I think love is indescribable.
Today, my students and I read a NPR article with snippets from multiple news sources regarding the death of Trayvon Martin. After reading the article, I fielded their many questions and offered some of my own to fuel a class discussion. Each of my 7 class periods came to the same conclusion
Racism is ingrained into our society, Miiiiissss.
Yes, that’s called institutionalized racism. It means that policies and practices in our country better serve certain populations.
Miiisssss, is that racism like when white people and black people couldn’t eat at the same table in restaurants?
No, Miiisss, it’s worse, it’s worse because racism now is hidden. People think everyone is being treated equally, but we’re not.
Yes.
The love within the fourteen-year-old bodies of my students is indescribable. It’s as if they have special glasses, to see into the motives of society, to wean out what is unjust and rally behind what is fair. Nearly every single one of my students wrote a letter to Trayvon Martin’s family, offering their support from afar. Below are some of the things they said
I think that people like George Zimmerman should not judge people only because of their skin color.
I know how it feels to be treated different from other people. To make fun of you or laugh at you just because you’re different. I hope justice will put George where he belongs.
What George Zimmerman did to your son was not acceptable because that is called racism.
It looks like racism is taking over the world
I love you and you have my support
I’m so mad because the police don’t do nothing to the man who killed your son
I’m going to pray for you that racism will not exist
I know I’m a stranger to you but I want you to know that he (Trayvon) will always stay with us. His memory will always be with us.
I know it will take more than words to stop it (racism). It will take action and I will do anything I can.
I’m writing this because I care about ending racism.
I know I’m only 13, but I’d really like to help
On my desk, there is an overflowing folder, letters to Trayvon’s family peeking out of every opening. The genuiness in the words, despite lack of vocabulary and command of the English language is profound. My students express an innate ability to love people whom they will likely never meet, but people who are seeking the same thing they are, justice. As I watched my students write, Bob Marley playing in the background, I thought,
They are love
Not a single word can do my students justice. They, and the molecules of kindness that have contributed to their cultivtion are simply indescribable. Today, my students taught me that loving is an innate quality that can be found in all of us. A quality that, when challenged, is
beyond words, beyond action, beyond life itself.
Indescribable.
No comments:
Post a Comment