Today was Martin Luther King Jr day. As we always have school on that day I usually plan a lesson involving a theme that was important to Dr. King. I do not focus on segregation and integration. Most students cannot understand either of these. Even I grew up in post Martin Luther King Jr. America. I have heard words of racism, but have never been separated by race, color or religion. I have shown Remember the Titans to the 8th graders, however. It is a movie that they can relate to - a high school football team vying for a state championship, and also shows a clear picture of students caught in the middle of the Civil Rights Movement of the late 1960's. It opens the door for conversation.
Today we focused on what I believe is Dr. King's legacy - "Change." All of us dream to make the world a better place, but he actually did something about it. He didn't just talk about it. I encouraged the 6th graders to illustrate his dream or come up with one of their own. As our class time was shortened by the two hour delay most students did not finish. I know, however, that their ideas of dreams and changing the world will look great on our bulletin board entitled - "Changing the World, One Dream at a Time."
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