Martin Luther King Tribute

Students carrying on King's legacy

Westwood Elementary third-graders made good use of holiday

By Todd McMahon
The De Pere Journal

The children in Stephanie Albers' third-grade class at Westwood Elementary School in De Pere had the legacy of the late King foremost in their lives Monday.

Whether it was contributing to a "I have a dream" mural outside the classroom or signing a "Martin Luther King Day Promise" at their desks, the young students were inspired to try to make a difference.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a national holiday observed on the third Monday of January, was marked in all four third-grade classes at Westwood.

Staff and students from St. Norbert College spent an hour at the school to discuss with the children the significance of King, a civil-rights leader.

"I think many were blasting some of the schools (in parts of the United States) for having school on this national holiday," said Bridgit Martin, director of cultural diversity at St. Norbert. "But, I think it's better to have school on this day because it gives us an opportunity to get into the classroom and really learn and teach. Otherwise, it would be just another day off. They wouldn't really understand what it's all about."

Thanks to the effort of three volunteers from St. Norbert, the Westwood third-graders on Albers' watch came away with a better understanding of the sacrifices made and the hardships endured by King in his fight for equality for all citizens.

The students were divided into two groups — half holding blue squares and the other half holding orange squares. While the students with the blue squares were allowed to sit at their desks, those with the orange squares had to stand in the back of the classroom behind their classmates. The roles were later reversed.

The exercise was used as an example of discrimination, which was prevalent in the country in the 1950s and '60s with racial segregation.

Nancy Mathias, associate director of leadership and service at St. Norbert, elicited sounds of disapproval when she told the third-graders that, hypothetically, some of them wouldn't be allowed to take a drink from the water fountain or go to the bathroom.

One "oppressed" student responded that she would have to return home to use the bathroom.

"Sometimes, some people had to do that," Mathias told the class. "They couldn't use the bathroom in stores or in some other places. They had to walk a long way."

Mathias and St. Norbert students Alli Skibbie and Sammi Sullivan engaged the children in another exercise designed to break down prejudices.

The third-graders worked in pairs to come up with similarities and differences between one another regarding appearance, personality and interests.

Many of the students discovered that they share a like for eating ice cream and playing video games.

One student noted a difference with her partner, saying, "He likes to play video games, and I like to go shopping."

"Martin Luther King would say it's important that even though we're really different and we like different things, we still respect each other and we still care about each other," Mathias told the class.

The St. Norbert volunteers called the third-graders to action by having them put in writing a promise that they would do something nice for their family or community on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

The pledges included "help mom clean the house," "not use so much electricity," "give mom and dad a hug" and "shovel snow for the neighbors."

Albers, a first-year teacher at Westwood, felt class time devoted last week and Monday to King was beneficial for her students. The third-graders then transferred the lessons to a buddy program they had with first-grade students at the school.

"They can obviously make a difference when they're older," Albers said. "For them to realize what happened in the past and get an understanding, they can keep making a difference as they get older."