Change started subtly when the Cake Walk, frosted baked goods, dancing, and music that was deemed too loud were replaced with hula hoops, matts, and jump ropes in the form of an obstacle course. Then Parker got rid of the Petting Zoo and the Dunk Tank, replacing them with a single puppy. Woodland People day was revised so it swapped out the ‘People’ for ‘Activity,’ and then alteration aimed itself towards the fourth grade Egyptian Museum where it traded Egyptian outfits for those that a curator might wear.

Finally the most recent change: the Senior Weiner County Fair video – the traditional hot dog skit – was excluded from this year’s (and last year’s) County Fair MX. Will the “Parker Tradition Revision” reach Thanksgiving?

Parker students come from everywhere –public schools, private schools, and different states. We have all learned about Thanksgiving in some shape or form, whether it be through cutting out hand shaped turkeys or tediously scribbling down what we’re thankful for.

We all learn the story in which pilgrims come to New England and feast with the natives. This is why we have turkey, and this is why we give thanks…right? If you don’t remember the history of Thanksgiving, consider this a refresher course.

In 1614, Native Americans were taken and sent to Europe to be sold as slaves, and the very few that survived learned enough to communicate with the Pilgrims. Years later, the Pilgrims lost close to half of their population the winter of the Mayflower’s arrival. Because these natives were able to communicate and teach the Pilgrims, the Pilgrims survived.

Long story short –there was a feast, but most of us already knew that. But get this: in the food there was poison, and hundreds of natives died. Over the course of the first days of Thanksgiving, natives were tortured, mutilated, stabbed, burned, and more.

Thanksgiving celebrates victory over the Natives, and though we today celebrate with stuffing and turkey, the Pilgrims celebrating by kicking severed heads through the street.  And to top it all off, there was no turkey at the first Thanksgiving.

Knowing this, should we continue celebrating Thanksgiving at Parker? Whether anyone likes it or not, Thanksgiving is a national holiday.

As someone who loves the days leading up to it – spent cooking (or in my case, smelling) the delicious Thanksgiving foods – I can’t imagine giving it up. I also can’t imagine celebrating this holiday the same way knowing what I know now.

We aren’t celebrating the actual history of Thanksgiving with our Morning Ex or half day or long weekend. We aren’t celebrating the brutal treatment of slaves or the war between the Pilgrims and natives. We are celebrating what we’re thankful for, and we are celebrating our family and friends. Honestly, most of us are celebrating turkey, pie, and a five day weekend.

The way we celebrate Thanksgiving at Parker doesn’t need to be revised. The MX shouldn’t be replaced, and the third graders should continue to share what they’re thankful for. But we do need to change what we are learning.

If someone asked me a week ago the history of Thanksgiving, I would have rambled on about turkey and natives and pilgrims. I wouldn’t know the darker side of this holiday, and I am sure there are many today who don’t know. Younger kids can continue to draw turkey’s, but they need to start learning about Thanksgiving the right way, even if it means that the gruesome details are left out and taught in only older grades.