Professionals Against Bullying

Monday, February 1, 2010

A month to remember...


Today is the first day of Black History month! This is a special time for people from every culture to explore and find out more about the history of African-Americans. I find when we take time to learn about each other the benefits are endless.
The first time that I remember hearing about Black history month was when I was in the fist grade and my teacher had a display of pictures of many famous African-American people. I saw Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Some photos of Motown stars and I also saw unfamiliar faces. I remember learning about Harriet Tubman and her courage to free herself and others from the bondage of slavery. I saw information on Sojourner Truth and even learned about George Washington Carver and his inventions that continue to serve us well today.
I find it amazing that every year I am exposed to a new African-American person that made strides during their lifetime to make this world a better place.
Looking at the history of my culture and learning about magnificent and brave people from today and yesterday allows me no excuse to hold back my talent.
It has always been legal for me to read, write and to attend school. These are things that I could easily take for granted if I did not reflect on those people who looked just like me who were denied the rights of education.
My commitment to writing and to literacy go beyond face value. In a time when everyone can learn and enlighten themselves I feel that it is my dream to help them to get the resources needed to flourish. I refuse to take for granted those privileges that so many great people fought for me to have even before I existed. Have you ever thought about it like that?
Think for a second about your heritage.
How did your family come to be where they are at today?
Who fought on the behalf of your culture to help you to experience upward mobility?
A great project for a class is to write a letter of gratitude for the contribution that a person from history made to make life easier for you. This allows for the child to practice their literacy & history skills in a way that nurtures their kindness. If you try this project-let me know how it goes!
-Read something great!

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