Post by title1parent on Jan 21, 2009 6:13:10 GMT -5
www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/1389239,6_1_NA21_INAUGPARTIES_S2.article
Kids also know day special
January 21, 2009
By TIM WALDORF twaldorf@scn1.com
Maybe they've just barely begun to learn so much of the history about which our new President Barack Obama spoke in his inaugural speech.
But that didn't mean the 300 or so students crowded around the big screen set up in May Watts Elementary School's library weren't aware that they were watching history unfold in front of them.
"Barack Obama, he's African-American," said fifth-grader Pricila Olivas. "And this is the first time that an African-American is going to become president, and that is very special."
And certainly the students are too young to really understand the rhetoric of Obama's inaugural speech. Like the rest of us, though, they know when to applaud, and they did so heartily at the right times during his address Tuesday afternoon.
"I hope he helps make the world a better place and stops the fighting that is happening in Iraq and some other places," fifth-grader Nick Caruso said.
When they sang along with "The Star-Spangled Banner" and cheered as the presidential helicopter lifted off and soared over the thousands gathered on the grounds of the National Mall, lasting memories were made.
"Their behavior today just shows how they know this is important," said Laura Gilbert, a fifth-grade teacher at May Watts.
Gilbert said students have studied the basics of U.S. history, and they've learned how elections work. They're researching famous "firsts," and counted down the days until this one occurred. They've heard their parents talk about it, too.
But now they've experienced it, she said.
Kids also know day special
January 21, 2009
By TIM WALDORF twaldorf@scn1.com
Maybe they've just barely begun to learn so much of the history about which our new President Barack Obama spoke in his inaugural speech.
But that didn't mean the 300 or so students crowded around the big screen set up in May Watts Elementary School's library weren't aware that they were watching history unfold in front of them.
"Barack Obama, he's African-American," said fifth-grader Pricila Olivas. "And this is the first time that an African-American is going to become president, and that is very special."
And certainly the students are too young to really understand the rhetoric of Obama's inaugural speech. Like the rest of us, though, they know when to applaud, and they did so heartily at the right times during his address Tuesday afternoon.
"I hope he helps make the world a better place and stops the fighting that is happening in Iraq and some other places," fifth-grader Nick Caruso said.
When they sang along with "The Star-Spangled Banner" and cheered as the presidential helicopter lifted off and soared over the thousands gathered on the grounds of the National Mall, lasting memories were made.
"Their behavior today just shows how they know this is important," said Laura Gilbert, a fifth-grade teacher at May Watts.
Gilbert said students have studied the basics of U.S. history, and they've learned how elections work. They're researching famous "firsts," and counted down the days until this one occurred. They've heard their parents talk about it, too.
But now they've experienced it, she said.