Y'all.
We've had some heartbreaking conversations in my class over the last few days.
(For context, I teach 3rd grade in a semi-urban school outside Atlanta, and the kids in my class are mostly Hispanic. They try to teach me Spanish on a daily basis, and I love being in a multicultural, multi-lingual place on a daily basis. It's absolutely fantastic.)
We're not having school on Tuesday because it's election day here in Georgia, so we've talked about the election. Just the basics, really -- what the election is for, how it works, who are the candidates, who is allowed to vote, why voting is important. Of course my kids have been asking who I'm going to vote for. I told them that generally we don't talk about who we're voting for, and that I didn't want to tell them who I was voting for because as their teacher, it's my job to teach them to think and make smart decisions on their own -- not copy my decisions and answers, which they understood.
But then one of my kids -- followed by several others -- just killed me:
"Can you vote for someone who's not Donald Trump? Because if he wins, we'll all have to leave. He's going to kick us all out."
Y'all.
My wonderful, multi-cultural, smart, beautiful 3rd graders are listening to these election conversations and they're fearful they -- and their families -- are about to be kicked out of our country. Out of their home.
Oh. my. goodness.
I'm not hugely political, and I generally HATE talking about politics. But this drove home the importance of speaking out for those with little to no voice, of using the methods and privileges given to us to fight with and for people -- including using a vote.
My heart's desire is to live with and love the people that the world often overlooks. I deeply, passionately believe God calls us to see the world in a different way, to see the people who maybe aren't seen and to love them and be in community with them. God is The God Who Sees, and as His followers who are being made in His likeness through His Spirit, we are called to be People Who See. A People Who See -- and then act.
These conversations brought to light for me the fact that not voting is NOT an option. If I have the ability to use my voice -- even in a small way like voting -- and I don't exercise that ability or right, then I may not be loving others and fighting for them in every way I possibly can.*
So please, for the love of all that is Holy, use your voice. And use it in a way that genuinely loves others the way God loves us and wants us to love others.
My 3rd graders -- and the world -- are counting on us.
*It's not always possible to vote. And I reserve the right to say that sometimes it might be better to abstain from voting.
We've had some heartbreaking conversations in my class over the last few days.
(For context, I teach 3rd grade in a semi-urban school outside Atlanta, and the kids in my class are mostly Hispanic. They try to teach me Spanish on a daily basis, and I love being in a multicultural, multi-lingual place on a daily basis. It's absolutely fantastic.)
We're not having school on Tuesday because it's election day here in Georgia, so we've talked about the election. Just the basics, really -- what the election is for, how it works, who are the candidates, who is allowed to vote, why voting is important. Of course my kids have been asking who I'm going to vote for. I told them that generally we don't talk about who we're voting for, and that I didn't want to tell them who I was voting for because as their teacher, it's my job to teach them to think and make smart decisions on their own -- not copy my decisions and answers, which they understood.
But then one of my kids -- followed by several others -- just killed me:
"Can you vote for someone who's not Donald Trump? Because if he wins, we'll all have to leave. He's going to kick us all out."
Y'all.
My wonderful, multi-cultural, smart, beautiful 3rd graders are listening to these election conversations and they're fearful they -- and their families -- are about to be kicked out of our country. Out of their home.
Oh. my. goodness.
I'm not hugely political, and I generally HATE talking about politics. But this drove home the importance of speaking out for those with little to no voice, of using the methods and privileges given to us to fight with and for people -- including using a vote.
My heart's desire is to live with and love the people that the world often overlooks. I deeply, passionately believe God calls us to see the world in a different way, to see the people who maybe aren't seen and to love them and be in community with them. God is The God Who Sees, and as His followers who are being made in His likeness through His Spirit, we are called to be People Who See. A People Who See -- and then act.
These conversations brought to light for me the fact that not voting is NOT an option. If I have the ability to use my voice -- even in a small way like voting -- and I don't exercise that ability or right, then I may not be loving others and fighting for them in every way I possibly can.*
So please, for the love of all that is Holy, use your voice. And use it in a way that genuinely loves others the way God loves us and wants us to love others.
My 3rd graders -- and the world -- are counting on us.
*It's not always possible to vote. And I reserve the right to say that sometimes it might be better to abstain from voting.
Comments