Two boxes are placed in front of the children. One is wrapped with plain white paper; the other is wrapped with decorative blue paper and a large festive bow. Which box did the children like more? Did they assume that the fancy package had something better inside? To find out, the children eagerly unwrapped the two boxes. Inside they found the exact same items – heart stickers.
This activity led to a discussion about Martin Luther King, Jr. and about not judging people by their outside, by the color of their skin. What was the connection between the heart stickers and Martin Luther King, Jr.? The heart, explained the children, represents love for one another. It represents what is inside all of us, even though we might be different on the outside. It is most important to look inside, they said, and not judge the outside.
Older students watched an interview with Abraham Joshua Heschel and read a story about his decision to march alongside Martin Luther King, Jr. during the 1963 March on Washington where King delivered his I Have a Dream speech. Heschel said of this March that “he felt his feet were praying.” He also said that, “The idea of judging a person in terms of black, brown or white is an eye sickness.” Heschel’s accent made it difficult for the children to make out these words in the interview. However, once they were repeated for them by the teacher, the students listened again to the interview and their faces lit up. They were in awe of his wisdom and his eloquence.
Students in second grade have been practicing excerpts from the I Have a Dream speech, and will recite them during their Readers’ Theater performance to classmates and parents this coming Friday.
Our world has been moved by the messages of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. They have moved our hearts, and they have influenced our actions. We are grateful for the power of their leadership.
Dina
