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Fair School's eyes on Obama
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The school's nearly 700 children watched the inauguration live on television. Most of them gathered in the auditorium, while a few classes watched in the gym. Principal Angela Hudson said that as soon as Obama was elected, she decided that his inauguration would be a school-wide function.
Sixth-grader Joshua Jennerjahn said he was thrilled to see the historic ceremony. "I felt very proud to see the presidential inauguration," he said, "because, of course, it's the first black president. Not a lot of schools get to do this."
The school watched CNN's live feed of the inauguration, and when the students caught their first glimpse of Obama making his way to the stage in front of the U.S. Capitol, they erupted in cheers. His taking the oath of office and his speech also drew loud applause.
Fifth-grader Ryan Andres said he has a lot of faith in Obama. "I like that he would try to make change with the economy to make it better, to help the environment and to do something about the war that we're in right now," he said.
Ryan and classmates Natasha Gangapersaud and Jan Marvin Ligan talked about another black leader they are studying, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Their class is reading a book about the civil rights leader, and each of three groups will do a short play on a period of King's life.
Alyssa Epstein's fourth-grade class has also been studying King, as well as Rosa Parks. Last week, the class listened to King's "I Have a Dream" speech. Now the students are writing their own dream speeches. Epstein plans to film them in front of a green screen and superimpose them over the scene at the Lincoln Memorial, where King stood.
Students have been learning about King, Obama and Parks simultaneously. "They're all African-Americans and they all stood up for their dreams," Rahman Chambers said.
Of course, Obama created the most buzz in school on Tuesday. Sixth-grader Kendall Jones said she will tell her children and grandchildren that she watched as the nation's first black president was sworn in.
Kayla Diedrick said Tuesday was an important day in American history. "Even though segregation has been gone for a while," she said, "in the line of presidents, there has never been a black one."
Kayla added that her favorite part of the day was at noon, when it was announced on CNN that even though Obama had not yet been sworn in, he was officially president, according to the 20th Amendment.
Dimitrios Siamos, a sixth-grader, said he was inspired by the new president. "I really think Obama is going to do a lot for this country," he said. "We really need a leader to guide us through change, and that's what I think Obama is."
Joshua Jennerjahn said he liked the way Obama reached out to people everywhere in his speech, saying that he was there to serve all Americans and citing numerous religious beliefs. "He made sure that no one felt left out," Joshua said.
Sahar Amjad, a second-grader whose family is from Pakistan, said that in the days leading up to the inauguration, she learned a lot about the presidency, such as how a candidate has to be 35 years old and be born in the U.S. "I was born in America, so I can be a president," she said.
Sahar is in Susan Perrone's class, which recently studied all the presidents. The class created a wall with the pictures of all 44 U.S. leaders. The students also included information about what they would do if elected president in 2036 -- the year they would be old enough to run.
Hudson said that there were some logistics involved in making it possible for all the students to watch the inauguration, such as rearranging lunch times and teachers' schedules, and deciding where students would gather. But it went off without a hitch, she said, and was certainly worthwhile.
She said she believed the children would take a lot away from the experience. Most of them, Hudson said, were excited that Obama was elected. "These children had an opportunity to witness history being made during the inauguration," she said. "This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that occurred."
Comments about this story? AHackmack@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 265.
Sixth-grader Joshua Jennerjahn said he was thrilled to see the historic ceremony. "I felt very proud to see the presidential inauguration," he said, "because, of course, it's the first black president. Not a lot of schools get to do this."
The school watched CNN's live feed of the inauguration, and when the students caught their first glimpse of Obama making his way to the stage in front of the U.S. Capitol, they erupted in cheers. His taking the oath of office and his speech also drew loud applause.
Fifth-grader Ryan Andres said he has a lot of faith in Obama. "I like that he would try to make change with the economy to make it better, to help the environment and to do something about the war that we're in right now," he said.
Ryan and classmates Natasha Gangapersaud and Jan Marvin Ligan talked about another black leader they are studying, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Their class is reading a book about the civil rights leader, and each of three groups will do a short play on a period of King's life.
Students have been learning about King, Obama and Parks simultaneously. "They're all African-Americans and they all stood up for their dreams," Rahman Chambers said.
Of course, Obama created the most buzz in school on Tuesday. Sixth-grader Kendall Jones said she will tell her children and grandchildren that she watched as the nation's first black president was sworn in.
Kayla Diedrick said Tuesday was an important day in American history. "Even though segregation has been gone for a while," she said, "in the line of presidents, there has never been a black one."
Kayla added that her favorite part of the day was at noon, when it was announced on CNN that even though Obama had not yet been sworn in, he was officially president, according to the 20th Amendment.
Dimitrios Siamos, a sixth-grader, said he was inspired by the new president. "I really think Obama is going to do a lot for this country," he said. "We really need a leader to guide us through change, and that's what I think Obama is."
Joshua Jennerjahn said he liked the way Obama reached out to people everywhere in his speech, saying that he was there to serve all Americans and citing numerous religious beliefs. "He made sure that no one felt left out," Joshua said.
Sahar Amjad, a second-grader whose family is from Pakistan, said that in the days leading up to the inauguration, she learned a lot about the presidency, such as how a candidate has to be 35 years old and be born in the U.S. "I was born in America, so I can be a president," she said.
Sahar is in Susan Perrone's class, which recently studied all the presidents. The class created a wall with the pictures of all 44 U.S. leaders. The students also included information about what they would do if elected president in 2036 -- the year they would be old enough to run.
Hudson said that there were some logistics involved in making it possible for all the students to watch the inauguration, such as rearranging lunch times and teachers' schedules, and deciding where students would gather. But it went off without a hitch, she said, and was certainly worthwhile.
She said she believed the children would take a lot away from the experience. Most of them, Hudson said, were excited that Obama was elected. "These children had an opportunity to witness history being made during the inauguration," she said. "This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that occurred."
Comments about this story? AHackmack@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 265.
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