Thank You, General Powell

All of this controversy over the building of a mosque in New York City near Ground Zero has gotten completely out of control. On top of that we have this "pastor" (and I use that term lightly) in Florida who is threatening to hold a Quran burning on September 11 making matters much worse. 

For those who may be new to my blog, let me start with this statement...I teach 6th grade social studies and science. Part of my curriculum in social studies is a study of the 5 major world religions (Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Judaism). We teach the major world religions in an effort to promote understanding and acceptance of everyone and their views in life. With that being said, let me just tell you about how 6th graders perceive this event taking place. 

I have always been a teacher who believes that students should not be masked from the events that shape this world. Since I began teaching, I take time every year to discuss the events of September 11, 2001, with my students. As each year passes, I work with students who were younger and younger on September 11, 2001. My current students were ages 2-3 when the terrorist attacks occurred. Obviously, they have no memory of those days. 

I began today's class by a brief discussion of what happened on 9-11-01. I wanted to really give our students an idea of the fear and pain felt on that day. We then turned to the news media surrounding this building of the mosque near Ground Zero in New York City. We discussed what is being said in the media. I was amazed at how many of my students had absolutely NO IDEA what is going on with this controversy.

We also took some time to look at this Florida "pastor" who is threatening to hold a Quran burning on September 11, 2010. My students really had no idea why this burning of the Quran was such a hot topic. I finally had to put it in terms they would understand. I said "Imagine someone lighting a match and setting thousands of Bibles on fire."  

The gasps that came out of my students' mouths could have sucked all the air out of the room. Their eyes got huge, and their mouths hit the floor. They got it! They finally understood that the Quran is the holy book for the Muslims. They instantly began to come forward with tons of questions. The two major questions were (1) Why would someone want to burn these books, and (2) Will this cause problems for Americans overseas? 

See, my students have their bright moments of wisdom! 

Discussions went on include how can the Bible or the Quran be used to make a person's point on either side of the discussion. We concluded that people can take any text or speech, tear it apart, use only the pieces you want to support your side, and rearrange it all to work for you. (I could have used various examples that are used into other discussions, but I kept other discussions out of this day!) 

One of the greatest moments of the day was when one of my students came up to me with a very perplexed look on her face as we lined up for lunch. She told me that her minister said that Christians really shouldn't talk about their religion to others because we don't want to offend anyone. She didn't understand why someone would say that, especially when Christians talk about their faith in hopes of bringing others closer to God. She and I talked about the natural curiosity of humans, and how it was okay to discuss what you believe as a Christian. She agreed it was okay to talk about your faith in the effort of educating others so that they will understand her beliefs. I told her that the goal of talking is to learn from others so we better understand each other. She is such a bright young lady.

What really made me smile today was when one of my students, we shall call him Cole, raised his hand and gave a short comment about the day's discussion. He said "Thank You!" I was a bit confused, so I asked him "for what?" He was thanking me for taking the time to explain what was going on with this situation. Cole told me that he had seen it all on TV but he couldn't really understand what was being said. 

I am waiting on the phone calls or emails that will inevitably show up from parents who might get upset that I am discussing this topic in class. As I tell my students all the time, to understand where we are going we must first understand where we have been. 

I think I will stop on that note. I could go on for days. Just had to share he bight moments of my day with 6th graders. Now, someone please find me some adult conversation!