 |
| My view tonight from Brooklyn. |
Today during our second period class and shortly after observing a moment of silence, my 12th grade students reminded me that the attacks of September 11, 2001 took place during their first full week of school. They were kindergartners.
Every year of their academic lives has been marked by war.
Every year.
We've taught them how to read and write, we've encouraged them to grow and change, but we've handed them a violent legacy of uninterrupted conflict.
And yeah, they're a bit cynical. They see no end to the saber rattling and airport pat-downs and they don't pretend believe that these battles will ever be won.
But they aren't defeatists. These high school seniors pay close attention to political possibilities and have little tolerance for platitudes. They don't want to talk about Miley Cyrus because they are much more concerned with Syria.
War makes them sad and resilience makes them proud.
The Class of 2014 just seems to be totally unimpressed by the drama of fear.
Thank you.
ReplyDelete