Time is really flying; I cannot believe that it is almost Thanksgiving break.
I do have to apologize for being so delayed in blogging; it just seems that there is so much to do and so little time to get it all accomplished. I need to rewind back to the first week of November and talk about our trip to Washington D.C. before coming forward.
As we were getting prepared for our departure it became clear to me that our students thought they were "going on vacation." I felt as if something needed to be done in order for them to realize the relevance of this trip; it was more than a vacation....a whole lot more. Maybe all of my time spent working on my graduate degree is paying off. I wanted to be sure that our students had a vision for the trip; a goal if you will. The problem was that I couldn't quite wrap my brain around the vision, therefore how could I expect them to. I studied the 7th grade curriculum, all the goals and objectives and kept drawing a blank. The more I worked, the deeper I dug, I kept coming back to the idea of our place in the global society. What are the implications of us, citizens of the United States of America, being a part of a global society.
On our trip we visited the Lincoln Monument, the WWII Memorial, Jefferson's Monument, the Vietnam Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, along with many other sites. It became very clear to me as we traveled that I had chosen the right goal; every memorial, every monument was in some way representative of our interactions with people outside of our native land. Take Thomas Jefferson, for instance, born during the Age of Enlightenment, he was known in Europe as the author of the Declaration of Independence, a title that gained him fervor in the eyes of the Revolutionaries in Europe and the Americas. Thomas Jefferson became the US minister to France when the French Revolution was gaining momentum, Jefferson was a supporter of the French Revolution he even allowed his home to be used as a meeting place for the rebels.
As we move forward this school year it is my desire for my students to have a better understanding of our place in the world. I hope they understand that our spoken words, printed words, and our actions do leave a lasting impression on people. It is my hope that we all have a positive impact on our society and not a negative one.