"The Drum Major Instinct" Speech by Martin Luther King

Last Friday I had the opportunity to attend the 2008 Drum Major Awards Luncheon in Salt Lake. The keynote speaker was Judge Shauna Graves-Robertson. She chose to base her speech on the "The Drum Major Instinct" speech that Martin Luther King, Jr. gave at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia on February 4, 1968.

I as so impressed with her speech that I came home and found Dr. King's speech so I could read it in it's entirety. In honor of Martin Luther King's life that is celebrated today, I am choosing to share lessons from this speech that if applied, can help King's dream be realized.

The speech is based on the story found in the 10th chapter of St. Mark in the New Testament when James and John, the sons of Zebedee, request to sit at his right hand and left hand. Toward the end of Jesus' response, He says, "But so shall it not be among you, but whosoever will be great among, shall be your servant: and whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be the servant of all."

King cautions us not to be too critical of James and John because deep down all of us have this instinct=="it's a kind of drum major instinct--a desire to be out front, a desire to lead the parade, a desire to be first." He adds that even when we do something good, too often we do it so we can be praised for it.

King notes some ways that this drum major instinct manifests itself in our lives:

• Being a "joiner" for attention, recognition, importance
• Being taken in by advertisers who promise that their product will make us stand out
• Living above our means in order to outdo the Joneses
• Boasting
• Striving to identify with the so-called big-name people
• Engaging in activities merely to get attention which if not harnessed can lead to anti social behavior in the quest for recognition
• Pushing others down through gossip and even lies in hopes to push oneself up
• Snobbish exclusiveness and classism which can even happen in churches, the one place where everybody should be the same regardless of degrees, titles, economics, etc. because all are children of the same Father
• Race prejudice because of desire to feel superior

Jesus did not condemn James and John because of their desire. In fact, in essence he told them that the drum major instinct was a good thing if they used it right. In other words, it's ok to want to be first, but want to be first in love, excellence, generosity---a definition for greatness.

King emphasizes that the use of this definition of greatness, everyone can be great because everyone can serve. The one solitary life of Jesus is our example--He who had no credentials but himself just went around serving and doing good.

Joint Endeavor to Educate and Advocate

Valuing first language as a resource is so important if we are to serve our diverse learners well. Research from more and more disciplines is supporting this premise including special education, counseling, literacy, and early childhood. And position statements have been written by many organizations such as the International Reading Association and the National Education Association supporting the importance of first language.


For this reason, it would behoove these organizations--both locally and nationally--to join forces to educate about and advocate for policies, programs, procedures, persons, and places related to language issues. This joint endeavor will cause their efforts to be more powerful and effective.

A good place to start is to have all of them read the new book by James Crawford and Stephen Krashen--English Learners in American Classrooms 101 Questions and 101 Answers.

Cornell West Insights--Part 3

"A democracy is created to ensure that arbitrary forms of power are not deployed or used against fellow citizens and fellow human beings." "Democracy is affirming the humanity an dignity of people of color."

"I am not a politician. I am a fellow citizen but I am deeply political."

West reminds us of what Malcolm X suggested about the fact that the chickens will come home to roost. "We must not think that there will ever be enough police or prisons to deal with the overwhelming social despair that results from the social neglect in those kindergartens, elementary schools, and secondary schools and high schools.

"Resources are necessary for education, but not sufficient for essential education. "Creative thinking, critical intelligence, deep commitment, connection with students, believing deeply that students can learn are other critical essentials." Yet, when 1% of the population has roughly the same wealth as the bottom 95% of the population, there needs to be a serious discussion about the wealth inequality in this country.

"Charity is not justice."

"I am not optimistic. Anyone who has the audacity to adopt a democratic vision cannot be optimistic, though I do not conflate optimism with hope." Hope means one keeps keeping on to come together to form communities and schools that embody democratic principles.

"Maybe we have a problem. Maybe we ought to really try to take seriously multiracial democracy. Which we know was not the division of the founding fathers, even given their relative wisdom. They could not conceive of black, white, red, yellow, all having equal citizenship status. They could not conceive of women having equal citizenship status. And one says that not to trash them just contextualize them. They had wisdom but it is relative to context, just as we have wisdom today but it is relative to our context. But we are building on their vision...if we do not wrestle...with [its] overwhelming inequality and increasing inequality, then yes, we can begin to lose that precious democratic tradition that was transmitted, bequeathed to us by the best of those who came before."

