A historic event.   

In case anyone was wondering, nearly every educator I know is experiencing a range of emotions over the swearing in of our new president.  These emotions generally range from relief to ecstatic enthusiasm.   And personally, I like Barack.  He is obviously intelligent, well-spoken and seems to excel at grasping issues and explaining them to people.  Still, I am not overly optimistic about his/our prospects because the issues facing our country are enormous and the mechanisms we have at our disposal to fix them are ponderous at best.  But even with that said, along with most of my colleagues, I am happy to see a change in federal leadership as it relates to education policy and the general welfare for our nation.  And I especially appreciated President Obama’s  comment in his inaugural address that this election represented the choice of  ‘hope over fear’.  Boy, does that seem accurate.

I grew up in a segregated Midwestern city — one in which major thoroughfares unofficially lined out the difference between white and black neighborhoods.  It existed as if there were a legitmaite and logical reason for it and everyone seemed to accept it as ‘normal’.  It wasn’t until I was in junior high school (yes, that’s what we called them way back in the day) that I began to question the status quo.  I understand things are appreciably different in modern day Cleveland, Ohio.  Thankfully.

Yesterday we were all treated to the historical spectacle of a dark skinned man being sworn into the office of the presidency of the United States.  And coincidentally, this year’s inauguration occurred the day after our national holiday for Martin Luther King Jr. the articulate and passionate leader for civil rights movement in the United States.   For people of my generation this was absolutely inconceivable when we were children.  Unquestionably, this is a remarkable moment for our country.

I know that this has happened because our country has matured as a people and because our education system has expanded our ability to think and reason.   I hope that everyone seizes upon this event as an opportunity to act with kindness, generosity, gratitude and to strive for personal greatness – for I believe that is what will define our future and allow our country and people all over the world to prosper.