School Trip Cancellation Premature

(The following letter to Newtown Middle School Principal Diane Sherlock has been received for publication.)

Dear Ms Sherlock:

As an American and as a parent I was appalled by the premature, knee-jerk reaction you have taken to the recent terrorist attacks. Specifically, I refer to the decision to cancel the eighth grade spring field trip to Gettysburg and Washington, DC. This action, which was made without any advance notice or consultation with parents flies in the face of both logic and common sense, and it sacrifices important educational experiences for no good reason.

You say the cancellation is required “because of the necessity to keep the safety of our wonderful students paramount.” This field trip is not even scheduled to take place for several months. Who knows what the situation will be then? If some parents still deem the trip too dangerous then, let them exercise their right to deny permission for their children to attend. Let’s get beyond the hysteria bred form recent events and look at the reality of the situation. There is no hard evidence that our students will be in any more danger going on this field trip now than before September 11. The nation’s capital has been and always will be a target for this nation’s enemies. It was burned down by the British in 1812, causing far more damage than the recent attack on the Pentagon. Should American school children be kept from seeing the seat of their democracy because that democracy has and always will have enemies? I think not. This leads us to the real crux of the issue.

The terrorists only win when they force us to give up of sacrifice that which we hold most dear. The way to show them that they cannot win is to carry on. We must continue to teach and revere our democracy and show our young people that democracy and liberty are concepts the terrorists cannot defeat. They are concepts worth all the blood spilt at Gettysburg. They are concepts put in action daily in the workings of our government in Washington, DC. Our students should see that first-hand and in the context of their regular curriculum, taught by their regular teachers and whether or not their families could afford a vacation trip to Washington. That’s education that is well worth whatever risk my eighth-grade daughter may face to obtain it.

Sincerely,

William Sampson

63 Philo Curtis Road, Sandy Hook September 24, 2001