Records Shed Light on Rocky Woods Costume Decision

At the Oct. 13 School Committee, a number of community members and one 3rd grade teacher provided public input regarding the decision to eliminate Colonial costumes from the Rocky Woods feasts scheduled to start Nov. 1 for Wheelock School 3rd graders -- and replace them with t-shirts that state "Third Grade Crew."

Among the comments about the 44-year tradition was an update on the petition calling for the reversal of the decision to eliminate the costumes (now with more than 1,300 signatures). Other input focused on the lack of compliance with multiple Medfield School policies with regard to how the Rocky Woods decision was made, communicated, and exercised without meaningful community engagement.

Wheelock 3rd grade teacher Jim Kuehl told School Committee that Rocky Woods discussions about costumes had been taking place among the 3rd grade team "over the past five years" while Wheelock Principal Holli Caulfield had noted "there were grade-level discussions over the past few years" on the topic. (Agendas for Site Council meetings since April 6, 2018 indicate Rocky Woods was discussed once over a four-year period.)

Among the School Committee meeting attendees was another 3rd grade teacher, Erin Watson, who also serves as president of the Medfield Teachers Association.

Despite claims that 3rd grade teachers led the effort to eliminate the Rocky Woods costumes because they were were an inaccurate "depiction of the curriculum being taught," Watson's own 2022-23 "About Me" blog page had featured a photo of her and 3rd grade colleagues in Colonial costume at the event a number of years ago (the photo and post was removed after this article was published). Her post stated, "I have come to find out there is actually glamour in teaching! Every November I get to dress up as a Pilgrim and reenact the first Thanksgiving.”

(According to Caulfield, and other administrators and teachers over the years, Rocky Woods is not meant to be a reenactment of Thanksgiving.)

Understanding the rationale

Since the time the decision to forgo costumes was first announced on Sept. 28, numerous parents and community members have struggled to understand the reason for the change, as well as the decision-making process. The initial e-mail sent to parents about one month before the first event only stated that the change was a continued effort to "foster community."

However, a follow-up e-mail on Oct. 6 from Caulfield and Superintendent Jeffrey Marsden stated that the lack of "representation of Indigenous people" at the event was an inaccurate "depiction of the curriculum that was being taught." (Even though modern historians have noted that puritans did not invite Indigenous people to their feast -- they only showed up after hearing gun shots, and in the process of investigating the sounds, learned about the feast and decided on their own to contribute.)

Based on extensive research, including reviewing school documents, direct conversations with Caulfield and a 2021 Rocky Woods guest from the Wampanoag tribal community, plus feedback from parents, a clearer picture has emerged to help explain how the decision to eliminate costumes came about.

Specifically:

• A Dec. 22, 2020 letter sent to Wheelock School Principal Holli Caulfield was endorsed by seven members of the Medfield Together Steering Committee, including Nicole Silvestri Hall, who also served as Wheelock Site Council co-chair. The letter called for updating and supplementing aspects of the third-grade curriculum "with authentic and contemporary Indigenous perspectives to achieve a more equitable and just social studies program for all students." The long-standing Rocky Woods event was specifically mentioned as a place where changes should be made.

• A public statement by Hall surfaced via social media around the time the letter was sent to Caulfield. Hall had publicly stated that she planned to e-mail Caulfield expressing support for the ability to let kids and parents decide "whether they want to dress as pilgrims at Rocky Woods" out of deference to Indigenous people.

• Wheelock Site Council meeting minutes indicate that March 9, 2021 was the only time Rocky Woods was discussed over a two-year period. In addition to the sharing of information about 3rd grade curriculum, the Medfield Together letter and Rocky Woods event were discussed with two Medfield Together Steering Committee members, which included Hall. The minutes noted that part of the discussion included a recommendation to have Indigenous representation at Rocky Woods.

• Based on an Oct. 12, 2022 phone conversation with Wheelock Principal Caulfield, she noted that the decision to replace costumes with t-shirts was made by the 3rd grade team as a "curriculum decision." She also reiterated the purpose of Rocky Woods: To provide students with a sense of Colonial childhood. Caulfield further noted that while an Indigenous representative was brought into the 2021 Rocky Woods events "at the last minute, by a former Wheelock parent who knew someone" (i.e., without 3rd grade teacher involvement in a curriculum decision). Ultimately, it was determined that the additional component did not provide educational value. Caulfield also confirmed that in the midst of Rocky Woods discussions, at least one school committee member had a child at Wheelock; she remained silent when it was suggested that the member may have influenced the change.

A look at 3rd grade history and social science frameworks

As additional rationale for the elimination of costumes, references to state educational standards were touted by Medfield administrators, yet the six "topics" within the Massachusetts Grade 3 Frameworks for history and social science are designed to be covered over the course of a school year -- not all in one day, and certainly not all in one event.

Even Caulfield acknowledged that a highlight of the 3rd grade curriculum involving Native American history, perspectives and interactions with settlers will come later in December when an Indigenous speaker will visit Wheelock School instead of being incorporated into Rocky Woods.

Regardless, hundreds of petitioners upset with the change are focused on the negative impact to children.

As one former 10-year resident with a history degree and concentration on Colonial America and historic clothing stated, "Taking this away is depriving the children in Medfield of one of the most valuable educational experiences they have in elementary school...In the world of History education, NOTHING compares to putting yourself into a setting that is a replica of the past. You experience it in such a deep way that can last a lifetime....People learn so much more by getting to touch and smell and be transported to the past in places like this. This understanding of the past becomes exponentially greater when you literally step into the clothes, and experience the past in every way possible in the present time."

(The recording of the Oct. 13, 2022 School Committee meeting can be viewed here.)