This week in Room 34 we learned about respect. Respecting our school. Respecting adults. Respecting our freedoms. Respecting each other. Respecting "the process." Respecting our leaders. From the first minute election results started coming in, the news feed on my "social media page of choice" began to explode with comments from all sides. Some were simple reactions to the way things work...electoral college vs popular vote, types of ballots, recounts, etc. Others were comments about the candidates themselves...I hope my candidate wins, I hope the other candidate loses, I don't care for either candidate, etc. Then, the winner was called, the concession speech was given...and people got nasty. I went to bed. I have no interest in mean-spirited comments. The next morning I got up, looked up the most recent/final results, and went to work. My students have been studying both candidates, making their own decisions about who they felt was the better choice, and some got to vote for the very first time. Those who voted for the winning candidate were ecstatic. Those who voted for the losing candidate were devastated. These are normal reactions. Both candidates couldn't come out winners. We had discussed for weeks that this would be an extremely close election, and that it truthfully could go either way. Those who were "victorious" calmed down and were gracious. Those who were "defeated" took a deep breath and began talking about how everything starts over again in four years. I encouraged all of them to take pride in their vote...no matter the candidate...and to not become so discouraged that they stop participating in "the process." They were mature and honest and respectful...and I was extremely proud. My younger students...those who are not old enough to vote, those who did not spend as much time learning about both sides, those who are affected by but not responsible for the outcome of the election...were a different story. The things that they were saying to each other...the comments made about the President, the comments made about Gov. Romney, the comments made about the outcome of the election...were the opposite of respectful. So...we had a chat. We learned that one of the many beauties of voting by secret ballot is that...it's a secret. You do not have to tell anyone who got your vote. Your vote can be as personal and private as you wish it to be. We learned that it is always important to be gracious...whether you win or lose. We learned that the office of President is an important one...and even if you do not care for the candidate chosen to fill it you MUST respect the office itself. We learned that hate in the form of words is the worst kind of hate...because you can never take your words back...words are forever. We learned that if you don't like something and you want it changed, there are ways to respectfully request that change...you may not always get what you ask for, but you can be proud you went about asking for it the right way. When my room was empty, and those conversations were over, I asked myself these questions: Where do children learn disrespect? Where do children learn hate? What kind of example are we setting for the young people in our lives? Do we, as adults, realize that those children for whom we are so incredibly responsible are the future leaders of our nation? Do we, as adults, realize that the hate, disrespect, and negativity that we are modeling for those young people will be forever burned in their minds as the "right" way to approach things? What will that mean for our country in 10, 15, 20 years time? Do we want to be forever known as a nation that handles disagreements, conflict, and challenges with hateful, disrespectful words and actions? What can I do to prepare our future generations for leadership?
The responsibility is great.
No comments:
Post a Comment