It’s a tradition going on nearly 20 years in the Binghamton City School District, but one that’s more than 80 years in the making. Rod Serling Day celebrates the life, work, and legacy of the district’s most notable alum, 82 years following his 1943 commencement from Binghamton Central High School.
“My father would have felt that this is one of his greatest accolades that fifth grade students are learning about the messages of the Twilight Zone, which I feel we need now more than ever,” said Serling’s daughter, Anne Serling-Sutton. “I’m so honored, as my dad would have been, and these teachers do such a great job and these kids are so great,”
The event began in 2007 to culminate “The 5th Dimension,” a Challenge Enrichment unit studied by all fifth graders in the District in which students watch episodes of Serling’s signature work, Twilight Zone, and then discuss the show’s themes. Throughout the years, Serling Day has typically been hosted in the District’s historic Helen Foley Theatre, named for Serling’s favorite teacher at Binghamton Central High School. Serling’s daughter Anne addresses students each year while the rest of the program has varied with student-created Twilight Zone episodes, dramatic readings, and guest speakers. This year, students visited Recreation Park, a place just blocks from where Serling grew up and spent much of his youth.
“Rod Serling Day is a long-standing tradition in our district that allows them to celebrate their learning in a meaningful and memorable way,” said Debbie Miller, Challenge Enrichment Teacher & Coordinator. “It also connects them to a local legend who challenged audiences to think deeply and shows them that they, too, have the power to make an impact one day.”
Recreation Park inspired the classic Twilight Zone episode “Walking Distance” about a man who travels through time to return to the hometown of his youth. At the park, fifth graders watched a reader’s theater of that episode performed by Binghamton High School IB Theater students. They then drank ice cream sodas - like the ones main character Martin Sloan drinks in the episode - prepared by BHS Culinary Arts students and also rode the historic carousel, like young “Marty” does in “Walking Distance.” Fifth graders then visited the recently-installed Serling statue where Nick Parisi of the Rod Serling Memorial Foundation spoke, followed by a game of “statue tag” organized by students from Binghamton High School’s Early Childhood Development class.
Serling Day will soon celebrate its 20th year. Over the course of two decades, curricula tend to be tweaked, changed, or are swapped out entirely for something new. However, BCSD’s Serling unit has lasted because of the Twilight Zone’s timeless messages.
“The reason he is still talked about and celebrated, not just in our district but across the country and around the world, is because the themes he wrote about and the lessons he wanted viewers to take away from his episodes are still relevant today,” said BCSD Superintendent Dr. Tonia Thompson.