thoughts about change

January 17, 2009

While reading journals turned in by some of my students, a few things became clear…

1. We need to learn how to correctly distinguish between “your” and “you’re” as well as “to”, “too”, and “two” and “there”, “their”, and “they’re.

2. We also need to learn about apostrophes…

3. Students don’t have a good grasp on current events and how or why they relate to the past.


As I’m a history teacher, I realize that I have a heightened sense of how current events reflect the past in SOME way. The world can not be the way it is without the influences of the past. I find that it is our responsibility to educate the future leaders of our nation on how we learn from the past. It is not my goal to teach kids millions of facts so that they may one day appear on Jepordy! and win thousands of dollars. My goals in history education are two fold:

I want kids to learn how to “do” history so that they’ll be successful in their future life whether it be college or not. If they are interested in the past (whatever subject matter it may be), they should be able to go find out about it…and be educated enough in the “how” of history to be successful.

I also hope that kids learn to appreciate that events that are happening today build on the past – and do not just appear out of nowhere. Although some events have more of an affect on ‘today’ than others, there is still a pulse running through the world today that beats with the decisions of past people.

While sitting in the Dallas airport today, I read and became consumed by a speech that Malcolm X gave during the American Civil Rights movement. Malcolm X is an extremely important figure in American history – but not one that I have ever studied much. If I dig into my brain to find the lessons I learned in middle and high school, they didn’t often include Malcolm X…and it wasn’t until today that I really allowed myself to dig into a piece of his work.

On November 10, 1963, Malcolm X delivered “A Message to the Grassroots”. The title in itself presents many parallels to events that are happening today. In a matter of days, Barack Obama will be inaugurated as the next United States President. Malcolm X’s message was about fighting – and the meaning of revolution. He questioned the ‘peacefulness’ of the African American population – citing that there were black men who went overseas to fight against ‘unknown’ enemies, but who were not fighting with that same vigor at home.

In 1963, the world was a different place, one that was full of hate and discrimination. I am extremely proud that our nation has taken a great step as a people. Looking out the window as I float above the sky, I can feel the excitement as almost the entire plane is full of people who are on their way to our nation’s capital to witness the inauguration of our first African American president. People of all genders, colors, and shapes sit together with eager smiles with the knowledge that the world (or at least, our world) is about to take a leap forward that perhaps eclipses putting a man on the moon.

On January 20th, I expect to stand among millions, with tears in my eyes. Although my ancestors were not enslaved, I am thrilled that our nation is strong enough and has grown enough since its conception that we are able to not only elect a president whose skin is a different color, but also to have joy in understanding the power of shedding some of the final pieces of chains that still bound members of our society.

How do students view this event? How do they connect it to the past?

I am fairly sure that ‘normal’ high school and middle school students are NOT actively trying to make connections to the past – so it is our responsibility as their teachers to help them see these connections so they can better understand the “history” that they are learning.

What better way to do that then through sources that show the deep pain of a group of people who were so repressed and beaten down for hundreds of years? Howard Zinn put together a book entitled “Voices of a People’s History” that includes an entire chapter that focuses on voices that illustrate the black uprising in the United States. Students need to learn and understand that it is the past that allows us to have a future.

“Nothing can stand in the way of the power of millions of voices calling for change.”
-Barack Obama