The
Whittier Miscellany
Spring Issue 2025 • Wilmington Friends School’s Community Newspaper • Wilmington, DE
An Educational Epidemic!! Abby Terrel ‘27 Staff Writer
An essential part of a Wilmington Friends education lieves that banning books violates the First Amendment. is reading books. It provides students with different views, Morton ‘25 says, “Freedom of speech is being infringed perspectives, and beliefs that encourage them to reevaluate upon when you are not able to read someone’s published their personal biases. Over time, students’ reading preferences evolve. They begin with silly stories like Knuffle Bunny, The Day the Crayons Quit, and Pete the Cat, and gradually move on to more sophisticated books like The Great Gatsby, A Testament of Hope, and Klara and the Sun. Wilmington Friends School is unique because of its commitment to teaching controversial, often oppressed, and complex histories, regardless of the author’s race, class, or gender. Banned books have become an educational crisis over the past five years. Nearly 10,000 titles have been reported as inappropriate. These books deal with themes such as race, sexuality, gender identity, and social justice. Classics like The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee have been challenged by parents who believe the content is inappropriate for their children. work.” She adds, “There are some books that need to be The Wilmington Friends community feels strongly read.” She believes the government should not have the about the issue of banned books. Senior Ella Morton ’25 be- authority to ban books. She says, “The government is
Was the Change Necessary? Mexico has contributed a lot to the U.S. society in its early years and has become a very important landmass to the United On January 20, 2025, the newly elected United States President States’ economy. In the early years, The Donald Trump, signed executive or- Gulf contributed to fisheries, the maritime der 14172 renaming the former Gulf industry, and oil reserves which helped with the United States early trade and of Mexico to the Gulf of America. global commerce. Though countries such as Mexico “The Gulf of America is one of and the United Kingdom have rethe, if not, most important bodies of water fused to recognize the change, some people in the United States, especially next to the United States. Because the those of the conservative party, have Mississippi River follows into the Gulf of accepted the new name. “I thought it America, almost every city in the midwest was a great and pretty patriotic move is reliant on the Gulf of America being easily accessible and safe. If not, Ameriby Trump and a move in the right can trade would be hurt dramatically and direction for our country,” says Josh trillions of dollars of the GDP would be Fung ‘26. lost” says Henrik Maansson ‘27. The Gulf Though some people have is a very important body of water to the taken on the change, not all have been able to wrap their heads around United States and without it, our economy would struggle greatly. the new name of the well known Though some think that this is a body of water. “When I was first told logical reason for the name to be changed, about this, I thought it was a joke, I some people think otherwise. “The West thought that people were trying to Indies were a big contributor to the US prank me, and I wouldn’t believe it. And when I then went and looked it economy because of the influx of enslaved up, and I saw that Trump had passed Africans and raw materials being imported into the country, yet we don’t call the a law to change the name, I was Caribbean Sea the ‘American Sea’”, said astonished,” says Kate Coletti ‘28. Maya Dobson ‘28. The reason behind the Continued on page 6 renaming is that the former Gulf of Kylie Poole ‘28 Staff Writer
pushing to ban books about people of color, LGBTQ topics—things along those lines—so that they can censor learning about other people and past experiences.” Morton ‘25 would feel completely comfortable with reading a banned book. Students also understand that young children should not read books with graphic content. Avery Martinenza ’25 says, “There is a more appropriate age for more graphic books, but every genre of book should be accessible to all students, especially if it is relevant to the topic they are learning.” When asked why certain books are banned in schools, she responded, “I think there are some social standards for what is appropriate to teach children. People can take those standards too seriously when it comes to education. Instead of learning from our past mistakes, some believe we should hide that information rather than teach it.”
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A Pause for Growth: Ken Aldridge’s Experiences During His Sabbatical through early February traveling the south of the United States with his wife, From homecoming in late Octo- Cassandra, combining personal and ber to mid-April, Head of School Ken Al- professional development into his trip. dridge has been on sabbatical leave. n his Mr. Aldridge explored Georgia, visiting absence, J.R. Niesweder and Jon Huxtable Savannah and Atlanta, and was bookserved as interim heads of schools. How- ended with conferences in Hilton Head ever, as we end the 2025-2026 school year, and at Duke University, which focused on AI and how it can be used to enhance Mr. Aldridge has returned with many new experiences, ideas, and perspectives student learning. Mr. Aldridge says, “I wanted to go back and visit the south, he gained along his sabbatical journey! Last summer, Mr. Aldridge ven- since my parents grew up down there, tured to Idaho for four days, a completely and my son is completing his master’s off-grid trip, forcing him to spend time in degree in Atlanta, so I appreciated nature and disconnect from all electron- seeing him.” In addition to his son, Mr. Aldridge traveled to Southern California ics. His experience in Idaho influenced to visit his daughter Mariah and enjoy his sabbatical, as the change challenged quality time with his in-laws. him to slow down and appreciate the world beyond his phone or computer. Continued on page 4 Mr. Aldridge reignited his love for reading and carved out time to read. “I was able to recommit to reading and engage in books without distractions. It was a challenge at first, but I developed a joy of just sitting down and deep reading,” Mr. Aldridge says. He successfully unplugged from his smartphone, which opened time to invest in other interests like reading and travel. Mr. Aldridge spent late January Mr. Aldridge on Sabbatical Ellie McQuillan ‘28 Staff Writer