Attendance at the Cooperative Middle School was quite high, even though many parents had the day off and may have been tempted to go away for the long weekend.  Over 1200 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th graders spent the day at school.  A typical day finds about 1280 of in attendance (about 96%).

 

    CMS Principal Jerry Frew assures parents  that MLK Day is not just a once-a-year observation.  Last September, for example, each of the twelve CMS teams focused on a pledge to always be considerate of one another.  The school abounds with visual reminders of  “The No Taunting Pledge” endorsed by everyone last fall.  A current project of one of the teams is “Soaring Citizens”, a civic responsibility project which recognizes the valuable contributions of each student.

 

Mr. Frew continues,

“Martin Luther King, Jr., Day at CMS was celebrated in a variety of ways due in large part to the resourcefulness of Mrs. Laurie Loosigian, our Peer Mediation Coordinator, and to the creative, dedicated efforts of our teaching staff.  “The day began with selected readings by students over the intercom on the theme of tolerance.  A prepared statement on the significance of the day and Dr. King’s legacy was read prior to a moment of silence.

“During the day, there were a variety of activities developed by our teachers, centered around th theme of tolerance.  Activities experienced by student groups included reflective journal writing, vocabulary building related to tolerance, poetry writings, skits and plays, and illustrations of tolerance.  Once team will participate in the “National Kindness and Justice Challenge”, sponsored by Martin Luther King, III, and Do Something, Inc.  Students are challenged to do 10 acts of kindness or justice over a two week period.  These will be documented and submitted as part of the National Event.”

 

Some highlights from the day’s activities at CMS:

 

Opening Program  (conveyed over the public address system to the entire school)

 

Two 8^th grade students read a passage from “Thread by Thread”, a Middle Eastern poem by Mohja Kahf (The Space Between Our Footsteps, Simon & Schuster)

 

Thread by thread

Knot by knot

Like colonies of ants

We weave a bridge

 

Thread by thread

piece by piece

knitting embroidering

thread by thread

we weave

the map of conciliation

 

Rachel’s is white

Yemina’s purple

Amal’s is green

Salima’s rose-colored

Thread by thread

we stitch together torn hearts

bind the map of conciliation.

 

I pray for the life of Ami and Nitsi

You pray for Ilan, Shoshi and Itsik

And she prays

for Jehan, Asheraf and Fahed

with the same tear.

word and another word

prayer and another prayer

and our heart is one

we embroider in hope

with the sisterhood of workers

a map of love

to tear down the borders

 

 

Mrs. Laurie Loosigian:

 

“In the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr., we celebrate this day.  His commitment

to ending discrimination and racism without violence has inspired many great leaders.
 Dr.King has left us a legacy of love, sister and brotherhood, and lessons of inclusion

             in the United States and around the world.

 

            “We ask you to take a moment to reflect on Dr. King’s message and the impact his

his leadership and teaching have had on all our lives.  Please join us for a moment of silence in Dr. King’s honor.  …..I have a dream that one day the students at CMS

will go out in the world and live Dr. King’s dream. 

Thank you and I hope you enjoy your day.”

  

(continuing…..)

 

Rev. Robert Thompson – “Dr. King’s death was my Sept. 11^th” 

An African American minister affectionately known as “Rev” by admiring students at Phillips Exeter, Rev. Thompson spoke with each grade level.  Seated on a simple chair at the front of the Thomas Meehan Auditorium, Thompson told the 8^th grade class that he was just their age when Dr. King was killed.  “Dr. King was my hero.  His death changed my life in the same way that September 11 changed yours.  Four years earlier, President Kennedy had been killed.”

 

Thompson likened Dr. King’s life to a message about citizenship.  Quoting John Donne (“No man is an island…”) he emphasized the importance of not becoming isolated.  Words can be so powerful.  They can be valuable and helpful, and they can be so destructive.  Dr. King implored us to be constructive with our voices and our actions, to bring others into our community.

