I am Impressed!

On Monday we discussed as a group the Civil War in America and how slavery was one factor that contributed to the start of the Civil War. Then, to remind us of the information, we made an artifact of the Confederate Flag to hang out on out Black History timeline. With some spare time in the afternoon we talked about the Greensboro Four - the four African American who peacefully sat at a lunch counter but were refused service because of the color of their skin. This, in turn, lead to a larger demonstration where hundreds of people sat at lunch counters peacefully and were arrested for sitting there since they were African American. We talked about why they were arrested and what happened because of their actions. Then a student said, "But, I just don't understand why it matters that they were African American? What if things were switched and the white people were the slaves and had to be treated that way? Would they like to be treated that way?" The class paused for a minute, and vocally agreed. I was so impressed with their higher level thinking and their ability to put themselves in someone else's shoes. I am really glad that we are studying African American history this year, if, for no other reason, that this helps students gain a better perspective on what others have gone through and how since we have learned about it, we can learn from mistakes in the past and try to make sure those aren't repeated. What an impressive group of students!