AMERICA....

"Wake up... this is not what you think it is"

Paul was buzzing with election fever today. Teachers were rockin' Obama tees, talking about lines at the polls, and looking for excuses to keep up with the news instead of teaching lessons. The kids were something else. At the mere mention of the fact that it was election day, students began to go craaaaazzzzy. "Mr. DeShields, Mr. DeShields... In our one class, we had this fake vote, and it was 22-1... only one fool voted for McCain". "Um.. Mr. DeShields, If THAT man wins, I'll be moving to Canada... so you won't see me"... "Oh, no worries, I'll be heading back to Africa for a little while".... "Oh that was second on my list, maybe I'll see you there".

It was interesting to see the students have so much excitement about the election. I wanted to see if I couldn't use it to my advantage, and for their Do Now I asked, "Regardless of who wins the election, what type of change do we NEED to see in this country. Give me the top 3-5 changes you'd like to see take place". "OH, Mr. DeShields, I could write you a whole list"--from the young man who never completes a Do Now... let alone any other classwork.

When I asked some of my kids to share their responses, I was impressed with what they had to say. "Three of the biggest changes that I want to see are to get the guns off of our streets--too many of the people in my neighborhood are dying because of violence, we need to give jobs to people who want to work and provide for their families, and it's time to bring some of our troops home". Or, how about the young woman who was asking for a change in the way we view immigrants. "We need to change how we treat immigrants. They can be just as proud of America and as hardworking as my parents are". Oh, and how about the young man who said, "Why is DC the worst school district in the US? It's not my fault I live here. I want to get the best education available".

These were 7th graders who were demonstrating a very real awareness of some of the change that is needed to restore hope in this country. I felt an urgency from my kids that I don't remember experiencing at their age. My kids are unsatisfied with the state of affairs... they understand what the status quo is, and they want to change it. I was truly blown away by their responses.

Despite an ability to elaborate on their desire for change, my students were still focused on race. Most of my kids expected all of the white teachers (along with white people everywhere) to vote for McCain. "Mr. Bordenkecher is cool peoples... he voted for Obama... he even got his Obama shirt on". "Mr. DeShields, how come you ain't vote for McCain"... "Cus his Dad is black and you know people vote like their fathers...". The kids had all types of theories about why certain white teachers were voting for Obama, but they "knew" that it wasn't the norm for white people to vote for him.

I left school disappointed that the election was mainly about race for my kids-- I mean, I knew it was about race for the majority of America... but dag, when they give me that glimmer of hope with their responses, I was hoping that it had become more than that for them. When I got on the bus to head home, a man boarded behind me. Immediately, he started talking to the bus driver about how he can't stand white people... how they're on the news talking about broken polls in Philly and in Ohio. "We've come so far, how are they going to keep him out of the White House now? I mean, you used to be sitting in the back of the bus.. now you're driving it".... my man was talking some hot nonsense. He looked at me, smiled, and said once again, "Not all white people are bad, just most of them are trying to keep Obama out... talking about broken polls here and there". The first time I chose to ignore him, not wanting to get involved with someone on a bus (see the disheartening event that took place on the Silver Spring bus), but when he continued to run his mouth... I had to tell him to put all that to rest. It was unfortunate, because it made me realize that these are the things that our children are hearing at home (on both sides of this racial divide). As a teacher, I've come to see how easily you can mold a child-- they're willing to listen to whatever you have to say... and most of the time, they'll believe you. Parents, however, have THE MOST profound impact on the way our children view the world. The only thing that you can do is to hope that each parent is helping their child to see the world in the RIGHT way.

Hope cannot be fleeting. Hope is something that is eternal. We hope for things that are not seen, that for which we know we're destined for... for which we know will bring us closer to what was intended for us. We hold on to that hope until our dreams and desires are realized... because if we do not hope, we say that we are contempt to remain where we stand.....

THE ed. Prince