Wednesday, March 14, 2018

The Walkout


This morning at 10:00am, every grade level at Bob's elementary school participated in the National School Walkout by reading the same book in their classrooms, I Am Peace by Susan Verde. At the same time, about fifty parents gathered in front of the school and silently held hands for seventeen minutes. While we stood quietly, I could hear the regular sounds of the neighborhood - birds and dogs making their bird and dog noises, traffic on a nearby street, someone raking their yard. I heard kids playing at recess on the other side of the gates.

A phone alarm gently alerted us that seventeen minutes had passed and a few wiped away tears. As we broke into small groups and chatted, one of the parents called out, "It's the middle schoolers." A few hundred middle school students had apparently walked out of school and were rounding the corner.
Accompanied by a handful of parents and escorted by the local police, these sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students carried signs and marched by. We stood and clapped for them. We clapped for these bright, thoughtful kids, and the kids walking out of the local high school, and the kids walking out of all of the other schools in our country. We clapped for the kids playing recess on the other side of the gates.



2 comments:

  1. Amazing!! I am proud of the young people and ashamed of my generation who let this problem go on for so long. I think of the CSN lyrics: Teach your parents well. They are teaching their grandparents! Thank you and Bob for participating.

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