I have several students graduating today from several different colleges. Many of these students came from circumstance that were not optimal for getting an education but they still realized the value of one and worked hard to get to this point. Some of them were challenging to the nth degree and some I realized early on, would shine in whatever they decided to do.
Words do not and cannot convey how proud I am of each and every one of them. I feel this way with each graduating class and hope I have played a small part in each of their lives. Some stay in touch and others I keep track of because of the relationships I formed with parents and grandparents.
I don't write too much about being a teacher. I never, unless I have prior permission, use real names or even names at all. I also stay aggravated at districts and politicians and government in general because I believe they are failing our students on several levels and teachers continue to get the blame.
In Florida, the decision to teach another course in government was reached and I was reading what some of the new standards are and became very concerned because they seem to me to be indoctrinating our students to become robots of what the politicians need to get re-elected.
They have a whole set of standards on patriotism. They even have one on arguments for the necessity of the Electoral College. Not for or against but the necessity of. As I was reading the final draft yesterday, I was reminded of a situation that happened when I was a teenager.
Remember, I am an Army brat, my father was a sergeant, and I grew up surrounded by patriotism. When I was about 17, this was the height of the civil rights, women's rights era, I came home one day and happened to mention that I would no longer be saying the Pledge of Allegiance because of the inequities in our country. My father gave me a stern warning about living in his house etc. etc. Then he listened to me and my arguments and told me I was old enough to make up my own mind and if things were not the way they should be, I should work on changing them.
I did for many years. Even when I began teaching I tried to show my students they must ask questions. They must decide what kind of country they wanted. Once, after attending a very interesting, very conservative seminar on government, I posed a question to my students which had been posed to the attendees at the seminar. Is our Constitution Darwinian or Newtonian?
We had the best discussion/debate/conversation and I was pleased with the outcome. Critical thinking is a must in a history class. Then the phone call came. The next morning, a father?, began screaming at me for teaching his daughter things he didn't believe in. As I tried to calm him down because I really had no idea why he was upset, he continued to rant about me losing my job and how stupid a teacher was I?
As school began shortly thereafter, the young woman came running in to my classroom, horrified that her mother's boyfriend had called me. At the dinner table the night before, she was trying to get the adults in her life to discuss whether they believed the Constitution was fluid or static. I guess you can tell how that conversation went. She apologized for him and told me he had no right to even speak to me about her education. On a side note, she graduates today and I am proud.
I have students in my class today that do not stand or say the Pledge of Allegiance. Given the climate of society, they feel they are not a part of the country. I do not force them or even ask them. They are young adults and are finding their way. We push critical thinking and when they think for themselves, we discourage that. Should we only encourage when they fit the mold the politicians set?
I say the Pledge today. I love the United States. I am my father's daughter. My father was smart enough to understand that you cannot force patriotism. I hope I can continue to give my students enough space to think for themselves, throw out dated and old ideas and work to make the country one they can be proud of enough to stand and say the Pledge.
The first set are graduating today. They will change the world.
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