School Bells – Current Affairs – Grade 8 – week 24
Young People and future of political office
Last week because I was in the process of moving to a house I just purchased, I had to cancel meeting with the 8thgraders. I missed meeting with them and am excited to see them They are arriving now.
Me: Good morning class.
Class: Good morning Mr. Jim. Cookies?
Me: Yes. I have cookies. Abdul and Susie, will you pass them out please?
They pass out the cookies which are quickly consumed.
Me: I missed meeting with you last week while I was in the process of moving to the house I just purchased. I am eager to hear your thoughts about whether young people such as you are going to be willing to run for political office. How will the expense and social media affect your willingness to run for office and assume community leadership?
Will: When our family recently joined others for the Martin Luther King Jr. peace march in our community there were a lot of young families and kids my age. The new mayor was also there. Some of us talked about it feeling as if it was our community. Reverend said we have to take ownership of power to make a difference.
Me: That is great. It sounds as if you are saying that at the local level it feels doable. How did you and others use social media?
Will: A lot of us posted photos and quotes from the talks that day. A lot of other kids commented on the photos and the quotes.
Ann: We went to the Martin Luther’s King’s march and then my mother, sister and I went to the women’s march. I liked the fact that it felt like a big, friendly family. We also posted a lot of photos on Facebook. A lot of people left comments.
Me; Did you get any negative responses or comments?
Ann: Not many and if we did we just thanked everyone for their comments. We did not tell people that they were wrong.
Me. That sounds much different than what happened during the recent presidential election.
Will: We did the same thing. Some of the older folks in our church who marched with Martin Luther King Jr. held classes on using a positive response and not reacting to anger with anger. They said that non-violence is important in social medial also.
Amena: In our family, we talked a lot about how to listen if we really want to know what people are worried about. We felt that a lot of people in the presidential election just talked at each other and not about what was important to each other. We have to start doing that in small groups.
Me: How does that get us to big, expensive elections?
Tom: We talked about that. Our family wants to know more about how everyone got together for the women’s march. Who were the famous leaders? Apparently, there was a committee which raised money for food, facilities and entertainment, but mostly it was local people organizing.
Me: That is fascinating. I understand that the original idea came from a grandmother in Hawaii.
Susie: We heard that no one got arrested and there was no violence.
Me: That is what I heard also.
Ann: I am not sure that the same methods will work in a presidential election but it does seem as if most of the organizing was on the local level and then a group of women leaders from various fields organizing the events in Washington, D.C.
Me: It sounds as you are saying a lot of the important organization takes places on the local level.
John: My parents said that when they were young most of the election work that they did was on the local level. People talked to each other, helped each other and believed in something.
Adult: There has been a lot of fear in my community Our family talked about how we could help our neighbors who are fearful.
Me; Let’s see if I can begin to summarize what I hear you saying. The key points you seem to be suggesting are:
1. Be positive.
2. Listen to each other.
3. Organize and get involved at the local level.
4. Share on social media but in positive way.
5. Non-violence - verbal and physical.
6. Ownership of community local, state and national.
7. Pay attention who what others care about.
Abdul: Our family thinks that last one is very important.
Me: Say more about that.
Abdul: It is like if someone is fearful of not having a good job we can all understand that. Rather than telling coal miners that coal is bad, we need to focus on what we can do to help each other have good paying jobs. If someone is concerned how high cost of insurance, we have to talk about a better way to get health care. Talk about what we agree on such as jobs and good health care and then explore options.
Me: Are you suggesting that we focus on what we have in common and then explore ways of dealing with those common needs/wants?
Abdul. Yes, Mr. Jim.
Me: We can also stress that point in our list. I am so impressed with your creativity, passion and positivity. We are nearly out of time. Ann and Tom, will you pass out the rest of the cookies please? Next week unless there are some other concerns we will talk about refugees. Do they add to or drain our economy? Can it be make easier for people from other countries to practice their professions here?
Have a good week.
Class. Bye Mr. Jim.
Ring! Ring! Ring!
