Today I am so very proud to be an American as I reflect on the great strides that we've made as a nation. I know that we have a long way to go before we achieve liberty across all boundaries. As I contemplate our country's history, and the difficulties once faced by African-Americans, women, minority groups, and immigrants, I see great growth, but also great opportunity to do even more. I am so thankful and happy to call the USA my home because I know that we won't give up until we have achieved the ideals of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" upon which our country was founded.
Today, we celebrate one of my personal heroes, and one of the greatest American voices to have walked this earth, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Martin Luther King inspires me by his eloquence, humility, and nonviolent commitment to social justice.
Tomorrow (Wednesday for my Period D students) we'll be dedicating a class period to studying and reflecting on one of Dr. King's especially powerful speeches, entitled "The Drum Major Instinct." We'll be watching the final 13 minutes of it together in class, but if you'd like to watch the whole speech, you can do so here.
A site called EduGuide is sponsoring a student video contest for students in grades 6-12 related to Dr. King's "Drum Major Instinct" speech and how we can apply it to our lives. The grand prize winner will receive a $1000 scholarship, and runners-up will receive $100 gift cards to Amazon.com. Please check it out here. Students who enter and provide me with their entry links may choose between receiving extra credit points or counting their entry as one of their four required SRC submissions for MP3.
I hope that you take a few moments today to be thankful for Martin Luther King, Jr., and others like him who fought for civil liberty in the fact of angry, violent opposition. We must all take a page from Dr. King's book and seek to better our country even when it's scary and difficult.
Looking forward to engaging in insightful discussion on this topic with my wonderful students tomorrow!
Have a great week!
Miss Whitman
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