Monday, February 19, 2007

PRESIDENTS DAY

It is Monday and classes are not scheduled due to the Presidents' Day holiday. I am in Connecticut, miles away from Cambridge and the events of the weekend.

It is not lost on me that this day has been set aside to remember all Presidents, but especially two: George Washington, who fought to make "all men" free and Abraham Lincoln, who is best known for his role in the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation.

I spend the day with my son, learning vowel sounds and remembering rhyming words. I worry that he is not picking it up fast enough and that he will not be able to keep up with his classmates. I try not to think about racism or oppression and to live in the moment. It is not easy.

I wonder how many inner city mothers are talking about "aeiou and sometimes y" with their children. I assume that there are not many. Is that my racism showing or is it a statement of what school testing results show as fact? I don't know the answer, but what I do know is that if I state my opinion, I am liable to be labeled in a way I do not appreciate.

I repeat the numbers 1 to 20 and invite my son to join me.