Here's another song I love. It's kinda jammy. I adore the theme...the general wakes up after a dream and tells his soldiers he's refuting the idea of war. He tells his men they aren't to be held to his promises, but won't let himself off the hook. And the soldiers don't know what to do...as the general readies to fight by himself. It's The General by Dispatch...totally cool jam band.
You know what else just makes me giggly happy? I have given my kids an extra credit assignment. If they watch the debates, write down something intelligent that proves they actually thought a little bit, they get the credit. From the last two debates, 1/3 of each of three classes have brought in written statements that they can support when asked about them, another 1/3 of each class didn't write, but watched and brought opinions, and almost the whole class is involved when the candidates' performances are discussed. There's a little bit of "I like _________ because he's cool" or whatever, but most of the time they are giving thoughtful answers. I am ever so impressed, and so pleased that they are thinking and reasoning and excited about this stuff. One kid came up to me and said, "You're making me feel special that I live in such an exciting time." Damn! And they are totally stoked for tomorrow. They are excited to see how the candidates react when they get to take questions from "real people." What are the chances that just half of these 75 kids will retain some sense of civic understanding as adults? That they will understand they need to be informed, that it is their responsibility and privilege to have a say in who is the leader of their country. I'm so proud of them! I love listening to what they have to say. Granted, it's all parroting from their parents, but they are able to explain when I say "What do you mean by ____" so they have discussed it and get it. Obviously, I have to totally bite my tongue a good third of the time, but I'm thrilled they are interested and involved. If they learn from my class the responsibility to listen to both sides and make an informed choice, the small town knee jerk stuff will go away, right? I showed them about fact checking and they LOVED it. "It tells you right there!" Yep. I know. I'm excited about tomorrow. I'm excited to discuss it Wednesday with my elementary schoolers!