West reminds us of a staple from the Martin Luther King legacy which was to let go of bitterness, hatred and revenge, regardless of history. We must fall in love with peace and justice and the desire to serve.

Cornell West Insights --Part 2

"We are all on the same ship, and that ship has leaks in it. We must all stick together, or we will all fall apart, for we are inextricably linked together."

"While the unexamined life is not worth living, the examined life is a necessarily painful one to lead."

"What does it mean to be human? To be human is to suffer, to shudder in the face of life's mysteries and to struggle with that mystery."

West quotes William Butler Yeats who said, "it takes more courage to dig deep into the abyss of one's own soul than it takes for a soldier to fight on the battlefield."

"Teachers must forge a courage in themselves and attempt to make it contagious with their students to move from learning that is too hollow, too shallow, too quantitative, too standard-oriented."

"Lack of democracy: voicelessness. Democratic reality: a sense of being an agent in the world.

"West quotes Emerson as saying that all forms of imitation are suicide. Therefore, each must find his or her own distinctive voice and practice it and "bounce it up against other voices within the community like a jazz quartet."

Cornell West Insights

Because I was so impressed with Cornell West's speech on Thursday, I took some time to read some of his other speeches. The following are some "gems" I discovered:

"There can be no substantive Essential Education without accenting non-market values, activities that allow us to situate ourselves, and our young people, our students, in stories bigger than us."

"We have become addicted to stimulation and titillation, shallow pleasures, and have discarded the search for depth."

" 'Gangsterization,' a movement which is mean-spirited, cold-hearted, and back-stabbing is going in our society. In our search for material success, non-market values such as concern, compassion, or unity have been forced to take a back seat."

"The 9-11 terrorist attacks in the U. S. gave white Americans a glimpse of what it means to be a black person in the U. S. --feeling 'unsafe, unprotected, subject to random violence, and hatred' for who they are."

Recapturing the Heart of the Twelve Year Old

As I have been reflecting this morning on the words from Dr. Cornell West's speech at the University of Utah yesterday, I'm reminded of an incident that happened on my 12th birthday 48 years ago this month. My mother had finally given in and allowed me to invite all the girls from my class, including two Black girls, to my birthday party because I had insisted that I didn't want to have a party if anyone had to be left out.

West's words inspired me to want to recapture that 12 year old attitude and determination as so much work still needs to be done not only in my personal life but as a nation, too, so that no one is left out.

Progress has been made as Linda Chavez reminds us in her article Our Better Angels: Martin Luther King's Legacy posted at www.townhall.com on January 18, 2008. Chavez notes that under the leadership of King in the Civil Rights movement, the hearts and minds of American people were changed and led out of complacency to exclaim, "This should not happen in America" The conscience of millions of Americans of all colors had been pricked, and they understood that the injustices they were witnessing on their TV screens were simply wrong. An army of men and women, young and old, black and white, was mobilized and the non-violent protests for democratic rights for all began.

West reminded us, though, that in spite of the progress that has been made, the journey isn't over until Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream has been totally realized. In order for this to happen, all of us must respond to what both King and Lincoln called the appeal to "the better angels of our nature" and get to work.

Be There

Woody Allen's formula for success is summarized in his words, "80% of success is showing up." Many years ago I heard a similar message condensed to two words: Be there.

Yesterday United Way was sponsoring its 4th Annual Legislation Breakfast. I had earlier responded with a yes RSVP that I would attend, but I was in a real time crunch because of a variety of assignments that needed to be completed. Yet, I felt prompted to attend. After all, it was only going to take a couple of hours out of my day.

The first person I saw as I entered the parking lot elevator was LeeAnne Linderman, a favorite person of mine who always inspires me just by being around her for a few minutes. After registering I sat down at an empty table as I hadn't come with anyone, and I didn't see anyone I knew. It wasn't long before I realized that the one conducting the meeting was Scott Anderson, the President and CEO of Zions Bank---someone with whom I had been playing phone tag as I had wanted to contact him about an idea. Being able to speak to him in person after the meeting instead of continuing to try to connect by phone was definitely a plus.

Already my investment of time was paying off! Then during the meeting, much to the surprise of both of us, Sandy Petersen, the Davis School District Assistant Superintendent, sat down beside me. She is an incredible educator and person who is committed to serving Hispanic learners. It was rejuvenating just to have the opportunity to visit with her for a few minutes.

