This week is Red Ribbon Week. It is a week of celebrating being drug-free. Every day they choose a new, silly way to celebrate. There are endless possibilities. So this is why I can't understand how the school thinks, in elementary school, that a Nerd Day is a good way to be silly.
How does one explain the term nerd to a child? I know that by the time I was in high school I had a whole group of friends that celebrated our nerdiness. We embraced being awesome for being different. However, the idea that you can explain to a young child what it means to be a nerd is crazy. Everything good about a nerd I want my child to strive for. Nerds are smart, creative people that usually grow up to lead to the world. But this isn't something that is easy to understand for a child trying to figure out who they are. Nerd Day is a way of mocking people who are different. It's not okay. And here I thought we were trying to avoid bullying.
With all of this in mind, I couldn't help but contact the school. This is what I said:
Re: Nerd Day
Hi Mr. Principal Man,
I am emailing because something has been bothering me for a few days. I was going to let it go until today when I dropped my kids off for school and saw the other kids dressed for Nerd Day.
I have two kids at Local School. They are in kindergarten and second grade. They have both been asking me since last week what a nerd was. Now, we do not make fun of each other at home. We also do not put others down for being who they are. If you are raising your kids to be accepting of all people, it's hard to explain to them what a nerd is.
So, today, as I drop my sweet kindergartener off for school in glasses he's had since he was two years old, my heart breaks. I wonder how I will explain to him why all the kids thought that dressing like a nerd meant to wear glasses. I wonder, with all the anti-bullying talk around, how a school could be okay with this. There are so many other ways to be silly and fun and promote being drug-free.
I hope that you will take my thoughts into consideration for next year's Red Ribbon Week.
Thanks,
Taylor
I'm sure many of you see this as a benign way to have fun. I can imagine the response from my uncle, the educator, who taught me the word nerd. But this can only be fun if we like to laugh at people for being different and I see no good in that.
2 comments:
Mmmm...makes me sad. You are so right. I'd have a tough time talking to my girls about that, too. That's what we have to do, though. It is our responsibility as parents to set the standard at home, hope that the foundation is firm, and pray that when they go out in the world, they remember what we have taught them. As an educator and parent, I'm proud of you for sending the email.
Oh Taylor, that made me cry to think of your sweet D trying to figure that out. Thanks for not just letting it go. I hope the email you sent will help the school make the change that it hopes to see, and not choose such a strange way to "celebrate" anti-bullying. I wish I could hear Mr. Principal Man's response.
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