New Name for JEB Stuart HS - 9/16 Community Vote

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From a recent court filing by FCPS:

"The second event is scheduled for Saturday,September 16, at which time a non-binding community vote will take place to identify the public's top choices for renaming Stuart H.S. Thereafter, the Superintendent will consider the public’s choices in making a non-binding recommendation of potential names to the School Board."

They are pretty emphatic that, at the end of the day, the School Board will decide on the new name.

And, with this crew, they will choose something that sticks the finger in the eye of those who lobbied to keep the name.

They'd be wise to go with a geographic name. They won't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Schoolie mcschoolface

For some reason, that name isn't one of the choices...

It is. It's just not one of the choices that FCPS will pay attention to.

Bummer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From a recent court filing by FCPS:

"The second event is scheduled for Saturday,September 16, at which time a non-binding community vote will take place to identify the public's top choices for renaming Stuart H.S. Thereafter, the Superintendent will consider the public’s choices in making a non-binding recommendation of potential names to the School Board."

They are pretty emphatic that, at the end of the day, the School Board will decide on the new name.

And, with this crew, they will choose something that sticks the finger in the eye of those who lobbied to keep the name.

They'd be wise to go with a geographic name. They won't.

Unless they went with the name of the solider who fired the shot that killed JEB Stuart, what name would really "stick a finger in the eye of those who lobbied to keep the name"?

I'm struggling to see why a name that reflects the county's diversity would be an insult to those who wanted to keep the name, unless they were against recognizing anyone who wasn't a white male.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From a recent court filing by FCPS:

"The second event is scheduled for Saturday,September 16, at which time a non-binding community vote will take place to identify the public's top choices for renaming Stuart H.S. Thereafter, the Superintendent will consider the public’s choices in making a non-binding recommendation of potential names to the School Board."

They are pretty emphatic that, at the end of the day, the School Board will decide on the new name.

And, with this crew, they will choose something that sticks the finger in the eye of those who lobbied to keep the name.

They'd be wise to go with a geographic name. They won't.

Do any or all of the three choices in the OP stick a finger in your eye? They don't seem mean spirited choices to me, but I don't live in the Stuart area.

[Anonymous]

FCPS doesn't need two Marshall High Schools and the "Barbara Johns" name would be a joke. The kids would all joke about "BJs" and call the students "Johns."

Sorry to be crass but the Mendez name is the only good one of the three.

And I will have a vote Saturday.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FCPS doesn't need two Marshall High Schools and the "Barbara Johns" name would be a joke. The kids would all joke about "BJs" and call the students "Johns."

Sorry to be crass but the Mendez name is the only good one of the three.

And I will have a vote Saturday.

You are very realistic and wise.

[Anonymous]

I'm struggling to see why a name that reflects the county's diversity would be an insult to those who wanted to keep the name, unless they were against recognizing anyone who wasn't a white male.

Because the people who wanted the change were lobbying for a minority from the very beginning. As soon as they brought up renaming Stuart, they brought up Thurgood Marshall. Give the keepers a carrot and go with a geographic name.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about George bush or Ronald Reagan

Or William Clinton or Barack Obama?

Because we are too close to D.C. to go with the name of a politician.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I'm struggling to see why a name that reflects the county's diversity would be an insult to those who wanted to keep the name, unless they were against recognizing anyone who wasn't a white male.

Because the people who wanted the change were lobbying for a minority from the very beginning. As soon as they brought up renaming Stuart, they brought up Thurgood Marshall. Give the keepers a carrot and go with a geographic name.

You make it sound like they have extremely fragile egos. Can't there be a universe where people would feel better about themselves if they also recognized the contributions of minorities who battled the Nazis in World War II, or fought for equal rights and access to education?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about George bush or Ronald Reagan

Or William Clinton or Barack Obama?

Because we are too close to D.C. to go with the name of a politician.

I'd like to see it named after someone with Fairfax County ties.

