The New Day Is Here

I'll be glued to the television watching the Inauguration this morning. My sister is in D.C. enjoying multiple festivities. I know students all over the country will be packed in auditoriums, dorm lounges, and cafeterias. If you can be around other people this morning, try to do so... for the inspiration.

The new day we all hoped for is here. Barack and Michelle Obama will need our prayers and support, as hopes are extraordinarily high for what people expect from President Obama.

With that, however, I hope those same high expectations are met by the same kind of hard work and sacrifice that it takes to meet expectations.

I was just watching the local news in L.A., and a man who has been unemployed for the past 3 years spoke as if a new job is going to fall in his lap now that Obama is president. I've heard others share formally and informally that their problems are miraculously going to be resolved by the weekend with the new president in office.

I guess that's... hope?

With my students, I've been using Barack and Michelle as an example of what/how hard work pays off. To the student who is ALWAYS behind on work, I tell them "Do you think Barack became president by being late all the time?" Or to the group using language that is demeaning to themselves (n-word, b-word, h-word, etc...), I tell them "Do you think Barack and Michelle talk about (or think about) themselves with those words?"

Anyway, it's a new day. An exciting day. And I think and hope a new way for all of us to be with ourselves and others.