"I Have a dream" - The dreams of our students

On Friday we spent class writing and talking about our dreams. Many of you wrote about dreams that you have for your country, the world, yourself, and your family. Your words were truly incredible and I think it would be nice if we were able to share some of these dreams with each other. Dr. King's dream was shared by millions of Americans in the 1960's. What are your dreams?

"I Have a Dream" - a speech by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."

This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.

And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.
Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.

But not only that:

Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.
From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:

Free at last! Free at last!

Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!

Civil Rights Reflection

Imagine that you were a member of the Supreme Court who declared that the buses were discriminating against Rosa Parks and other African Americans. Why did you agree with Rosa Parks? What helped your decision? Why did you think it was unfair for African Americans to have to give up their seats to whites?

Hotel Rwanda

We have been watching the movie "Hotel Rwanda" in class to help us understand the role the United States plays in world issues. The US is a very powerful country. In cases like Rwanda in 1994, or in Darfur today, do you think the United States has a responsibility to help out foreign countries? Is it our job to make peace for other nations? Is it the world's job? What do you think?

A letter to President Bush

The Great Space Debate


We have learned recently that by addressing our concerns with things that are happening in our country we can help change them. We have just finished writing suffrage letters to the President of the United States asking that women’s voting be granted. The letters we wrote are very similar to those written almost one hundred years ago.
Writing letters to the President or Congress is still a great way to get your point across. In Science class you have been learning quite a bit about outer space. We will use the knowledge you have learned to write a letter to President Bush regarding the Space program in the United States. There is a great debate about the program. Many believe it can help us advance science and technology while some believe it costs way too much money and that the money spent on it could be used for other things like education or healthcare. What do you think? For your letter you must:

- Research both sides of the topic.
- Decide if you are for the space program or against it.
- Write a letter to President Bush voicing your concerns.

Suffrage Letter Project

Suffrage Letter


Women began fighting for the right to vote in the 1850’s at the Seneca Falls Convention. It was a long and arduous process that took almost seventy years before women were granted the right to vote in America. In 1920 congress passed the 19th amendment granting women’s suffrage.
It was a trying journey for women like Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Alice Paul. They marched in Washington D.C., picketed outside the white house, and wrote thousands of letters to the President and Congress asking for the right to vote.
It is your job to help recreate the type of letter that was written to the President or to congress. You assignment is to write a letter that details the reasons why women deserve the right to vote, and why it is important for all of America that women are granted suffrage. Here are your requirements.

- A letter written to the President of the United States or Congress stating why women should be granted suffrage.
- Three paragraphs.
- Proper Salutations (ex. Dear Mr. President, Sincerely yours)
- It must be dated between 1910 and 1919.
- It must be stained with tea, and look old and authentic.