A few of the kids were having problems at high school. They were getting into trouble for flying mini Confederate flags on the antennas of their trucks. One student even had the audacity to fly a full-sized version on a flag pole welded to his truck bed. You could see that flag waving proudly as he drove by.
The principal and teachers were “up in arms” dishing out detentions and making phone calls to parents.
It was May, the time of year when representatives from the high school came around to introduce themselves to the graduating eighth graders and do a little meet and greet.
The class was in the middle of the Civil War unit. The kids were divided into groups representing the North and South. The classroom was decorated appropriately with a full-sized Union flag and a full-sized Confederate flag. Posters depicting scenes from the war were also hung up on bulletin boards along with tallies for each group’s accomplishments: grades on papers, extra credit, quizzes. etc.
All the kids’ desks also had flags taped down securely to represent their units. The teachers played their roles too. The head teacher was the stunning General Lee and the assistant teacher did her best Grant imitation – the old drunk!
The Southern contingent was told from the very beginning that they were going to lose, but they didn’t give up. They were outnumbered two to one, not to mention the lack of industry, trade, and manufacturing. The odds were against them as they assembled materials for one of the battles: Pickett’s Charge.
Clay soldiers were assembled into a make-shift replica of that famous battle…. A point by point battle was played out like a board game. Comments were read by the attending generals as if it was a news broadcast.
Blood flowed on both sides, but in the end the South was wiped out and there was a mess of red paint and clay…
The crew from the high school approached. They were stunned! Literally stunned! One of them even gushed in disbelief! “What was the Confederate flag doing hanging up in a public school classroom in Northern California?”
The teacher (General Lee) played it off nicely, “We’re in the midst of studying the Civil Way,“ she explained nonchalantly. (If they would have come the following week, they would have seen the kids covered with fake blood, all their high price shoes in a pile, for the hospital simulation…)
They left with a greater understanding of the problems they were facing, but later on privately at the gym while the teacher and the dean were dressing after a workout, the dean approached…
“How do you do it?”
“What do you mean?”
“How do you prepare these kids so well for their matriculation into high school? They all come so confident and sure of themselves.”
“Well, we study History as the Steering Wheel to all other subjects. We teach hands on science and math classes. We do historical simulations, science projects, speech, art, self-esteem building, and drama. We have whole class counseling sessions where we discuss real world problems and social issues…free speech, free thinking, discussion, hands on…That’s how we do it!”
Years pass… a decade later General Lee is cleaning out a drawer and guess what she finds? The Confederate flag and its complement, Mr. Lincoln’s Union flag of 1861 with 33 stars! Praise Be! He never gave up and neither should we! ONE NATION INDIVISIBLE!!! Amen.
*Note: The Confederate Flag is part of our shared history. That being said…Long Live the Union of the United States!
(First published June 27, 2015)
