This week, not only does the Ross community celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., we also recognize and support the continuous fight for Civil Rights and equality still being fought every day around the world. We encourage the Ross community to advocate for justice, equality, and fairness. In the Nursery classes, students read a story about Dr. King and discussed his dream for equality, peace, and love for all people. They were encouraged to draw their own dreams for the world. Among them were, "I have a dream no one will ever get hurt," "I have a dream my family will always love each other," and "I dream that everyone in the world will have a rainbow."
Grade 5 Team Leader, Nancy Hallock, designed a learning experience around Dr. King's essay The Purpose of Education. Grade 5 students broke into pairs to determine how core values aligned with Dr. King's message, and their post-reading discussion centered on two specific quotes from the essay:
"Education must enable one to sift and weigh evidence, to discern the true from the false, the real from the unreal, and the facts from the fiction."
"We must remember that intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education."
Ms. Hallock stated in a letter to Grade 5 families, "Dr. King called upon his Morehouse College community to be responsible learners and educators, and that extends to all, including today.
"The students loved it when I told them it was their job to question everything they learn in and out of the classroom, including me. My job as their teacher is to help them learn how to look at information and to develop their own opinions based on evidence, not to tell them what or how to think. This included examining where and how we get our information...and how we use that knowledge to benefit the world."