“I think people were surprised when Donald Trump won the election because usually the president is black. But when Kamala Harris wins, things will be normal again.”
— Kid, age 11, whose hopeful, raised-in-the-Obama-era innocence is giving me a reason to live right now so I’ll ignore how shockingly off-base he is regarding norms, and how swiftly and miserably he’s going to flunk U.S. History class.
Seriously that’s some F-minus shit right there.
Kid and I are researching quotes for his paper about community action, and we come across a good quote by Nelson Mandela.
Me: “Ohhh, that’s a perfect one to use. Do you know who Nelson Mandela is?”
Kid: “Yeah of course.”
Me: “Oh, I’m impressed. I wouldn’t necessarily think a kid your age would know about him.”
Kid: “Well, my dad listens to his music all the time.”
Me: “Ummm…his music? Nelson Mandela was not a musician, as far as I know…”
Kid: “Yes, he’s a country singer!”
Me: “I think you’re thinking of someone else…”
Kid: “You know, (singing) ‘On the road again, Just can’t wait to get on the road again….'”
Me: “Oh, honey, no. That’s Willie Nelson. Not Nelson Mandela. They are two very VERY different people. Nelson Mandela ended apartheid in South Africa.”
Kid (pondering): “Ok but otherwise they’re pretty much the same.”
When my future children ask me what I did in this moment of our nation’s history, when our president openly defended white supremacy, and likened the morals and actions of neo-nazis to the morals and actions of those standing up for equality, I will be proud to say I publicly denounced it.
I will be proud to say I donated to the ACLU.
I will be embarrassed to say that I knew that wasn’t enough, but I didn’t know what to do next; that my disgust, outrage, anxiety, and yes– privileged white guilt– momentarily crippled me.
But I will be proud to say I swallowed that paralysis, and that I turned to you, to my peers, to my elders, to my community, and to my soul to ask the question “What else can I do?” and I trusted that together we would find ways to make positive change.
I will be proud to say that when my student asked me if I heard what the president said, instead of replying, “I cannot talk politics with you,” I recognized this was not politics at all, and said, “Yes. And I disagree with it wholeheartedly, and I think that we as wiser, kinder, more humane people have a responsibility to speak out for equality, and against racism, at every turn.”
I will be proud to say that I knew, if nothing else, not to stay silent.
I will be proud to say that I continued to search for answers, even though I felt a deep sense of hopelessness and despair.
I will be proud to say that I did something, even if that something was small.
I will be proud to say that I knew doing nothing was not an option.
What will you be proud to say?
In a discussion about the Declaration of Independence and the formation of US government…
Us: “And what is going on in the news right now that is related to this? What’s going to happen later this year?”
Kid: “Oh! A SNOWSTORM!”
Co-teacher (helping a kid write his historical fiction story): “If the colonial man in your story is chopping down a tree and the tree is falling, what might he yell out?”
Kid: (blank stare)
Coteacher: “Starts with a T…”
Kid: “Oh! TINDER!!!!!!”
The kids are writing historical fiction stories as part of our Colonial America unit.
Kid: “I named my character John McFly!”
Me: “Hmmm. Do you think John McFly is a good name for a character who lived in Colonial America? Does that make sense for that time period?”
Kid: “Well…not COLONIAL America, but in 1984.”
(Long silence)
Kid: “So…right after.”
Me: “When Columbus landed in what is now America, and he wanted to tell people back home what he found, what do you think he did?”
Kid: (Silence)
Me: “Well…Do you think he whipped out his iPhone and said ‘Siri– call home!’?”
Kid: (giggling) “Noooo!!!”
Me: “Well then what did he do?”
Kid (long, contemplative pause): “He probably used his flip phone.”
Kid: “What I learned from the American Revolution is that sometimes war is necessary to fight for our freedom, and if we didn’t have that war, we would STILL have to pay taxes today! But instead we get to keep all our money!”
I don’t want to be the one who has to tell him.
I’ll leave that to you, 5th grade.
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