Schools
"Racist Symbols And Drawings" Reported At Westwood High School
The incident comes on the heels of 2017 swastika graffiti at Westwood High School. SEE UPDATE.
According to the November 5-12 2018 Westwood Police log on Wicked Local, on Wednesday, November 7 it was reported to the Westwood Police Department that "The principal at Westwood High School reported that a desk had been vandalized with sexual terms, racist symbols and drawings. The school is investigating."
This vandalism comes less than two years after Westwood High School made the news for having swastika graffiti in April of 2017. At that time, the rabbi from Temple Beth David was brought in to speak with students and then-superintendent John Antonucci labelled it a "teachable moment."
As incidents such as the one which took place on the seventh are on the rise throughout the country, Norfolk County, and the Metro-west area, dubbing such events "teachable moments" is woefully naive. Nor is racism a new problem at Westwood High School—in 1999, WHS alumnus Andrew Britt Greenbaum made the front page of the Boston Globe.
Find out what's happening in Westwoodfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Hammerstein famously argued that "you've got to be carefully taught," begging the question of who taught the student who drew on the desk that these beliefs and behavior were ok, and why?
Update as of 8pm 11/17--Per an email from Superintendent Emily J. Parks "...we are in the midst of an internal investigation to try and determine the source of the graffiti. Obviously, this is something that is very troubling for the entire Westwood Schools community. It is important that all members of the Westwood Public Schools demonstrate respect for one another; it is something we communicate directly to all students.
Find out what's happening in Westwoodfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The graffiti we discovered in one classroom of Westwood High School was scrawled onto a desk. It was small and faint and we do not believe that any students were exposed to it, which made us think it did not warrant a letter sent to the community. We are not proud that this kind of racist, offensive communication was found in one of our schools. We also don't believe it is reflective of the majority of the students in our high school. Sadly, incidents like this serve as a reminder of the importance of the work we are doing in our schools to teach respect for all people..."