Saturday, January 24, 2009

Inauguration memories

Because the Inauguration was on the day after Martin Luther King, Jr. Day this year, it was considered a "critical day" for Rockdale County Public School employees. That means if you were absent, you better have a note from your doctor. But the cool thing was that it meant we were with all the kids to watch the inauguration festivities! AND we got to watch TV during a school day! I got to work around 6:45 as usual and started getting things ready for my day. As soon as the school's live newscast was over at 7:45 a.m., we changed the channel and watched all the festivities unfold. I got attendance done for the day and then turned in my chair and watched TV and chatted with other school staff and school visitors as they came in. The principal had the swearing in ceremony broadcast on a big screen into the cafeteria so that the kids eating lunch wouldn't miss any of it. The principal and assistant principal went into the cafeteria during the actual Oath so that they could be with the kids. They said that they didn't have to say a word, the kids (5th and 2nd grade...about 200 children, were in the cafeteria at that time) went dead silent. The cafeteria is 3 sides concrete block and one side windows. Once President Obama finished taking the oath, the kids all stood up and clapped and screamed and shouted. What was really fun was during the speeches and different addresses, whenever the crowd would cheer, there would be this surge of cheering swelling throughout the hallways. I doubt they had any idea of why they were cheering, but they were so excited to be part of this. Several parents came in to be with their kids for this historic moment and they were so appreciative of the school letting the kids experience. Johanna had Program Challenge so she was at a different school so I couldn't go down and be with her. I got to leave school as soon as buses left (my hours are such that I have another hour after buses leave on a normal day) because our principal wanted us to be able to be with our families for the rest of the Inaugural stuff. Usually Jo goes home on the bus so when I had her come to the office at dismissal, she was a little taken aback. As we were driving home and I was explaining to her that we could get home in time to watch some of the parade (not knowing it would be late), her response was "I had to watch inauguration stuff all day at school. Can I watch something else?" Ah well, hopefully someday she'll understand and appreciate the significance of what she saw. But then she doesn't comprehend why being black should make a difference to whether someone should be President or not! That's the world she lives in even here in the heart of the Redneck South! She has friends of different colors who repeat what they hear at home and her response is, "Why does his being black mean anything to being a President? Shouldn't everyone be worried about if he's going to do a good job or not?" Out of the mouths of babes...

2 comments:

lbhaney said...

Love the comments from Jo...both the 'can we watch something else' and the idea that she doesn't know why it matters. I have a hard time explaining it to my kids too - they still use 'peach skin and dark skin' to describe people in Guess Who. We were at the American History Museum and there were some displays about segregation and they just couldn't wrap their heads around it. I mentioned that had Obama wanted an ice cream sundae, he wouldn't have been able to eat it at the same counter as us...and Abby said "Well that is silly, didn't they know he was going to be the PRESIDENT!?"
So, Civil Rights and the Space Time Continuum are still fuzzy to Abby.

Great that your school did so much. It was a day off in Fairfax County and my daycare didn't do diddly. I actually wish they had been at their regular school because they did a lot of election related things and I know would have done something fun.

Hugs!

KathyBell said...

Jo's remarks sound almost like Tracy's comment aobut going to some event at Ruth Eckerd Hall. "How much more of this culture do we have to go to?"