Over the weekend my brother and I were talking about the tricks of time. He will be 60 in a month. "It seems crazy," he said, "that 60 years before I was born was 1904! That has always seemed so long ago, but now I have 60 years of memory myself."
Perhaps I was subconsciously thinking of that conversation when today I asked, as a warm-up question, if the sixth graders in my class would rather live 100 years in the future or 100 years in the past.
I'm not sure what I expected, probably an attraction to the future and its promise of new technology. To be sure, a lot of kids mentioned just that-- new games, no question, and some are actually holding out for flying cars (although they quite clearly specified that theirs will be electric).
What I did not anticipate were the many students who chose the future because of our racist past. "Look at me," said one girl in a head scarf, "people probably would not like me or trust me."
Others were familiar enough with history to know that they wanted to avoid both the Great Depression and World War II. And one boy had a very personal reason for his choice. "They never could have cured my cancer back then," he told me matter-of-factly.
I was surprised that not a single kid expressed concern about the challenges of the future, like climate change, the end of democracy, pandemics, or war. "We'll figure it out," shrugged one.
I'd like to think they will.
Okay, tearing up here. This is so powerful. Out of the mouths of babes, they say.
ReplyDeleteThis encapsulates why we do what we do. I also believe they'll figure it out, and love the wise responses you shared.
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