Get the 4 step process to amp up your teaching. It’s free!

We Hold These Truths: Three Reasons We Can Be Hopeful

On January 20th, 2017, a new president, who was freely elected, was inaugurated into his new office. While concerns abound about his political stances and his rhetoric, the fact remains that he is inheriting a stable country. We can be hopeful for what lies ahead, and we can teach our students that hope, too. I, along with many other TpT sellers, have contributed a free resource for the movements of #kindnessnation and #weholdthesetruths. Learn about my freebie, and see what others have created.The 2016 election season was divisive. Disagreement is healthy in a democracy–it keeps us on our toes. But demonizing people whose opinions differ from our own is counter-productive. We should attempt to understand and learn from each other. I wrote about discussing the election results with our students HERE.

To loosely quote President Obama in his farewell address, compromise is vital to our democracy.

In his farewell address, President Washington famously warned against the divisiveness political parties would bring.

The younger President Bush was hopeful for the future in his farewell address.

I want to discuss three reasons that we should be hopeful going forward. At the end of this post, I want to tell you about a TON of free resources that will help you communicate that hopefulness to your students.

Three Reasons We Should Be Hopeful Going Forward:

1. We Are Diverse

What do Albert Einstein, Natalie Portman, Ayn Rand, Andrew Carnegie, Van Morrison, Bob Marley, Joseph Pulitzer, Madeleine Albright, Irving Berlin, Eddie Van Halen, Isabelle Allende, Liz Claiborne, Bob Hope, Henry Kissinger, Sammy Sosa, Frank Capra, Charlie Chaplin, Iman, and Maria Sharapova all have in common?

They have all enriched American culture and politics.

And they are all immigrants.

Fresh perspectives and diversity are part of what makes this nation great. We should never forget that, because to lose it would be a great tragedy.

On January 20th, 2017, a new president, who was freely elected, was inaugurated into his new office. While concerns abound about his political stances and his rhetoric, the fact remains that he is inheriting a stable country. We can be hopeful for what lies ahead, and we can teach our students that hope, too. I, along with many other TpT sellers, have contributed a free resource for the movements of #kindnessnation and #weholdthesetruths. Learn about my freebie, and see what others have created.
 

2. We Are Fair

Or we try to be. Part of being fair is to try to understand different perspectives. Like it or not, we will have a new president on January 20, 2017, and he was fairly and freely elected. 
 
Yes, he didn’t win the popular vote, but the Electoral College is not new. We the people are (or should be) familiar with its function. We can’t do away with it legally after the fact and expect a post hoc change. 
 
It is our obligation as citizens to allow for the peaceful transition of power, hope for the best, and if we don’t like the outcome, to protest with our vote.
 
 
On January 20th, 2017, a new president, who was freely elected, was inaugurated into his new office. While concerns abound about his political stances and his rhetoric, the fact remains that he is inheriting a stable country. We can be hopeful for what lies ahead, and we can teach our students that hope, too. I, along with many other TpT sellers, have contributed a free resource for the movements of #kindnessnation and #weholdthesetruths. Learn about my freebie, and see what others have created.
 

3. We, The People, Are The Government

If we are kind, if we are strong, if we are creative, if we are citizens, then we need not fear for the state of our Union. I’ve heard hyperbolic comparisons of Donald Trump to fascist dictators of the past. And, yes, his own hyperbole and divisiveness lends credence to that argument.
 
But the past doesn’t ever repeat itself (ask Mark Twain if you don’t believe me–it just rhymes). SO we may hear echos of Hitler’s promise to make Germany a great nation again or to blame a particular group for all our country’s woes in Trump’s rhetoric. 
 
But the situation of the United States that Trump has inherited is far different from the the unstable situation of Weimar Germany. The Weimar Republic was new, shaky, weak, and untested. Our Constitution has stood the test of time. Our system is stable.
 
That’s not to say that we shouldn’t guard it. We should. And if we participate in the political process, we do.

On January 20th, 2017, a new president, who was freely elected, was inaugurated into his new office. While concerns abound about his political stances and his rhetoric, the fact remains that he is inheriting a stable country. We can be hopeful for what lies ahead, and we can teach our students that hope, too. I, along with many other TpT sellers, have contributed a free resource for the movements of #kindnessnation and #weholdthesetruths. Learn about my freebie, and see what others have created.

I believe that the majority of us hold these truths near and dear to our hearts. I believe in the power of the people and our ultimate desire for kindness and fairness.

I believe, not in telling my students what to believe, but in educating them about their responsibilities as citizens of this nation that I am proud to call my own.

Many other teachers share these values, and we have posted free products all across Teachers Pay Teachers that will help teachers educate students on principles of citizenship and kindness. Go to Teachers Pay Teachers and enter the hashtags #weholdthesetruths and/or #kindnessnation in the search engine. You will find many free resources ready to use in your classroom.

