Watching the inauguration in school
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- January
- 21
Both my kids watched the historic inauguration of President Barack Obama in school yesterday. Their reactions were positive – but not for the reasons their teachers would have liked.
My seventh grade daughter thought the televised spectacle was great. But not because it was a day of huge historic importance. She loved watching it because it got her out of social studies.
My second grade daughter was happy that Obama, her choice in her school’s mock election, was sworn in as president. But she wants to know why it’s taking him so long to get a dog.
I tried to explain to her the historic importance of Obama becoming president.
“When you’re a grandmother, you can tell your grandchildren that you watched Barack Obama become president,” I told her.
“Me? A grandmother,” she said. “Ewww. I don’t want to be a grandmother.”
So much for history.
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, January 21st, 2009 at 4:15 pm by Jane Lerner.
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Jane, she’ll always remember how wonderful and happy everyone was yesterday. I remember the day President Kennedy was killed. I was on my way into school, 2nd grade I think and all of the nuns were crying. I’ve never forgotten how frightened I was. Yesterday’s feelings of oneness are wonderful ones to have!
That’s pretty funny. You can’t expect kids, especially young ones, to take these things are seriously as some adults do. Maybe they’ll appreciate more when they’re older, though there will be many more inaugurations to come, and they become pretty routine after a while.