We had parent-teacher conferences the other day and while waiting in the locker-lined hallways for our turn to sit with the teacher, my husband and I noticed a display of MLK Jr. posters on display. The kids must have learned about his accomplishments and honorable contributions to our society. Then they created a bust of his imagine with a cute portrait of his smiling face and a trifold shirt that opened up to a writing space. A tie down the middle split the space into two different writing topics. The first required the kids to list Mr. Luther King Jr.'s dream and the second column asking for a dream of their own. Most kids' ideas centered around King's dream of bringing freedom, equal rights, and peaceful change to the world. Dexter noted King's desire to end segregation. Nice job kid- that's right!
Reading their answers to the second column made us feel hopeful and proud of the how first and second graders see the world. Most students wrote about their wish for world peace, kindness, and empathy. Then we noticed Dex's... WTF kid? Really?! Yours is about wanting one hundred dollars? It seems as though you've missed the entire point of this project. To be fair, one other kid wrote about his dream for a tv. But of the two kids who wish for material things when compared to the dreams of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., MY kid is one of those.
I especially love how he wrote his name on the last line of the right column. Typically, you write your name on the top of an assignment right? So clearly there was some thought put into this placement. Like, hmmm, looks like they gave us all this room to thoughtfully write ideas about MLK Jr. Day and I only needed three lines to express my need for more money. Maybe if I write my name down here it will help fill up this space.