Surprises aren't over, yet. At the end of the meeting someone else who had come in and sat down at my table spoke to me by name, and I realized it was Joan Dixon, another person who is an inspiration because of the great work she is doing with Hispanics in the Provo area.

Needless to say, it was well worth the two hour investment to follow the prompting to "show up" and to "be there"---over and above hearing what the legislators had to say!

Learning From the Democratic Presidential Candidates

Last night we watched the 2008 Presidential Democratic Debate taking place in Las Vegas, Nevada. Even though I am not a Democrat (am not sure what I am at this point!), there were some important lessons to be learned.

Lesson #1: The candidates stayed focused on the issues and refused to be caught up in the media frenzy that seems to be determined to be divisive. For instance, Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama had worked out between them, before the debate, the accusations flying back and forth about a comment of Senator Clinton's concerning Martin Luther King. Another example, was Senator Barak Obama's response to lies about him that were being spread on the internet. Another example was when Obama refused to blame race for his New Hampshire loss to Clinton.

Lesson #2: Even though they had differing views on how to address a variety of issues they focused on the views and didn't resort to personal attacks. (Have to admit, though, that they weren't that kind when talking about President Bush). They recognized that in spite of their differences, they all were committed to the same goal--serving the American people.

Lesson #3: When asked to share a personal strength and a weakness, each was honest about both which indicated they knew themselves.

Lesson #4: Clinton and Edwards admitted mistakes they had made concerning a vote they had cast that later turned out not to be a wise choice. They did this with no excuses.

Lesson #5: When asked when and why they chose to run for president, each shared a tender moment.

Lesson #6: They complimented each other for the good things they had done and commented that they knew that the American people had three very competent and capable candidates to choose from. Once the American people made their final choice known, they would support that choice.

Lesson #7: Clinton asked for Obama's help with an issue she wanted to address.

Lesson #8: All three candidates were extremely knowledgeable about the topics. They weren't responding to questions with an emotional gut reaction although "heart" definitely played an important role in their opinions and decisions.

As educators contemplate each of these lessons they will see that there are definite applications as to how it might be in the best interest of our diverse students to address education issues in the same manner.

Two Important Questions

Yesterday I attended a panel presentation at the University of Utah. It was one of its Martin Luther King celebration events.

One person on the panel, Dr. Takuya Minami, suggested that we ask ourselves two questions:

1. Do I feel like a member of the community?
2. Am I comfortable inviting others to the community?

A yes answer to the second question relies upon a yes answer to the first question. The struggles of others won't become my struggles until I can answer, "Yes," to both of these questions.

Pondering the first question caused me to reflect upon the work of Dr. Robert Putnam concerning social capital. To feel like a member of the community I must expand my circle of influence beyond my own small world--I must become actively involved. Although voting is important, actively involved requires more than casting a vote. It demands stepping out of a comfort zone and getting into the arena. It means speaking up and doing about what's right even when it is unpopular.

Education Savings Account and Books

By helping our diverse students open an education savings account and then contribute to it we are not only telling them that we believe in them, but we are also helping them to focus on education goals.


Some things we can to encourage this: (The focus is going on the Hispanic student population because that is where my experience is but could definitely be adapted to other diverse student populations)

• In schools with a high Hispanic population when you find out some family is going to have a baby, give the family a book with a $1 (or more) check made out to a bank to open an education savings account. Sixth grade Hispanic students could tape record the books, and they could be given a small amount of money for their education savings account for doing this. A business partner (or grant) could be involved in paying for the cost of this project.


• For the state Spanish Spelling Bee, have the reward be money for an education savings account and a book.


• Encourage service and civic organizations to sponsor a variety of contests such as essay contests with the reward being money for the education savings account and books.


• School and classroom rewards could be money for the education savings account and books rather than other treats.


• Family members, friends, and neighbors could be encouraged to give money for the education savings account and/or books for such celebrations as holidays, births, birthdays, graduations, quinceañeras and other special occasions. Fellow church members could be encouraged to do the same for special occasions the child or youth experiences in the church setting such as baptisms.
• Encourage the student to put at least 10% of any earnings from an allowance or job into his/her educations savings account.
• Hold events such as yard sales where all the profit is divided amongst the participating students for their education savings account.
• Find someone who will match the amount of money in the education savings account each year. If needs be, set a minimum and/or a maximum the student has to accumulate.

