Picture yourself 10 years from now. Are you a successful business owner? Actor? Computer genius? World traveler? Teacher? Spouse? Parent?
10 years from now I see myself married, maybe with children, and teaching. Teaching a fifth-grade classroom. Teaching 10-year olds about American history. Teaching them they 50 states, the capitals, and about how the great Unites States come to be. Teaching these kids about the Presidents. Who the role models are. Who they look up to. Who the honorable people are. Who the passionate people are. And who the people who care so deeply about the United States are.
But 10 years from now, I will be struggling. I will not know how to properly teach about this election. I will not be able to properly able to explain to the students the qualifications of the candidates. How they were rude to each other or how they were more concerned about each other than the issues that plagued our country. How one candidate was considered a criminal. How another candidate was on trial for sexual assault and threaten to remove a whole religion from the United States.
How do I teach my students about the uproars and protest and cases of harassment that have plagued America for the past week? How do I explain to them that there were people’s rights taken away? That some people aren’t able to get married anymore or have a family. That some families were torn apart due to where they were born or their ethnicity.
But another question comes to mind during this political whirlwind? How do I teach them, without a common core curriculum? 10 years from now, I don’t know what curriculum the government will have in place. But I hope it is suitable. I hope it is improved. I hope that standardized testing is no longer a thing. I hope that children don’t find anxiety in going to school. I hope that the students are able to find joy in learning. I hope students will understand what they are called to do and how they can better the world.
I will teach them without bias. I will teach them about how our country rallied together to help the rights of the minorities. I will teach them about how despite any troubles that the United States have faced, the US has always fought for the betterment of the people. I will teach about spreading goodness and kindness to others despite their heritage, skin color, religious beliefs, or sexual preferences. I will be a role model to students I teach. Displaying what it means to be a good citizen. Exercising my right to vote. Being an upstanding leader my community. Volunteering and giving back to the community.
In 10 years, America will still be here. In what state? I can’t answer that. In the next 4 years, there will be many disagreements, issues, and hard times for many. There could be international outbreaks. There could be wars. There could be peace. There could be an economic revival and our economy could be booming. I’m not able to confirm or deny any of these potential possibilities. But I can tell you this. In the next 10 years, I will be a parent. I will be a teacher. I will be a role model to more than just my children. I will be a leader in the community. I will do everything I can for the children of America.
