to that war hush, hushed and look howe our soldier were treated for decades in part due to the lack of expose to the younger generation that grew up during the conflict. Kids need to be taught early because they have inquisitive minds and should not be lied to and they should be able to express and honor if they choose
Joe Kane
6:47 am on Thursday, December 20, 2012
By the way Bob. Did your kids find out about "Santa" from one of their big-mouth classmates in Kindergarten or First Grade? Or were you able to do it on your own schedule? I'll bet you wish that other parents would think first before they talk to their kids don't you?
Bob Z
7:40 pm on Wednesday, December 19, 2012
BTW, everyone brings up their child as they deem fit unless you feel a dictatorship is required, i am pretty sure you would like to raise your children on your own with your beliefs until they decide as they get older to chose their own road.
Joe Kane
6:44 am on Thursday, December 20, 2012
Bob - you are easily making my case for me. No one else, besides the parent, should be exposing these kids to this issue without the parents' knowledge or input. Your parenting decisions should not be forced onto me or my kids. Karen below has it right. When she knows her little girl is ready, she will talk to her. No one here is saying that the preferred action is to put their heads in the sand. Parents should have the right to deal with their kids on these kinds of issues on THEIR schedule, not yours or mine.
Karen Smith
8:40 pm on Wednesday, December 19, 2012
My 6-year old is too young to understand. Some of her little friends might, but she is not ready to grasp what happened. We have said nothing, but someday when she gets older we will have to explain the definition of evil. Not looking forward to that.
Ed Burdick
9:51 am on Thursday, December 20, 2012
This is not an easy question. My first instinct on reading this was to say the school had no right to dictate how an individual family processes this event. It felt like an abuse of power. But upon reading the news item and seeing how carefully school officials were considering the situation, and the kind of communication they had with parents, I have to come down on the district's side. Turning the whole thing into a power struggle does not serve any of the children well.
UglyHat
12:44 pm on Thursday, December 20, 2012
I agree with Bob Z, and for those of you that think your kids should remain immune or that your kids are too young to hear, see or learn about this stuff...They are obviously not immune to the violence in our society and so cannot and should not be immune to information about that violence. Media is so pervasive that unless you keep your kids entirely isolated you cannot keep them from seeing, hearing and learning about it. You can pretend they don’t know, but I think you’re kidding yourselves.
Joe Kane
2:13 pm on Thursday, December 20, 2012
UglyHat and BobZ - I believe that you both are taking the position of absentee parents. Letting the school and other parents do your job of sitting down with your own kids when the time is right to discuss the matter at hand. Would you want me to sit with your kids before you have a chance to talk to them, if you planned to? I didn't think so. Parents should have the choice by themselves and not by others who think they know what is best for other peoples' kids. I am not advocating avoidance of the subject, unless they are just too young to know what is going on. The choice should be mine.
UglyHat
12:38 pm on Saturday, December 22, 2012
That’s not it at all Joe, but thanks for the vote of confidence.
I might not be thrilled about you talking about to my kids about certain topics but in some cases there is not a lot I can do about it. And that’s my point. There are so many people and so many ways kids hear about things, that attempting to stifle conversation about something so big is irrational.
I talk to my kids so I can make sure they understand things as I do. And so I can answer questions they may have. That way when they hear others talking, or see it on TV, or see a T-shirt, they have some understanding already.
Deedee
3:43 pm on Thursday, December 20, 2012
I agree with Uglyhat and BobZ. The kid was wearing a shirt in honor of those who died. If you dont want your kid to know about what happened, then when they ask about it, tell them not to worry, it doesnt concern them. But if you don't wont your kid to know about it, you should realize that they need to know about it. They dont need to know all the specifics, but they need to know what happened. This happened in a small little town to little children, it could happen in any of our communities. Parents need to stop hiding the world from their children, the kids need to know that there is good and bad stuff out there. You just need to let them know that you will be there for them and that you love them.
K
9:04 pm on Thursday, December 20, 2012
Deede, until just recently no parent has ever had to sit down with their child and tell them, "Hey by the way, there are crazy people out there and one day they may come in your school shooting kids. There is nothing you can do about it, but hey don't worry." Come on. There is really nothing you can do to prepare for a situation like that. They do drills in school for it, but don't get into specifics. That alone scared my six year old for a week. The school is right, it is up to the parents to tell the kids, not them. Again, this isn't high school age, young kids.
David Nolta
9:06 pm on Thursday, December 20, 2012
I'm a bit confused (surprise!). The article seems to ask two questions as if they were one and the same. A child wore a t-shirt expressing his (and presumably his parents') sympathy for the victims of a shooting in which many of the victims were the same age as the child wearing the shirt and expressing the sympathy. But the school superintendent has denied the child this right because it "takes the privilege of parenting away" from the parent. How so? Or perhaps I've missed something...
Children often have experience of tragedy, at home and outside. And anybody who deludes him- or herself into believing that if ONE child knows about such a horrific event, such knowledge can be contained and kept from others, well, that person must have been home-schooled. And even then... Children are exposed to the news. Children listen to their parents. And so, children know that children can be shot. If a child chooses--and a parent supports that child's choice--to wear a t-shirt which is, in essence, an expression of sympathy for other children, I fail to see how that forces the school into the role of parent. I think children shouldn't be pushed to wear such a shirt, nor should they be forced not to wear such a shirt. I think, in short, that people should listen to their children more, and respect that they are listening and thinking, too, and often have something of their own to say.
DGM
11:51 am on Monday, December 24, 2012
Well said!!!
David Nolta
9:10 pm on Thursday, December 20, 2012
In fairness I must add that when I was that age, I had to wear a uniform, and I liked it. So much simpler all around.
DGM
11:49 am on Monday, December 24, 2012
Kids are exposed to all sorts of things that I would want to wait until at least middle school... same sex marriage comes to mind. But because of the PC world we live in I had to explain it to my 8 year old. BUT I guess PC only matters when the school or teacher agrees with it. Kids are exposed to more adult things at an early age and I want my kids knowing what hapened was wrong and to suport the people if Newtown is a good thing. I took my kids to the candle light vigil on the common is that a bad thing?