In Utah (and a few other states) Zions Bank can help with setting up this education savings account. It can be opened with the minimum amount of $1 and the interest is greater than it is for other accounts. An added plus: Zions has Spanish banks where everyone in the bank speaks Spanish. For more information about this, contact Sylvia Haro at sylvia.haro@zionsbank.com. Other banks may have similar programs, but I am most familiar with Zions because I have worked with them.

Hope and Change

It would be hard for anyone (Democrat, Republican, Independent) to listen to Barak Obama's speech mantra of "hope and change" and not be inspired. Yet, Shelby Steele on Bill Moyers Now last Friday evening expressed the following:

"But if you listen to his -- speeches 'change,' 'hope.' I mean, it's a kind of-- it's an empty mantra. I mean a surprising degree of emptiness, of lack of specificity. What change? Change from what to what? What direction do you want to take the country? What do you mean by hope? There's never any specificity there because specificity is dangerous to a bargainer."

Earlier in the interview Shelby defined and explained a bargainer as " a black who enters the American, the white American mainstream by saying to whites in effect, in some code form, I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt. I'm not going to rub the shame of American history in your face if you will not hold my race against me. Whites then respond with enormous gratitude. And bargainers are usually extremely popular people." Shelby goes onto explain that the bad side of this is that no one ends up telling the truth about what one really feels and thus in a way becomes invisible.

All of this has great application to education issues especially as it relates to the education of our diverse learners. It could very well explain why the achievement gap (s) continues to persist despite all the rhetoric. People have entered into some kind of bargain so no one is offended by speaking the truth---being specific about what needs to be changed and who needs to do the changing. Policy makers enter into the bargain agreement to keep their jobs and/or to be reelected. Result: Nothing changes and the achievement gap (s) continue to exist.

If the achievement gap (s) scenario is ever going to change we need people who because they are more concerned about the next generation than the next "election" will challenge the status quo by telling the truth--with hope.

Ponderings on Law

This Thursday I attended my first Education and Law class with Dr. Scott Ferrin at BYU. As we discussed the definition and role of law, I reflected on the December 22nd "blog post" about the "rule of law."

During class some new thoughts came to mind that expand upon that "blog post."

• The purpose of law should have a benefit component. The perfect law giver, God, gave us laws that if obeyed, He in His infinite wisdom knew would bring blessings. We have man made laws such as speed limits for our safety and to protect us. Yet, man is not a perfect law giver. Therefore, he will make laws that are not perfect....and that at times can even be extremely unwise and unjust causing much harm. This should cause us to be leery of focusing only on the "rule of law."

• Throughout history we have honored people who have "broken the law"--our Founding Fathers, Rosa Parks, Corrie Ten Boom, Schindler, all the people who protected and helped slaves during our history's slavery era, even people from scriptures like the Good Samaritan, and many others.

• In my religion--Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Saints--our 12th Article of Faith states: We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.

QUESTIONS: When these pondering thoughts from December 22 and today seem to be contradictory, what is the answer? How does one be a law abiding citizen and at the same time not become such a slave to the rule of law that one ends up hurting rather than helping?

The Fight Goes On

The 2008 edition of Education Week's Quality Counts was released a couple of days ago. It presents a new framework for strengthening the teaching profession, based on a yearlong analysis of the best thinking and current practices in the field.

Quality Counts grades the states across six areas of education performance and policy. While the U.S. posted a grade of C overall, the average state earned a D-plus on public school achievement, the poorest showing of any graded category.

In response to this report and articles in two of our Utah newspapers about the findings, I wrote the following "Letter to the Editor":

The findings of new education reports indicating a persistent achievement gap (s) between Whites and Latinos are quite disconcerting. A 50%-60% Latino drop out rate and up to a 30 pt. achievement gap in some academic areas are inexcusable. Obviously collecting and analyzing data are not sufficient.

Nor will identifying lack of resources as the culprit be an effective answer to the lingering dilemma, especially if it is used as an excuse not to do anything. Plus, there are questions to be asked about resources if they are to be used effectively such as:1) What is meant by resources--money, books, qualified and culturally response educators, technology, opportunities, the students themselves?, 2) Which resources are linked to which learning outcomes for Latinos?, 3) Which combination of resources are most effective?, 4) Which type of classrooms need which resources?, 5) What is meant by sufficient resources?, 6) How do we make resources equitable and not just equal?, and 7) How can Latinos learn to take greater advantage of the resources that are already available?

It's also important to remember that resources are not self-activating? In other words, just providing resources without the proper use of them will not bring the long desired results.

