Hope

Regardless of your beliefs or political views today is a historic day for all of us. There have been several times throughout the day that I have been moved, chilled and filled with a great hope for the future. I'll be the first to admit that politics is not something I'm super passionate about nor do I always know all of the facts. However, this election process was very different for me. I started to take a greater interest, got involved in thought provoking conversations and even got excited about the possibilities.
Today was one of those shining moments I was thankful to be a part of young people's lives on a daily basis. Once again I was blessed to be with the same group of students during the inauguration as I was on September 11th. We had a discussion about what this day means as well as tying it to our previous unit - The Watsons go to Birmingham and Civil Rights. They made great connections between a fictional text, segregation of the past, Martin Luther King, Jr.'s I Have a Dream speech and the giant leap we have made today as a nation. The discussion was rich, authentic and, most importantly, heartfelt. After the discussion we turned on CNN and watched as Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of our country. As the crowd in DC was asked to stand so did all of my students in my classroom without any prompting by me. They watched totally engaged and afterwards clapped and cheered with such enthusiasm. I was filled with chills and tears and pride for this group of students who truly get it. They have the ability to see beyond all of the politics and somehow know what this day truly means. Afterwards a student asked, "I wonder what Daniel Watson would say if he were here today?" What great connections they made!
The events of today fill me with a great optimism for our future not just for me, but for my students and my precious A. What a great day!