lizards

alright, so i haven't written much about my class this year...and it's not because they aren't a bunch of characters, because they crack me up everyday. i just haven't had as much time, with my own two crazy cookies at home. however, today i taught a lesson about martin luther king, jr. and it's definitely worth sharing. i am always surprised at my students' initial reaction to a discussion about race. to begin, all of my students are black, with the exception of two hispanic children. actually, my entire school is predominately african american. i am one of five white teachers in the whole building. this being said, i always a get a few comments about my skin color every year from the kids...usually something like, "your skin looks like spilt milk."(a kid really said this to me one year.) five year olds are very observant, but when it comes to race they don't see things as black and white as we do. mostly, they don't care. they take people for who they are...as we all should. i remember my dad saying to me as a kid..."i don't care what color people are: white, black, purple, yellow...anyone can act stupid." (true.) he also helped me to be well versed in the language of sarcasm, to deal with these stupid people. (well done, dad.) 

today, i started my discussion on MLK by explaining that at one time, black people and white people were not allowed to do the same things together...such as; go to the same school, use the same bathrooms, or drink from the same water fountains. i swear to you...the looks on their five year old faces were priceless. i might as well told them that i was an alien from mars and i had come to take them back to my planet. they were dumbfounded...completely shocked really, and then the questions started. one child raised his hand, "soooo you mean to tell me that YOU wouldn't be our TEACHER?!...that is TERRIBLE." i stated that they would've had a black teacher, not a white one. (gasps all around.) another child said, "and so we wouldn't even be able to eat at the same restaurants?" i said, "nope, we would have to eat at separate restaurants." to which he said, "but we all EAT food? why couldn't everyone just EAT together?" (good point.) and so what it came down to was, children as young as FIVE know that this is completely absurd and wrong...but at one time, many (many) adults did not. (interesting...)

i read a story to the kids called, 'martin's big words.' the story explains about his life and it also includes that he was murdered for his movement on equality. a child raised his hand and said, "so let me get this straight...martin wanted everyone to LOVE each other and someone SHOT him for that? (shaking his head) that makes no SENSE." (out of the mouths of babes.) i then read them part of his "i have a dream..." speech and had them draw a picture about what their dream was. we talked about a "dream" as something they really, really wanted to happen. (as opposed to something they think about when they are asleep.) as i was going through them, i called each child back to my desk to explain what their "dream" was, and i was laughing to myself the whole time. here are a few of my favorites:

I have a dream...that I could fly like a butterfly.

I have a dream...corndogs would fall out of the sky.

I have a dream...I could have a pet lizard.

and so in closing, there is so much that we can learn from children. things such as enjoying the simple things in life. laughing until your belly hurts if something is funny, and not being afraid to cry if something upsets you. being thirsty for knowledge, curious about everything, and embracing every chance to learn. taking risks without fear of failure. forgiving people that hurt you or make you mad. and most importantly, judging people for who they are...and not what they are. although i spent my morning teaching my students about dr. martin luther king, jr, they spend the majority of their days teaching me what life is really all about: love, laughter...and lizards.