There is no question that most educators are working extremely hard to address this achievement gap (s) issue. Therefore, working harder isn't the answer but maybe working smarter is. Working smarter might include encouraging a closer connection and collaboration between researchers and practitioners and policy makers concerning the most effective use of resources.

Fernando's Graduation

I repeatedly reminded my class of 4th, 5th, and 6th grade English Language Learning Hispanic students that I wanted to be invited to each of their graduations--middle school, high school, and college. There aren't words to express the joy I felt when Fernando took me at my word and called me a couple of days ago to tell me that he would be sending me an invitation to his high school graduation.

This experience was a reminder that our diverse learners need to know that we believe in them and that we have high expectations for them. This is a much different approach than having a huge 6th grade graduation celebration for them because you believe it will be the only graduation they will ever experience. Sadly, the latter is what I heard teachers express.

Providing opportunities for our diverse learners to dream about, envision, and vocalize their possible futures and then helping them develop the knowledge and skills they need to achieve their dreams is one of the greatest gifts we can give them.

Influence Change

One of the reason I like Kevin Eikenberry so much is because he goes the extra mile. He followed up his conference call message with more resources that could benefit us in our change effort.

One resource included 5 ways to influence change in others:

1. "Get" their perspective: It's the other person's perspective about the change that really matters. Valuing that perspective will help the other person feel part of the conversation, not that feel that one is being given a sales pitch.
2. Acknowledge their perspective: Let the person feel that you recognize that the view is valid even if may be different than yours.
3. Speak to their interests: Talk with the person about the differences in your perspectives, explaining how the change has personal benefits for him or her.
4. Recognize natural tendencies: Recognize that not everyone moves at the same rate in regards to change.
5. Be patient: Give a person time to reflect on what you have shared. This could help "save face" for a person who is moving from opposition to a change to being an advocate for the change.

Kevin has more information about change at his website, http://www.kevineikenberry.com/

Serendipity Strikes Again

Another serendipitous experience has touched my life. While in the midst of organizing a group that is going to be educating and advocating for change in regards to Hispanic learners, I received an email from Kevin Eikenberry, the author of Remarkable Leadership, who was conducting a conference call on change.

I had the opportunity to participate in that call yesterday with Kevin. The insights he offered truly are remarkable, and they couldn't have come at a more opportune time.

Kevin strongly recommended that we share with a colleague what we learned --and the sooner the better--as that will help cement the ideas. Stephen Covey has offered the same advice. I felt my "blog" may be the best place to share and record what I learned.

Below are some of the points I learned and want to apply:

• If there is no need for change, there is no need for a leader
• Not everyone will be at the same place concerning change, and it's important to be ok with this
• People view change differently, attaching negative, positive, and/neutral emotions to it
• Be a proponent (not an "evangelist") for the change by emphasizing the positive benefits/rewards of the change and minimizing the risks
• People don't resist change as much as they resist being changed
• Acknowledge where people are in regards to the present state as they have been doing what they are doing for a long time
• Build a post-change vision that can be experienced with all the senses
• When talking about change, the conversation and dialogue need to be continually open and ongoing
• "Sell" individuals, not groups --by getting individuals engaged and involved will help build the momentum
• Call the change a journey (a process)
• Ask questions! Ask questions! Ask questions!
• Find language for the change that is not just a hollow slogan

Participating with Kevin in this learning conference call convinced me to personally commit to move from focusing on resistance, opposition, obstacles in relationship to change and focus on exciting, challenge, opportunity instead.

NOTE: For more information about Kevin Eikenberry and his work, including articles that can be downloaded, visit http://www.kevineikenberry.com/

Joan of Arc's Example

One of my heroines from history is Joan of Arc, the illiterate peasant girl who at 17 became the unlikely standard-bearer for the French army in the Dark Ages.

Long years of war had impoverished and divided her country when Joan received promptings that she had a purpose to fulfill which was to help liberate her oppressed country. At first people scoffed at her ideas and felt that she was a little crazy. Nevertheless, she persisted and was eventually able to see the king.

King Charles VII of France was so impressed with the fact that Joan curtsied to him after recognizing him amongst the ranks of the army which he had occupied in order to trick her, that he gave her command over his 12,000 troops. At first the French soldiers didn't want to obey her, but once seeing the success that came from following her orders, they came to look upon her as their leader.

Joan of Arc issued orders that seemed to be those of a military genius, and in spite of being wounded twice, she and her army liberated the besieged city of Orleans in 1429 and defeated the English in four other battles.