 

“I know what it is to be lonely and isolated.” Thompson spoke of being extremely overweight as a child and young adult.  Students gasped when he acknowledged to weighing over 600 pounds at one time.  Students felt Thompson’s distress at these memories when his booming voice fell to a hoarse whisper, “I have been the target of every fat joke you can imagine.”

 

Noting that many schools were closed today, with their students pouring over the goods at area malls, Thompson stated that CMS students were lucky because it is days like this that help Dr. King’s vision live.  “We are a community.  The world is a community.  September 11^th shows that we are all connected.” 

 

Rev. Thompson concluded his presentation with a resounding rendition of a spiritual with lines such as, “If I can help somebody, If I can cheer somebody…. Then my life will not have been in vain.”

 

With the closing notes, the young audience of almost exclusively white faces, responded warmly to the tall thin black man who made a remarkable journey from Bluefield, West Virginia, to a position of immense respect throughout the Northeast.  Recognizing the good fortune and privilege of their own lives, students heard the message: Don’t give up on yourself.  You have incredible potential and power to make this a better world for everyone.

 

 

Mrs. Jackie Weatherspoon

 

From a  Polish-Jewish-black neighborhood in New York City to Exeter, New Hampshire, punctuated by stops in China, Brazil, NH Legislature, Bosnia, and many other parts of the world, often the third world.  That journey was but background for Mrs. Jackie Weatherspoon’s message to students filling the CMS band room.  Good things don’t come easily.  You have to work for them, and work for them, and then work some more. 

 

Most of the shopkeepers in her Brooklyn neighborhood were Jewish.  In accordance with their faith, they closed their shops Friday afternoons and then opened them again on Saturday afternoons.  Many of them had tattoos, but not the kind we see today.  Their arms bore the permanent markings used by the Nazis to register Jews prior to World War II. 

 

Theirs was a neighborhood of extended families.  Every family member held an important role.  No one had a car.  Mrs. Weatherspoon noted Exeter’s excitement at the return of passenger train service, saying that everyone in her New York City community was dependent upon public transportation – buses and subways.   Mrs. Weatherspoon’s early education to look out for oneself took shape in her early teens while taking part in demonstrations pushing for higher wages for teens who were trying to help support their families.

 

Whether it be issues of racial, equal rights for women, or environmental threats, she has found that people are not inclined to give you something simply because you ask for it – or because it is right.  Writing, speaking, negotiating, and, even, begging are some of the more common skills employed to bring about change.   Likening activism to the political savvy of the NYC woman who successfully ran for Congress by campaigning in subway stations while wearing an array of spectacular hats, Mrs. Weatherspoon suggested that, over time, pressure works, but it must remain visible. 

 

“I need three students to come up front for a minute.”  The volunteers (two girls and a boy) were then told they had to share one chair and a single textbook, just like young students in many parts of the world.  Not surprisingly, the trio found it awkward, uncomfortable, and embarrassing.  The gathered CMS students, the majority of whom enjoy their own bedrooms, computers, stereo systems, and closets full of clothes, seemed hard pressed to truly conceive of such circumstances.

 

“Killing Dr. King elevated him.”  He has become a martyr.  Only those who are alive can do the work.  “That is why all of this is about you.  Americans are the most privileged in the world.  With 20% of the world’s population, we are consuming 80% of its resources.” Mrs. Weatherspoon described watching a Bosnian father search for food in a dumpster in order to feed his family.

 

Mrs. Weatherspoon closed with a challenge to each student to make the most of our blessings and good fortune looking for ways to help others.  She then told the students of “neighbors” right here in the Seacoast who cannot afford to properly feed their children and heat their homes.  “You each have incredible gifts that we don’t know about yet.  If you don’t use those gifts to change the world, the world is going to miss you.”