On January 20th, 2017, a new president, who was freely elected, was inaugurated into his new office. While concerns abound about his political stances and his rhetoric, the fact remains that he is inheriting a stable country. We can be hopeful for what lies ahead, and we can teach our students that hope, too. I, along with many other TpT sellers, have contributed a free resource for the movements of #kindnessnation and #weholdthesetruths. Learn about my freebie, and see what others have created.On January 20th, 2017, a new president, who was freely elected, was inaugurated into his new office. While concerns abound about his political stances and his rhetoric, the fact remains that he is inheriting a stable country. We can be hopeful for what lies ahead, and we can teach our students that hope, too. I, along with many other TpT sellers, have contributed a free resource for the movements of #kindnessnation and #weholdthesetruths. Learn about my freebie, and see what others have created.My free resource is a Color-Fill Film Guide for President Obama’s Farewell Address. It asks students to view and consider important points of President Obama’s farewell address and then to look at the history of the presidential farewell address. This will demonstrate to students that the presidency is an enduring office and that the end of our democratic-republic is surely not imminent because of one man or one event.

On January 20th, 2017, a new president, who was freely elected, was inaugurated into his new office. While concerns abound about his political stances and his rhetoric, the fact remains that he is inheriting a stable country. We can be hopeful for what lies ahead, and we can teach our students that hope, too. I, along with many other TpT sellers, have contributed a free resource for the movements of #kindnessnation and #weholdthesetruths. Learn about my freebie, and see what others have created.
Grab it HERE!
 

On January 20th, 2017, a new president, who was freely elected, was inaugurated into his new office. While concerns abound about his political stances and his rhetoric, the fact remains that he is inheriting a stable country. We can be hopeful for what lies ahead, and we can teach our students that hope, too. I, along with many other TpT sellers, have contributed a free resource for the movements of #kindnessnation and #weholdthesetruths. Learn about my freebie, and see what others have created.

And be sure to click on all of the links below to grab other secondary teachers’ free resources and to read their posts.

Thanks so much to Desktop Learning Adventures and ELA Buffet for organizing this blog hop.

Get My NOn January 20th, 2017, a new president, who was freely elected, was inaugurated into his new office. While concerns abound about his political stances and his rhetoric, the fact remains that he is inheriting a stable country. We can be hopeful for what lies ahead, and we can teach our students that hope, too. I, along with many other TpT sellers, have contributed a free resource for the movements of #kindnessnation and #weholdthesetruths. Learn about my freebie, and see what others have created.The 2016 election season was divisive. Disagreement is healthy in a democracy–it keeps us on our toes. But demonizing people whose opinions differ from our own is counter-productive. We should attempt to understand and learn from each other. I wrote about discussing the election results with our students HERE.

Get My Notes!

* indicates required
Email
Facebook
Pinterest
Twitter

You might also like...

Teaching during the pandemic taught us a lot. I've been reflecting on that and this series, Reclaiming Education: What to Lose and What to Keep after the Pandemic is the result of those reflections. In this post, I discuss a way to lose Cookie-Cutter Learning in favor of a workable style of Personalized Learning and the importance of keeping deadlines. Don't forget to download the templates from my free resource library to help you implement this approach!

Lose Cookie-Cutter Learning, Keep Deadlines: How to Use Personalized Learning While Maintaining Deadline Integrity

Teaching during the pandemic taught us a lot. I’ve been reflecting on that and this series, Reclaiming Education: What to Lose and What to Keep after the Pandemic is the result of those reflections. In this post, I discuss a way to lose Cookie-Cutter Learning in favor of a workable style of Personalized Learning and the importance of keeping deadlines. Don’t forget to download the templates from my free resource library to help you implement this approach!

Read More »


Welcome! Stay a while and browse classroom-tested tips, strategies, and resources that will take your teaching to the next level!

Learn More

GET MY NOTES!

An occasional email from me to you about what’s new in secondary education…

Teachers are
loving these
resources!

"Two words - Life Saver!!! As a teacher who has never taught economics before, and who is a little rusty on the economics concepts myself, this resource has literally saved me! It is creative, logical, and the students are really grasping the information while gaining such understanding that I often hear them transferring the new information to their everyday life."
Katrina D.
Katrina D.Fundamentals of Economics Complete Unit
"This is the best resource I have ever purchased! My students love it and I used it for my ACP class observation and my supervisor was just so impressed!"
Jesus P.
Jesus P.Sociology and Socialization Complete Unit
"Leah provides more material than you can imagine. As well, she utilizes her experience and that of customers to make revisions which make a solid product even better -- which show up in your "My Purchases" list. Highly recommended."
Walt G.
Walt G.Age of Exploration Interactive Notebook Complete Unit
"My 9th grader’s writing after one week of doing this was so much better. He has really responded to each week’s assignment. He can do it on his own which is great."
Kathleen W.
Kathleen W.Writing Blocks: 1st 6 Weeks 9th and 10th Grade Writing Program
Previous
Next