Eavesdropping on History...

"I Have A Dream"...

4 Years of Skipping...Texting...Sleeping...Mediocre Effort

Recently in class, we have been studying the Civil Rights Era. "Of course" everybody "knows about" Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, The Montgomery Bus Boycott, The Freedom Rides, The March on Washington, etc...but, this is a trap of poor teaching and understanding! The teaching of the Civil Rights Movement (and most USH teaching) has become nothing more than an imbalanced "famous leaders unit" with only minimal lip-service to the local grassroots organizations. How depressing that many students don't even care about learning the "Greatest Hits" let alone digging deeper into a true understanding of the topic.

Am I too hard on my students? 

Are my expectations too high? 

Is thinking critically about our past really that important?

So here is my Mother's Day Story...

Yesterday, my family and I were eating out at a local restaurant with my Mom & Dad to celebrate Mother's Day...what a great meal. During the meal, I found myself eavesdropping on a conversation at a nearby table.

Grandma: "Susie (changed the name to protect the innocent!) what have you been learning about in school this past week?"

Susie (about 8 years old): "Harriet Tubman!"

Dad (totally serious): "Who is Harriet Tubman? I have never heard of her?"

Grandma: "Are you serious?"

Dad: "Yes..."

Grandma (totally flabbergasted that her son is so ignorant): "Harriet Tubman was a fugitive slave who became a conductor on The Underground Railroad...she made 19 trips back to the South and escorted over 300 slaves to freedom...including her children and many relatives. Now that is the love of a mother!"

Dad: "That's amazing...I wonder why I have never heard that story before?"

Susie: "Geez Dad!"

I should know better than to eavesdrop...I almost lost my appetite!!!