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MARSHA
RATZEL
Diary #6
An
Awful Week Ends
with a Rare and Beautiful Sight
What
a long, long week. Not just for me, but everyone I know is completely wrung
out. And I can't really remember much of what happened.
Amidst all the
barrage of images and emotions, one event stands out. On Friday, I got a
call from the school where I taught last year. They were holding an impromptu
assembly and wanted to know if I'd come over. Well, you didn't have to ask
me twice. I put down the purchase orders and gathered up everything I needed
for the weekend.
When I arrived,
I found that almost the entire student population at the middle school had
dressed in red, white or blue. But the kids had wanted to do something to
send a positive message beyond dressing up, so the teachers pitched into
the effort.
The music teacher
and librarian had assembled the entire student body into the basketball
stands and made them into a human American flag. Who could believe that
750+ students would cooperate and work together to accomplish something
like that? Well, they did and it something to behold.
The plan was
to take a picture of the student body and make it into cards of encouragement
to send to the rescue workers in New York and Washington, DC. After pictures
were over, a sixth grade teacher started playing the piano and everyone
sung the Star Spangled Banner. I mean really sung it --- they meant every
word.
Singing was
followed by a poem that reminded all of us how precious life is and how
we needed to treasure each other. It helped us focus on the diversity represented
in our school as well as our nation. You could hear a pin drop while almost
every student in the gym listened and tried to figure out exactly what had
happened over the past couple of days...
The band teacher
then quietly walked out into the gym and blew "Taps." A sad, poignant way
to remember all those that had died. And again everyone choked back the
tears. When the kids were dismissed they came down from the stands, they
left for home on the buses. And I knew that I just watched middle schoolers
transforming the evil of the world into a celebration of spirit and citizenship
--- a rare and beautiful sight.
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