I Have a DREAM

I want to end this school year with a topic that I have had close to my heart sine the beginning of my career: CIVIC ENGAGEMENT. Things do not happen without a reason and I strongly believe in the power of “coincidences”. I’m referring to the recent movie by Spike Lee BlacKkKlansman I watched two days ago.

I’m referring to the new protests by young people led by Greta Thunberg against the Climate Crisis.

I’m referring to the suspension of a high school teacher Rosa Maria Dell’Aria accused of failing to oversee the activity of a group of students who, in a video, compared the government’s migrant and security decree to the Fascist racial laws. You can watch the video and judge by yourselves.

All these apparently unlinked events have made me realise once more how important the role of EDUCATION is, in order to develop CRITICAL THINKING in the new generations. Being able to oppose any form of propaganda, violence and abuse of power, is only possible if you can identify them, if you can tell and distinguish truth from lies, if you know history and literature. Orwell warned us against the dangers of totalitarianism. Therefore today we’re ending our English course with Martin Luther King’s speech “I Have a Dream” which he delivered on the steps of Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC on 28th August 1963. You have the text in your textbook.

Some photos I took in Atlanta (Georgia) at the M.L. King Historical Park

In class we’ve also dealt with the Civil Rights Movement in the Usa. I want to add something to the great figures that have been mentioned and have made the history of democracy and equality.

Rosa Parker who on the 1st December, refused to give up her seat at the front of the coloured section of a bus to a white passenger, thus defying the Jim Crows laws. Bus were desegregated in 1956.

I want to end this post using two quotes by Einstein to reflect upon.

TASK: CHOOSE 1 of the two: What is the best way to protest for our rights? Have you ever fought for an ideal you believe in? What have you learnt today? OR: I Have a DREAM …. continue in prose or stream of consciousness or as a poem. Thanks!!


6 thoughts on “I Have a DREAM

  1. Protesting has always been necessary in history for people to see their dreams come true, and probably without it, most of our fundamental rights wouldn’t exist today. There are several ways to protest against injustice and inequality. Obedience and keeping quiet doesn’t lead to change, but only to passive acceptance of unfairness.
    I believe that the best way to protest for our rights is by coming together and fighting in a nonviolent way, trying to get always more people involved and make others see how important it is to fight for that same cause.

    In the latest decades people, especially younger generations, seem to have forgotten the incredible importance of protesting, and there are less and less strikes in which teenagers take part in. While thinking about whether I have ever protested and fought for an ideal I had to think about it for a while, because, in reality, I have not made my voice heard yet. In this age, protesting has also been influenced by social networks and the Internet, but we are fast approaching an age where signing petitions, spreading videos and articles, posting and passing angry e-mails won’t be enough. As a result of all this, we must back our words with actions, put boots on the ground, and give our convictions a human face.
    In the latest decades, feminists stood up for women’s rights, for gender equality, for the legalisation of abortion and to make access to contraceptive pill easier for every woman. Even before them, there had been the Suffragettes that with their protests and fights made sure that women were allowed to vote and that their opinions mattered. We are all grateful to all these incredible people, who by disobeying and believing in their ideals, have made our lives incredibly easier. And maybe this is the problem with our generation as we tend to believe that everything has already been accomplished and there’s nothing left to fight for. That’s not true though, and even if it were true we shouldn’t focus only on ourselves but care for others’ wellbeings and even from afar fight in favour of humanity.
    In the last few months one girl, not only has been able to change adults’ minds on climate change, a really dangerous matter for which we should protest since we’re the last generation that can do something about it, but she has generated an entire movement of teenagers that on Fridays go on strikes to show governments that until they do not change their regulations they won’t stop. This little girl from Sweden has been an input for many that are now fed up with so much and want to change the course of humanity so badly that they can no longer sit idle and hope for the best.

    Martin Luther King should be an example to everybody that wants to protest and he shows that every little effort we make is important to change the world. Besides if we don’t do anything to advance our beautiful ideals, who will?

  2. I have a dream that one day the world will be different.
    I have a dream that one day right and authentic people will govern the world.
    I have a dream that one day there will be no gender roles, no social constraints regarding gender identity.
    I have a dream that one day there will be no tolerance for violence or discrimination against any person.
    I have a dream that one day everyone will get a job on the merit and quality of their performance and not on their race, gender or sexual orientation.
    I have a dream that one day there will be no beauty standards.
    I have a dream that one day there will not be any pollution on the Earth.
    I have a dream that one day there will not be more guns and countless wars.
    I have a dream that one day the world will run on sustainable energy sources.
    I have a dream that one day resources will be shared fairly so that no one experiences poverty or famine.
    I have a dream that one day clean drinking water will be free all around the world.
    I have a dream that one day education all over the world will be free and easy to access.
    I have a dream that one day the school will be a place where people exchange their own ideas and feel accepted by everyone.
    I have a dream that one day there will be no more prejudices.
    I have a dream that one day everyone will be equal.
    I have a dream that one day everyone could live in peace.
    I have a dream that everyone could have each other to rely on.
    I have a dream that one day people will get along like sisters and brothers.
    I have a dream today.

  3. I have a dream that one day we will wake up and we won’t find any area in our lives to cricticize
    I have a dream that one day there would be no differences between man or woman, black or white, fat or thin and at the newscast we won’t hear news of murders, suicides or violences anymore
    I have a dream that one day my sons will live in a world without dangers
    I wish they will live in a healthier environment, that they will see the same magnificence of nature I can see and that they will do what they truly like to do without giving up
    I have a dream that one day social networks won’t be the foundation of the relationships among people
    I have a dream that one day everyone of us will love their homeland and would leave it only for limited periods of time
    I have a dream that one day people will stop complaining for futile things and we will appreciate the small and ordinary facts
    I have still a dream that one day students will go to school without worries or fears about marks but only because of the enthusiasm to learn and know
    I have a dream today.

    • My dear Paola, I share your dreams and especially feel very dear the last one “I have still a dream that one day students will come to school without worries or fears of being tested but only because of their enthusiasm to learn new things”. That day would make me the happiest teacher on earth. But I won’t be here 🙂

  4. I have a dream
    That all the people will be equal
    I have a dream
    That all the discriminations will be illegal
    I have a dream
    That homosexuality will be accepted
    I have a dream
    That every child will be adopted
    I have a dream
    There won’t be pollution in the Earth anymore
    I have a dream
    That I will see no more war
    I have a dream
    That all the prejudices will have disappeared
    I have a dream
    That all the people will be sincere
    I have a dream
    That one day we could throw away guns
    I have a dream
    That all the blood will be cleaned up
    I have a dream
    That all these dreams won’t be only dreams.

    Stefano, Tommaso, Raul

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