On Wednesday, September 5th at 4:30 PM, the Schools of Brookline will hold a termination hearing for Larry Chen, who was permitting 6th grade students to play Halo video games at school.

Mr. Chen is one of the most effective and inspiring teachers in Brookline, beloved by students and parents alike. We believe it would be wrong to fire Mr. Chen, that we would be losing a valuable member of our school community.

For details, please read the statement below by Mr. Chen. This is also attached.

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Full Statement by Larry Chen

To the Public Schools of Brookline & Heath School Community:

Over the past two months, many supportive parents in the Brookline community have reached out to me regarding rumors and speculation that I have been fired by the town.

First, I have not been fired.

On June 25th, 2018, the second to last day of school, I received a letter from the Superintendent stating that he intends to fire me, and that a hearing was scheduled for June 26th at noon at town hall, where I would be allowed to present evidence to the Superintendent in order to change his mind, and to convince him that I should not be fired. As you may recall, June 26th was also the last day of school. At my request, due to the lack of time for me to secure legal representation and prepare my response, that formal hearing was postponed until September 5th, 4:30pm.

I have also been repeatedly asked if there is more to the story, or if there’s “something we don’t know,” particularly as it concerns their children. Many of these parents sought information to help their families have a more open and informed dialogue with their children, many of whom still have unanswered questions about this matter.

I have seen the Town of Brookline’s recent statement to the public through the Brookline Tab (published on July 11, 2018). This statement acknowledged the public’s interest/inquiries into this matter, and informed the public of the town’s concerns over my use of an unnamed video game in a non-specified context.

I have always strived towards connecting with my students, as well as their parents. In the interest of transparency, and with the students’ and parents’ best interests in mind, please allow me to share my thoughts.

1. Since I’ve started teaching in Brookline, I have poured everything⏤including my time, my finances, and my heart and soul⏤into helping​ ​our students maximize their amazing potential, both as students and as individuals. I regularly employ “out-of-the-box” approaches and work to incorporate innovative ways to connect with ​all​ students, from all backgrounds, learning styles, and walks of life. My teaching approach aims to foster a passionate pursuit of knowledge through a wide range of methods to best engage students in history, civics, social justice, and current events issues. Conversations and debates are meant to resonate long after school hours have ended. Furthermore, I always enjoy bringing my background and expertise to the classroom, whether it be revisiting my family’s struggles as Chinese immigrants, sharing lessons learned from living and traveling abroad, setting up recess basketball leagues and informal guitar lessons, teaching students critical thinking skills through Magic the Gathering, or utilizing Minecraft to rebuild and explore Ancient civilizations.

Much of who I am is a reflection of the staff at Heath; they are some of the most dedicated, authentic, and talented teachers you’ll ever meet - from my 6th grade faculty team to my amazing fellow social studies colleague at Heath, Andrew Cook.

While my approach may appear unorthodox to some, it reaches children who were, in many instances, unreceptive to a more “traditional” approach. In fact, earlier this year, my Principal even called me into a meeting to ask for my help with motivating a student who was not in my class. The Principal sought my counsel as a “gaming expert” who could connect with and help address the student’s needs from a new perspective. I took this meeting, and my Principal’s supportive comments, as a vote of confidence.

I am an educator. I am dedicated in my pursuit of educating students. I seek to inspire them and challenge them as learners, as people, and as members of the community. ​I am willing to draw upon my own life experiences and employ diverse methods in order to connect with my students, and I am never satisfied with mediocrity or the status quo. To borrow a line from the late Robin Williams in one of my favorite films (Dead Poets Society): ​“I stand upon my desk to remind myself that we must constantly look at things in a different way.”

This approach mirrors the Town of Brookline’s own values promoted in line 1 of PUBLIC SCHOOLS GOAL #4: that innovation in educators is something we should not fear, but embrace⏤particularly from individuals who have a record of expertise in their field, and who always have their students’ best interests at heart.

Link: ​http://www.brookline.k12.ma.us/site/Default.aspx?PageID=118

3. The town has stated to the public (through the Brookline TAB) that they are unable or unwilling to specify what game was being used.​ Please let me provide that information, as I wish to be both honest and clear. The game in question was Halo 3, a 2007 science fiction Xbox 360 title in which humanity works together to defend itself from aliens and robots​. The town’s spin on Halo 3 is that the game is an “active first person shooter”. I have played and studied computer and video gaming for over 20 years, and I have never seen a single title described in this way, nor does this description exist on the Internet, nor in any research articles/databases.