Written February 7, 2017
Young People and future of political office
Last week because I was in the process of moving to a house I just purchased, I had to cancel meeting with the 8thgraders. I missed meeting with them and am excited to see them They are arriving now.
Me: Good morning class.
Class: Good morning Mr. Jim. Cookies?
Me: Yes. I have cookies. Abdul and Susie, will you pass them out please?
They pass out the cookies which are quickly consumed.
Me: I missed meeting with you last week while I was in the process of moving to the house I just purchased. I am eager to hear your thoughts about whether young people such as you are going to be willing to run for political office. How will the expense and social media affect your willingness to run for office and assume community leadership?
Will: When our family recently joined others for the Martin Luther King Jr. peace march in our community there were a lot of young families and kids my age. The new mayor was also there. Some of us talked about it feeling as if it was our community. Reverend said we have to take ownership of power to make a difference.
Me: That is great. It sounds as if you are saying that at the local level it feels doable. How did you and others use social media?
Will: A lot of us posted photos and quotes from the talks that day. A lot of other kids commented on the photos and the quotes.
Ann: We went to the Martin Luther’s King’s march and then my mother, sister and I went to the women’s march. I liked the fact that it felt like a big, friendly family. We also posted a lot of photos on Facebook. A lot of people left comments.
Me; Did you get any negative responses or comments?
Ann: Not many and if we did we just thanked everyone for their comments. We did not tell people that they were wrong.
Me. That sounds much different than what happened during the recent presidential election.
Will: We did the same thing. Some of the older folks in our church who marched with Martin Luther King Jr. held classes on using a positive response and not reacting to anger with anger. They said that non-violence is important in social medial also.
Amena: In our family, we talked a lot about how to listen if we really want to know what people are worried about. We felt that a lot of people in the presidential election just talked at each other and not about what was important to each other. We have to start doing that in small groups.
Me: How does that get us to big, expensive elections?
Tom: We talked about that. Our family wants to know more about how everyone got together for the women’s march. Who were the famous leaders? Apparently, there was a committee which raised money for food, facilities and entertainment, but mostly it was local people organizing.
Me: That is fascinating. I understand that the original idea came from a grandmother in Hawaii.
Susie: We heard that no one got arrested and there was no violence.
Me: That is what I heard also.
Ann: I am not sure that the same methods will work in a presidential election but it does seem as if most of the organizing was on the local level and then a group of women leaders from various fields organizing the events in Washington, D.C.
Me: It sounds as you are saying a lot of the important organization takes places on the local level.
John: My parents said that when they were young most of the election work that they did was on the local level. People talked to each other, helped each other and believed in something.
Adult: There has been a lot of fear in my community Our family talked about how we could help our neighbors who are fearful.
Me; Let’s see if I can begin to summarize what I hear you saying. The key points you seem to be suggesting are:
1. Be positive.
2. Listen to each other.
3. Organize and get involved at the local level.
4. Share on social media but in positive way.
5. Non-violence - verbal and physical.
6. Ownership of community local, state and national.
7. Pay attention who what others care about.
Abdul: Our family thinks that last one is very important.
Me: Say more about that.
Abdul: It is like if someone is fearful of not having a good job we can all understand that. Rather than telling coal miners that coal is bad, we need to focus on what we can do to help each other have good paying jobs. If someone is concerned how high cost of insurance, we have to talk about a better way to get health care. Talk about what we agree on such as jobs and good health care and then explore options.
Me: Are you suggesting that we focus on what we have in common and then explore ways of dealing with those common needs/wants?
Abdul. Yes, Mr. Jim.
Me: We can also stress that point in our list. I am so impressed with your creativity, passion and positivity. We are nearly out of time. Ann and Tom, will you pass out the rest of the cookies please? Next week unless there are some other concerns we will talk about refugees. Do they add to or drain our economy? Can it be make easier for people from other countries to practice their professions here?
Have a good week.
Class. Bye Mr. Jim.
Ring! Ring! Ring!
Written February 7, 2017
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