November 4, 2008 has brought a change. A change in our government. A change for our country.
This morning, talking with other teachers, we hoped that our students would stand a bit taller, walk just a bit prouder and not act the fool because of the election. They did not let us down.
Instead, they raised more concerns. Ones that I hope never come to fruition. My students were speculating that Obama would for sure be assassinated because he is our first African American President in the United States. It made my heart hurt that these 14, 15, 16, 17 year olds would have this fear. I had to quiet their voices, but also their fears. We talked for a bit about why they were feeling this way-mainly due to the reported assassination attempt earlier last week. Then I had them think about what Obama had become-he will be the head of the USA. He will be the most powerful man in our country, if not the world. I also had them think about the media-do you know every little thing that happens every single day? Of course not. I explained to them that they will only hear of the foiled plots in the news or if an attempt becomes more than that. They will not hear that every day the President of the USA is always in danger.
I see these students every day. Every day they amaze me. They help me to learn as I help them to do the same. Some days the lesson is not about Spanish. Some days the lesson is just about life.
2 comments:
It's great that you had this conversation with your students -- I mean, it's terrible that that's the first thing they thought of, but hopefully you gave them some perspective. (But the sad thing is that when I was watching Obama's victory speech last night, I had the same fear -- that a shot would ring out and this would all be taken away from us. I'm glad the Secret Service is doing their job!)
It's neat to hear that you had that level of discussion with students - it's a topic that's been discussed among my friends and I since Obama secured the nomination. I pray it would never happen, but sadly, it's always a possibility, and perhaps more so for him than others. I really respect that you were willing to visit the topic with them and try to understand why they feared it.
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