- How will you honor 9/11 tomorrow?
- How do you think people will commemorate it 10 years from now?
I gave the students their normal 7-10 minutes for quiet, individual reflection, then asked them to share some of their opinions. This was the first warm-up of the year that I asked them to share about, so I was a little bit nervous about what would happen. However, the results were wonderful.
As numerous hands shot into the air and a few students let out a reference to the plans for building a mosque at Ground Zero, I realized I had tuned into a heated moment for many of my seniors. Therefore, I took the moment to remind them to think carefully about the words they chose, and to consider that there may be other opinions than their own in our classroom.
From that point forward, about ten different students shared their personal opinions about 9/11, the memories it brought to them, their thoughts on the future, and their stance on the building of a mosque, and our goals as a nation overall. I stood back from them, truly inspired. I did my best, as always, to simply encourage instead of sharing my own opinion- I am constantly doing my best not to "taint" their own reflections with forced opinions of my own. I did, however, add at the very end that one student's plan to contact his brother who is currently stationed in Afghanistan was a great thing to do, and inspired me to make a note to contact my bro-in-law who is also there. (I did, indeed, write him a thank you e-mail yesterday.)
I am blessed to teach seniors this year, especially since I have gotten to know many of them prior to this class. It's important to remember that teenagers really are pretty neat people.
"It's important to remember that teenagers really are pretty neat people."
ReplyDeleteI love this. Some people look at me funny when I tell them how much I love working with middle schoolers. I feel as though sometimes people write off this entire teenage group (middle and high schoolers) and their opinions, which is so unfortunate. Granted sometimes they are a complicated group to get through to, their ideas and thoughts are usually very interesting and well-thought out.
Also, I truly love that you gave them the open opportunity to share all of their feelings regarding such an emotional day. What a thoughtful way to show them, especially since it's the beginning of the year, that you value their opinions, feelings, and voice.
Cara, you put it so well. Thank you so much for contemplating my entry and sharing your thoughts! I just love how you describe working with this age group.
ReplyDeleteOn a related note, have you read 19 Minutes yet? It's a powerful reminder of the complicated facets of teenage life. This is also something I think people quickly overlook, since it may seem childish, or dramatic, etc on the surface.
Thanks again for reading, and being a passionate educator :)