Didn't the school board also stipulate that the schools have to teach a lesson or lessons about the history behind the name of the school?

[Anonymous]

Didn't the school board also stipulate that the schools have to teach a lesson or lessons about the history behind the name of the school?

Yeah......that should be fun at Westfield High School. It is named after an office park.

Or, South County. That should be an interesting lesson. Kids. Look on the map. Find the southern part of Fairfax County. That is why the school is named South County.

Stupid idea. They even made a motion to do this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Didn't the school board also stipulate that the schools have to teach a lesson or lessons about the history behind the name of the school?

Yeah......that should be fun at Westfield High School. It is named after an office park.

Or, South County. That should be an interesting lesson. Kids. Look on the map. Find the southern part of Fairfax County. That is why the school is named South County.

Stupid idea. They even made a motion to do this.

It passed, but since then I hadn't hard anything nor about it. I'm a teacher and I don't want to ask.

[Anonymous]

*heard anything more

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm so happy this is happening! I think it's such a nice thing.

I was shocked to learn that Stuart and Lee were chosen as a way to protest segregation in the schools. I can't believe we never discussed this in American history -- having attended one of these schools in the 1990's. I teach at a title I school that is majority Spanish speaking and think the military gentleman would be a great name.

The bolded is not a fact. In fact, there is no documentation to support this. It was a myth that was put forward by those who wanted to change the name.

Now, the names may have been a poor choice, but those native Virginians who lived here at the time revered their ancestors. It was not spite. Robert E. Lee and Jeb Stuart were much admired. It was not about white supremacy, but Virginia lore. Jeb Stuart had a camp at Munson Hill near where the school is located. It made sense to those at the time. I agree it was a poor choice, but it is wrong to demonize those people who were on the board. Even Mr. Moon said that at the Board meeting.

My parents, who lived in the Lee high district, have explicitly said this is what happened. They remember the events. There were fliers handed out in the community and it was definitely named in response to desegregating.

If you want to set your hair on fire, you should read about the awfulness that is Falls Church City's history and black people. I don't get how people can pretend the past never happened in order to avoid admitting that black people were treated like shit for hundreds of years by white people in this country. It amazes me the lengths people go to avoid admitting this in order to keep the facade that "we're all equal and have always been" and that the struggles black people have faced through American history is their entire own doing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm so happy this is happening! I think it's such a nice thing.

I was shocked to learn that Stuart and Lee were chosen as a way to protest segregation in the schools. I can't believe we never discussed this in American history -- having attended one of these schools in the 1990's. I teach at a title I school that is majority Spanish speaking and think the military gentleman would be a great name.

The bolded is not a fact. In fact, there is no documentation to support this. It was a myth that was put forward by those who wanted to change the name.

Now, the names may have been a poor choice, but those native Virginians who lived here at the time revered their ancestors. It was not spite. Robert E. Lee and Jeb Stuart were much admired. It was not about white supremacy, but Virginia lore. Jeb Stuart had a camp at Munson Hill near where the school is located. It made sense to those at the time. I agree it was a poor choice, but it is wrong to demonize those people who were on the board. Even Mr. Moon said that at the Board meeting.

My parents, who lived in the Lee high district, have explicitly said this is what happened. They remember the events. There were fliers handed out in the community and it was definitely named in response to desegregating.

If you want to set your hair on fire, you should read about the awfulness that is Falls Church City's history and black people. I don't get how people can pretend the past never happened in order to avoid admitting that black people were treated like shit for hundreds of years by white people in this country. It amazes me the lengths people go to avoid admitting this in order to keep the facade that "we're all equal and have always been" and that the struggles black people have faced through American history is their entire own doing.

Please. Go read the minutes of the meetings. This is a myth. No one is arguing that black people were treated properly. However, there is documentation which shows the schools were not named for that reason. Yes, it was a poor choice of names, but don't demonize people who chose the names just because they were poor choices.