I did it today.  I did that thing that I hate to see others do.  I was a segregationist.

Today in my class, students with brown eyes enjoyed a piece of candy and a front row seat.  Those without, went without. 

I wanted my students to understand what it was like to be separated and discriminated against based on something they had no control over– eye color.  I wanted them to understand why Martin Luther King, Jr. was an important man to our country.

Martin Luther King Jr. was one man among many that fought for an end to racial discrimination in the United States. The 1960s were turbulent, especially in the South. African-Americans lived like second-class citizens, enduring both hatred and violence. Even Martin Luther King Jr. died from an assassin’s gun.

In 1963, MLK (as he’s often referred) gave an amazing and inspirational speech about freedom for all people. He spoke his words on the steps of the monument of another man who fought for freedom, Abe Lincoln. If you’ve not seen the speech before, check it out. It’s powerful and it’s one of my favorite speeches.

I hope you’re as moved by his words as I am. Write a comment to tell me how you feel about it.  Write to me and tell me what you think about today’s separatist lesson.  Did you like it?  Hate it?  Feel guilty?

“I Have a Dream” by Martin Luther King Jr.

For the full text, click here: http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm

I’m sorry I didn’t get to be with you all today. We were learning how to be better teachers while you were at home. As you know, in language arts, we study speech. There is one speech that, had we been together today, I would have liked you to have seen.

Martin Luther King Jr. was one man among many that fought for an end to racial discrimination in the United States. The 1960s were turbulent, especially in the South. African-Americans lived like second-class citizens, enduring both hatred and violence. Even Martin Luther King Jr. died from an assassin’s gun.

In 1963, MLK (as he’s often referred) gave an amazing and inspirational speech about freedom for all people. He spoke his words on the steps of the monument of another man who fought for freedom, Abe Lincoln. If you’ve not seen the speech before, check it out. It’s powerful and it’s one of my favorite speeches.

I hope you’re as moved by his words as I am. Write a comment to tell me how you feel about it.

“I Have a Dream” by Martin Luther King Jr.

For the full text, click here: http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm

Rudolph, d red-nosed 3:*> had a vry shny noz. n f u evr saw him, ud evn sA it glows.

As a teacher, I often hear from adults how annoying it is that students write in “text” lingo.  I tend to disagree.  I think that our children are speaking a new, specific language.  Maybe, as non-digital natives, it’s the adults who are intimated by these coded words.

I find value in text lingo.  It’s quick and it’s fun.   However, I’m still a teacher.  I try to teach my students that this lingo has a time and a place.  Their English essay isn’t the gr8est place for the “i” and “u.” (Please write ”I” and “you!”)  But, a message to their friends is the perfect choice.  We discuss that when writing, it’s important to consider the audience and the purpose. If texting fits those criteria, then go 4 it!

Every year we practice txting.  I like to show them how fun it can be with a holiday poem, letter, essay or song.  This year’s is dedicated to my AAA class: The Misfits!  See if you can crack the code.  (If you need help, just mouse over the text word and it the correct word will pop up.)

Happy Holidays!  – Mrs. B.

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ll of d oder 3:*> uzd 2 *L* n cll him names. dey nvr let poor Rudolph join n Ny3:*> gmes.

thN 1 foggy xmas Eve*<|:o)> came 2 sA: “Rudolph w/yr noz sobrite, won’t u guyd my sleigh 2nite?”

thN ll d 3:*> luvD him as dey shouted otW glee, Rudolph d red-nosed 3:*>, Ull go dwn n hx!