On Monday, the Forestville School Board held a special meeting to discuss banning the alphabet from Forestville public schools.
“As a grandmother, I don’t want my grandkids being exposed to ABC’s,” an elderly woman said.
“I went into my child’s classroom and they had the alphabet everywhere. I never saw the alphabet displayed in the classroom when I was in school. I feel this is grooming children for things,” said Melissa Ponders, a mother of a first-grade student.
Controversy over the alphabet erupted recently when a single parent voiced a concern, “Letters can be used to form words which can be twisted to make sentences that become paragraphs which can lead to stories and ideas that can be morally challenging,” wrote Elizabeth Kern in an email to school board members.
When contacted by Boardman, Kern also objected to the ABC song, which is used around the world to teach children their ABC’s. “That song closes with ‘Now I know my ABC’s. Next time, won’t you sing with me.’ Who exactly do they want to sing with my child? They won’t say and that is part of the problem.”
The mayor, who, in addition to being a businessman, scientist, and historian, is a noted linguist. He took time from playing Pickle Ball and weighed in on the controversy, “I know a lot about the alphabet, like it has 27 letters. Therefore, it makes me uniquely qualified to root out any problems, if there are any. Did I mention that Bristol, which Forestville is part of, is a big, small town? I invented that in case you did not know.”
In August, the Forestville School Board will take a vote on the matter and based on Kern’s letter, they will debate if the number 666 should be banned due to its relationship with the Devil.
For Mike…