A day off to remember
Posts Tagged ‘Martin Luther King’
Martin Luther King, Jr.
January 16, 2017As we recognize today
This image is from the blog called Teacherwise at https://teacherwise.wordpress.com/2014/01/20/teaching-martin-luther-king-jr/
On January 15, 1929 Martin Luther King Jr. was born. In the words of Coretta Scott King, Martin’s wife, this is the meaning of today, the holiday that the federal government designates as Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday celebrates the life and legacy of a man who brought hope and healing to America. We commemorate as well the timeless values he taught us through his example — the values of courage, truth, justice, compassion, dignity, humility and service that so radiantly defined Dr. King’s character and empowered his leadership. On this holiday, we commemorate the universal, unconditional love, forgiveness and nonviolence that empowered his revolutionary spirit.
The following three quotes of Mr. King’s speak to me as an educator and especially as an arts educator. Following our individual creative dreams and encouraging our students to do the same, contributing to the world each day in a positive way is critical.
- “Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better.”
- “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.”
- “If a man is called a streetsweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great streetsweeper who did his job well.”
Martin Luther King
January 19, 2016Not just a day off from school
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is observed on the third Monday of January to recognize his birthday (actually on January 15). King was assassinated in 1968 and for those of us who have been around for some time, I am sure that you remember the day. Or perhaps you remember when he stood above the reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. and gave his “I have a Dream” speech on August 28, 1963.
I wonder how we instill in our young people that this is not just about a day off from school? I hope that we can bring to our students an awareness of what this man stood for; nonviolence activism in the Civil Rights Movement. He had a dream and lead and joined others to speak that message and show it in their actions.
Perhaps the music of The Maccabeats and Naturally 7 and the video created by Uri Westrich, singing James Taylor’s Shed a Little Light, will speak to some of your students. Powerful music and images.
me arts ed 