Halo 3 is a game in which players use science fiction weapons (i.e., lasers and beams) to battle aliens and robots. ​It features no profanity, no blood, no gore, no drug or alcohol references, and no sexual content/innuendo. I have researched this game thoroughly​. As articles, videos, and people who have actually researched and played Halo 3 can attest to, the game is no more violent or offensive than the Star Wars films​, which quite similarly use lasers during battles against enemy combatants. Thus, the game’s terse and ambiguous ESRB “mature” rating seems decidedly unwarranted:

Link: ​http://www.polygon.com/2014/6/26/5845600/destiny-esrb-teen-rating-halo

Link: ​http://www.gamerdad.com/blog/2007/09/25/gamerdad-to-esrb-why-is-halo-3-rated-m-mature/

Link: ​http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2012/12/18/halo-4-wont-make-your-kids-violent-why-pare nts-should-play-video-games-with-their-kids/#442e519016d8

Link: ​http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/article/258899/10_games_wrong_age_ratings/

Link: ​http://www.commonsensemedia.org/game-reviews/halo-3/user-reviews/adult

Link: ​https://kotaku.com/5317330/screenwriter-believes-halo-is-our-generations-star-wars

Link: ​http://www.hardcoregamer.com/2015/10/27/could-halo-become-the-next-star-wars/17​3

Link: ​http://www.gamerdad.com/blog/2010/09/17/halo-reach-should-it-be-t-teen/

3. Despite misinformation and fear campaigns pushed by groups like the NRA and individual politicians, every recent scientific study examining video games ​more​ violent than Halo has demonstrated no link between the usage of these games and an increase in violent behavior in children or adults. This includes the most recent 2018 studies. Psychologists and researchers have firmly concluded that “Any claims that there is consistent evidence that violent video games encourage aggression are simply false.”

theconversation.com/its-time-to-end-the-debate-about-video-games-and-violence-91607

Link: ​http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/donald-trump-takes-on-the-nonexistent-link-between -violent-video-games-and-mass-shootings

Link: ​http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/do-violent-video-games-cause-violence_us_58f64c4ce4b 0156697225316 www.nytimes.com/2018/02/23/us/politics/trump-video-games-shootings.html

Link: ​http://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/trump-blames-video-games-shootings-because-real-iss ues-are-harder-ncna852871

Link: ​http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/02/20/after-parkland-video-games-back-critics-cros shairs/356654002/ www.wmuk.org/post/wsw-violence-video-games-and-correlation-vs-causation

Link: ​http://www.engadget.com/2018/03/07/video-game-violence-trump-meeting-esa-nra/

4. The Superintendent has also stated to the public, via the Brookline TAB, that he is unable or unwilling to communicate whether or not the game was used in social studies class or in another context. Please let me clarify ​- the game was used during a homeroom period specifically designated for building connections between students and teachers. It was never used during normal lesson times or social studies periods. ​During the brief handful of times it was in use, it was played by 6-8 kids at once (with myself playing and supervising), and for 20 minutes or less.

As stated above, the purpose in letting my homeroom students play this game was to foster connections between students and their teacher. My experience as an educator in Brookline has taught me that ​when children feel connected to and supported by their teachers, it can impact their social and academic growth in incredible, positive ways.​ As the Town of Brookline states in line 6 of their PUBLIC SCHOOLS CORE VALUES:​ “Excellent teaching begins with strong relationships between faculty and students.” This is ​precisely​ the context in which Halo 3 was used.

Link: ​http://www.brookline.k12.ma.us/site/Default.aspx?PageID=118

Furthermore, to address other speculation and rumor, as my homeroom can attest, at no time was the game kept secretive, nor did I direct any students to misrepresent or conceal that the game was being played from their parents, fellow students, or any member of the Heath staff. I paid for and brought in my own monitors, equipment, and game copies⏤all of which were clearly visible in my classroom. The game was never used or played during class time, nor was it connected with the social studies curricula in any way.

Simply put, ​there never was, nor will there be, anything to hide about Halo 3​. This is a game that I, and countless others, have extensively played and researched, and for which we astutely understand the benefits and limitations of.

