The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Retiring schools chief urges parents and teachers to ‘make a positive difference’
PORTLAND – His career is nearing its end. Superintendent of Schools Philip B. O’Reilly will close out a 40-year career as an educator on June 30.
But until then, and perhaps beyond, O’Reilly remains fiercely committed to educating parents and children alike.
And so, as the country continues to be riven by protests and rioting brought on by the killing of Minneapolis resident George Floyd by a police officer, O’Reilly has sent an open letter to the community.
In the letter, O’Reilly urges parents to engage in discussions with their children about of the issues that surround those demonstrations.
It is not the first time O’Reilly spoken out during a critical time.
He did so in the wake of the Parkland, Fla., school shooting that killed 17 teachers and students.
In his newest letter, dated Tuesday, O’Reilly calls upon adults, both parents and teachers, to confront head-on the issues generated by Floyd’s death.
“(I) urge you, as parents and teachers of Port
land’s children, to speak to our children about the tragic death of George Floyd, of racial inequality, of racism and all its ugly offenses, of social justice and the history of non-violent protest in the United States.”
O’Reilly said that he regrets that because of coronavirus pandemic, “We could [not] come together as a school community and held them process the acts of violence and injustice that we are experiencing.”
However, O’Reilly said despite that, he remains certain that “many of us will attempt to help the children of Portland understand what is happening while developing ideas about what each of us can do to make a positive difference and that embrace the founding principles of our democracy.”
To encourage those efforts, he includes list of books, podcasts, and articles that he believes will “inspire a discussion with your children.”
“These are all difficult and very big issues,” he acknowledges, “but they are very important ideas that we cannot ignore.”
“It is essential that we help our children understand that this moment in our history is one from which we, young and old, can grow.
O’Reilly wrote,“We must not fall into the comfortable deception of silence about these issues.”
“Purposeful conversations with our children and students must be a bridge to something better for our country: an ideal for all live and breathe in this troubled world of ours,” he added.
The Massachusetts native takes a more personal tone in the latter part of the letter, writing of himself as “a white, privileged man who has been given a lifetime of opportunity.”
He details his path through academia all while raising six children.
He “worked hard and made plenty of sacrifices,” O’Reilly says, but adds “By the very nature of my skin color, America has given me distinct opportunities not afforded other men and women who walk this earth.”
“My skin color has also never caused me to fear for my life,” he said.
“Until such time as these opportunities and sense of peace and safety that I experience are open for all children black, brown, and white, our country will not be healed from the centuries of oppression and racism.”
He said that as educators and parents, “we must foster these ideals with our children.
“By doing so, we may help our country finally shed the shackles of racial inequality of by recognizing who are we are and more importantly, what we can become,” he wrote.
He ended his letter with this thought: “I am thankful that I have grown with the understanding that the ideals of a world unshackled by the yolk of racism must be the world of our children and grandchildren and that the advancement and survival of a united nation depends on us!”