Bellyacher

Christian came home Monday with a great assignment: to research and report on someone in black history. His choice? Martin Luther King Jr. Since he was out of school, I decided we would tackle it and get it done well before the February 23 due date. We sat him down to look at some photos and listen to some clips of King’s speeches. Then we printed some research and away we went. I helped him complete all of the notes and then yesterday we put them together into a report.

Christian wrote four pages on Martin Luther King Jr. and we just touched the surface. We could have said so much more, but it was grueling just to get him to write four pages. When he was done, he leaped off the bar stool and crawled into the living room. Huts coaxed him up to the computer screen where they printed off photos and glued them to a folder. I tucked his report inside, along with his research, notes and some other photos. Now all he has left to do is the oral report.

I tried to teach him all I could about Martin Luther King, but I don’t know how much he understood. It’s hard for an eight-year-old to
comprehend being treated differently because of the color of your skin or how much money you have. Racial and class discrimination is hard to define in eight-year-old terms.

The only thing we missed and probably should have mentioned was King getting the Nobel Prize at the young age of 35. Oh well, I will keep talking to Christian about it and hopefully get him ready for his oral report. I don’t think they get a real grade on it as long as they do it to the best of their ability.