Indoctrination in New Bedford-Alma Del Mar Charter School is an early intervention re-education camp

On December 13, 2014 in New Bedford, MA a group of scholars, reacting to injustice, protested by chanting and holding signs.  

And what university did this corps of “scholars” attend.  Ah, this advanced group was not post-secondary.  Rather, they are second graders from the Alma Del Mar Charter School.

One has to admit to being impressed.  At their age, to be so enlightened is a gift few possess.  All I remember was that my contemporaries and I thought mostly about escaping the clutches of our pedagogues.  Then again, in second grade, I didn’t consider myself a scholar.

The Boston Globe reported;

“According to Will Gardner, the school’s founder and executive director, a “handful” of the school’s students requested to hold the protest after a lesson on citizenship and the First Amendment, in which topics in the media, including the August death of 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., were discussed.

The students from Shabrina Guerrier’s class asked the head of school, Emily Stainer, if they could hold the protest.”

Mr. Gardner also said the teacher made clear; “was very clear with the scholars that this was not to be an antipolice event in any way,”

Mr. Gardner used the word scholars* without irony.  There is a video in which he comes across as a bit smarmy.

The Globe also reported that; “The students from Shabrina Guerrier’s class asked the head of school, Emily Stainer, if they could hold the protest.”

Now I’m going out on a limb and guess that Shabrina’s class heard a story that may not have been completely evenhanded.  It is not likely a kid that age will want to do that unless prodded a tad.

Mr. Gardner should stop using the word Scholars and maybe use a more apt term, “Young Pioneers.”

George Borden, a local policeman whose daughter was a protesting scholar was under-amused.

“I don’t think 7-year-olds can come up with the idea to go out and protest on the street,” said Borden, whose daughter Alana was among the students on the sidewalk.

Ah, but Mr. Borden, don’t you see, you are not a scholar.

There are two sides to every story and maybe Officer Wilson should have been indicted.  I was not in the class at Alma Del Mar and cannot say if Scholar-Leader Gurrier was or was not truly even-handed.  My experience, as a kid and a parent makes me a doubter.

Somehow an invitation found its way into Officer Borden’s daughter’s backpack:

“Join us for a peaceful protest in New Bedford to stand up for justice for Michael Brown and Eric Garner and to protest against the unjust systems that allow police officers to kill Black  men and boys with immunity”

This had to be a miracle as Scholar Gardner claimed “The school did not issue any kind of invitation to any protest.”

*When Gardner uses the term “scholar” maybe “snowflake” would be more accurate.