She was captured at Compiegne by English allies during the Battle of Paris and sold to the English for 16,000 francs. She was imprisoned, tried as a heretic, and then burned at the stake in 1431.

Despite this sad ending to Joan of Arc's life, it does not take away from her greatness who as a young girl had the courage to follow the promptings that came to her and make a difference.

Lessons to learn from Joan of Arc as we strive to make a difference for diverse learners:

• Listen to promptings and follow them in spite of what others may say or do
• Be willing to be different and not be motivated to do that which wins acceptance
• Muster the courage to be willing to suffer the consequences that may come from following promptings

"The Fierce Urgency of Now"

"The fierce urgency of now." The 2008 Democratic presidential candidate, Barak Obama, has resurrected this powerful phrase from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s I Have A Dream speech.

These words are definitely appropriate and applicable to what we are facing in connection with the education of our diverse learners.


Although this pithy phrase is a memorable call to action, I feel it would be helpful to look at the significance of each of the words. To be fierce is to be strenuously active and resolute fueled by intense conviction. Urgency means there is a pressing necessity demanding notice and attention that requires speedy and prompt action. Now means at the present time, without delay or hesitation.

The education of our diverse learners is definitely a pressing issue that demands our immediate and strenously active attention.

Learning From Statistics

It was the hardest class I had ever taken in my whole life--Statistics (or as some have called it--Sadistics).

Our professor, Dr. Sterling Hilton, told us that he had chosen the best textbook he could find. I believed him but even though I knew the words I was reading were English words, they might as well have been Japanese words. Then after reading the chapter 2-3 times I had to face a greater challenge--complete the assignments based on the difficult reading.

As I started to doubt my abilities and considered dropping the class Dr. Hilton gave me some wonderful advice. He said to concentrate on the learning and not the grade. Yet, as I contemplated his advice I realized that I could learn 50% and still fail the class. That was a daunting thought.

The irony to all this was that I truly loved the class. My husband questioned my sanity asking in disbelief, "How can you love a class that is so hard for you?!?" Why did I? One reason was because of the "A-ha" moments--times when the light finally dawned after an uphill struggle to understand. If I let my mind wonder for 2 seconds during class or while reading the textbook, I was lost. Therefore, I had to be continually engaged. As difficult as this was, it was also exhilarating as my mind was stretched to grasp a concept in the foreign language of statistics.

So I continued to love the class and follow Dr. Hilton's advice to focus on learning praying that I would at least pass the class but also being willing to retake it if needed. Well, the semester ended, and I had survived statistics. But had I passed? With trepidation and butterflies in my stomach I finally mustered up the courage to look at my grade. There are no words to describe what I felt as an "A-" stared back at me. No "A-" has ever meant so much to me.

There are so many valuable and life changing lessons I learned from this experience that have nothing to do with statistics, and I'll never be the same.

As we work with diverse learners who face at times challenges that seem to be insurmountable, we must remind them to focus on the learning and not to give up. The very fact that the road wasn't easy will make the eventual success that much sweeter and their character that much stronger.

History and Forgiveness

It is critical that young people (and adults, too!) learn the history of our world and nation for as George Santayana warns, "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it."


It is not only critical to learn history, but it's also important that it be observed from different perspectives. After all, as Ralph Waldo Emerson tells us, "All history becomes subjective; in other words there is properly no history, only biography." Seeing American History through the eyes of Native Americans, Blacks, Hispanics, and/or other minorities will paint a different picture. By studying one, we don't dismiss the other. We just acknowledge that history isn't one-sided.

Seeing history from other perspectives can often times be extremely painful, but Maya Angelou
reminds us, "History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again."

We must exercise extreme caution when sharing painful history. If the result is "white guilt" and/or anger and hatred and revenge and feelings of victimization we have lost site of our goal and ultimate hope to change the present and the future for these kind of responses are paralyzing.

So what is the healthy response to painful history that will allow up to paint a brighter future: FORGIVENESS

As we ponder the words of Anne Frank, Corrie Ten Boom, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Ishmael Beah, Coretta Scott King, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, and the Amish people, we can glean the wisdom from them about the power of forgiveness.

Therefore, as we teach young learners painful history, it is crucial that we also teach them the importance of forgiveness, even when the offender doesn't ask for it. It will only be through forgiveness that our nation and we as individuals can heal and be strong. For only then can we be united in working together to fight the evils that hurt us all.