5. Despite the Town’s attempt to fire me for my use of Halo 3 during homeroom, only a few weeks prior, Heath students went on a field trip to watch a movie that included gun violence, violent stabbings, gore and bloodshed. Last Spring, the Heath School’s 5th grade classes took a field trip to view “​Black Panther.​ ” Just to clarify, I love this movie, and I recognize its cultural importance. ​However, the Town should not have a double standard​. If it is against the Town’s policy (see point #8) to expose students to violence, then that policy should be applied fairly and uniformly vs. capriciously and arbitrarily, as the Town is doing.

Below I have provided a factual comparison of Halo 3 and Black Panther. Please note:

1) Black Panther is rated PG-13. The Heath School deemed it acceptable for viewing by the 5th grade classes. 5th graders are typically 10 to 11 years old.

2) Halo 3 has an average parent rating on Common Sense Media for Ages 11+, yet the town deemed it inappropriate. 6th graders are typically 11 to 12 years old (please note that by the late spring of 6th Grade, nearly all students are by then 12 years old.)

Halo 3
- Average Parent Rating on Common Sense Media
• Appropriate for ages 11+
- Blood/violence/gore
• Sci-fi battles involving lasers and beams with aliens and robots
• No blood
• No gore
- Sexual content/innuendo
• None
- Profanity
• None
- Sound
• Sound was always turned off when used

Black Panther
- Average Parent Rating on Common Sense Media
• Appropriate for ages 12+
- Blood/violence/gore
• over a dozen scenes with bloody violence involving real handguns and assault rifles, all with humans -first person scene of a man with a handgun shooting a fleeing civilian in the back after telling him he’d spare his life
• a woman is killed when her throat is slit by a sword -antagonist callously shoots and kills his love interest when she’s held hostage
• humans are impaled with sharp weapons, hero gets stabbed at close range with spear, camera zooms in on bloody spear wound
• a man gets run over by car
• a woman gets trampled by a rhinoceros
• a man’s arm is broken (the arm is a prosthetic) -hero’s dad gets killed in a terrorist bombing
• a sliced open, bloody forehead wound is visible -camera zooms in on a bloody bullet hole, and a small metal ball is squeezed in to stop the bleeding
- Sexual content/innuendo
• after murdering civilians at a museum, two people make out in a van
- Profanity
• multiple instances of “sh**” and the middle finger
- Sound
• theater sound

6. Black Panther is not the only instance where the Town has applied a double standard. This past June, an administrator showed the horror film “Insidious” to Heath students. This horror film has an average parent rating of 14+ on Common Sense Media, meaning that parents who reviewed the film believe children under 14 should not watch. No parents provided permission slips, and the film was clearly not vetted by the Town. While administration apologized via email to parents for its showing, no administrator ever received any disciplinary action. Again, I am confused as to why there is a double standard here, and why administrators are not subject to the same disciplinary policies as I am.

7. At no point did any administrator, Principal or otherwise, inform me that the usage of Halo 3 during homeroom warranted termination. At no point did the school notify the parent community of anything regarding Halo 3, or my usage of it (as the school did after their showing of the horror film ​Insidious​, citing Common Sense Media as an appropriate tool to make sense of the film).

8. The Town has no rules, regulations, or policies surrounding computer or video game usage in the classroom, nor, rules, regulations, or policies regarding what constitutes age-appropriate media usage.

9. I have been prohibited from accessing my PSBMA and X2 accounts, and from returning to my classroom to retrieve personal belongings. This has prevented me from providing final grades for my students, which they rightfully earned and deserve. Regrettably, their final projects are, I presume, still in my classroom (as I’ve been informed that they were not yet returned to the students). Parents have informed me that their child did not receive a grade for Social Studies for the final quarter; instead, it was left blank. Worse, no final grade for the year was provided for social studies.

I regret this sincerely. It is one thing for the town to raise an issue with me. It is absolutely regrettable for the students to be impacted in such a manner. No matter how this plays out, the students worked hard this year, and they most certainly deserve their full grades.

I hope that this statement will achieve the following:
• Encourage the town to open up a dialogue with the community
• Put to rest unsubstantiated rumors and speculation
• Freely address any new charges or information if there truly is “more to the story”
• Come to a decision that takes into account all relevant factors, including:
○ The documented facts of the case
○ Reviews from my supervisor
○ The words of the Heath and Driscoll parent community
○ Above all, the comments of those who work and interact with me the most -- our
students, whose interests should always be paramount

I feel incredibly privileged to have started my teaching career with these Brookline students five years ago (some of whom are now adults, and about to start college!).

I only wish to return to them in the fall.

Thank you most sincerely for your consideration,

Larry Yuan Chen