I Have a Dream

Last week, my students were reading about and discussing the life of Martin Luther King Jr. This was the last story in our reading books and was a great story to end with. Everyone knows his inspirational story, and my students knew a bit about him. We talked especially about his dream's for the United States and his work for equality for all people.

I did a little experiment with my students to get them to understand how unfairly people were treated. I asked the oldest in the family to come up to the front of the room with their chairs. I gave them pillows to put behind their back and gave them some candy to eat while sitting there. I told them they would stay there for the lesson. I started to get back into the lesson when I started to hear some complaining. "Miss Ongna, that's not fair! I can't help it!" After hearing a bit of their frustration, I got everyone back to their seats. It was then that many of them realized why I did it. We discussed how upsetting and frustrated it is to be treated differently for something that you cannot control and doesn't make a difference to how you are. It amazed me how deeply some of these kids were affected and how they now had a bit more of an understanding heart.

The poster they made along with writing the paragraphs.

Following this experiment, we jumped into our project. I found an idea for a project online that I also turned into a writing project. I talked with them about his famous "I have a dream..." speech and read part of it. After dicussing Luther's dream for a place where his children will be judged by their character, rather than by their skin color, I challenged them to think of their own dream for the world. Each student made a poster, then wrote a paragraph writing their own mini "I have a dream" speech. The result was wonderful, heartwarming, and nearly brought me to tears. Their dreams were so pure and wise beyond their years. Here are a few of their paragraphs:

"I have a dream that no one will be bad which means no fighting, no gossiping, no stealing, nor anything else that involves sin. This dream will come true when Jesus comes again."

"I have a dream that someday everybody will treat each other nicely. That no one would say mean things and that no one will hurt other people's feelings."

"I have a dream that everyone would get along. I wish no one would fight. I wish for a land of peace.

"I have a dream that everyone will believe in Jesus. I have a dream that everyone will follow the ten commandments. I have a dream that everyone will be faithful to God."

This whole year, I've been working hard to teach my students the basics. Sometimes I forget the big picture, until assignments like this one help me to see it. I hope that my students know how to identify prepositional phrases, add 3 digit numbers, and write a paragraph. I also hope and pray that my students have learned more about themselves and their role in God's kingdom, that this school year has been about more than just learning facts. These are some amazing kids and I thank God that he has allowed me to play a small part in their amazing lives!