 

 

Mr. Robert Azzi 

 

A Muslim and long time resident of Exeter, Mr. Azzi met with several groups of CMS students to talk about the faith which he shares with millions of Muslims in all parts of the world.  The students knew that a large number of Muslims live in the United States (2^nd largest religion), but they were not aware that Indonesia has the largest number of Muslims of any country in the world. 

 

With an easy give and take, Mr. Azzi presented information and answered seemingly endless questions from about one hundred 6^th graders.  Their quick answers and apt questions caused Mr. Azzi to compliment their teachers for providing them with so much information about his religion. 

 

Major areas of the discussion centered around daily prayer, The Koran, Ramadan, and the importance of giving.  A CMS 6^th grade boy recited one of the more common Islamic prayers, one that serves a role somewhat similar to that of the Lord’s Prayer among Christians. 

 

Ramadan is the month-long fasting which Muslims observe annually.  From dawn to dusk nothing is consumed, neither food nor drink.  “Not even chewing gum.”  But Mr. Azzi pointed out that Ramadan is not observed by young children, the ill, or pregnant women.  Fasting is not observed if it might impair one’s judgment and create a danger for others.  “An airplane pilot, for example.”

 

Alms and giving are vital aspects of the Islamic faith.   Offerings may be of money, material goods, or good works.  But it is not enough to simply provide cash, for example.  A Muslim remains responsible to make sure the funds are applied in an appropriate way.

 

The Muslim practice of everyone dressing alike comes from the belief that, “Everyone is equal in the eyes of God.”  Distinguishing factors of appearance and material possessions are to be avoided. 

 

When Mr. Azzi spoke of Muslims schools usually opening mid-morning and closing by mid-afternoon, several CMS students exchanged glances of, “Wow, they have it easy.  We have to be here by 7:30 in the morning!”  Their reactions quickly dissipated when Mr. Azzi continued and explained how Muslim students then return to their schools in the evening.

 

Correcting misconceptions about Jihad, Mr. Azzi helped the students understand that it refers to “struggle”, not just to “holy war.”  He explained that Muslims challenge themselves, they struggle with improving the value of their own lives as well as those around them.  “Our religion is not about making easy choices.”  After death, Muslims are judged by their good works, not their worldly success.

 

 

Mr. Gary Hendrickson

 

A Phillips Exeter teachers, Mr. Hendrickson was joined by a PEA student.   They met with one team and talked about homophobia and tolerance.  They were very impressed with the maturity and wisdom of these 78^th grade students.

 

 

Mr. Wayne Loosigian

 

Mr. Loosigian spoke about his experience with Armenian genocide.  His mother lost her father and her own eyesight to hate crimes, but she insistently raised her own child to forgive.  Apparently based on his appearance, Mr. Loosigian has been victimized several times since September 11^th.  Speaking to four different CMS teams, he stressed a message of understanding and tolerance.

 

 

Mrs. Laurie Loosigian

 

In addition to all of her planning for MLK Day, Mrs. Loosigian played her fingers to the bone on her acoustic guitar as she played music and led the singing of civil rights songs.  She shared her experience of hosting a teenaged Bosnian refugee as a student and houseguest for six years.  (One of the many teens Mr. Robert Azzi brought to Exeter to live in our community an attend Exeter High.)  Mrs. Loosigian’s message: “We can all act and make a difference in someone’s life.”

 

 

Mr. Kevin Scanlon

 

Mr. Scanlon, a Seacoast musician and band leader, performed traditional American music before several teams.  Accompanying himself on the guitar and banjo, he sang slave songs, Appalachian ballads, and other songs which have been handed down through the long-suffering generations of the rural poor, those held in slavery, and immigrants landing on our shores.  Students were moved by songs of drudgery and tragedy, but they were quick to response with exuberant hand-clapping to the songs of joy.

 

Mr. Michael Wingfield

 

African drumming and songs with a Caribbean beat evoked an international perspective on tolerance and discrimination.  Mr. Wingfield, a musican from Portland, Maine, performed for several groups.  Dressed in clothing of an African style, he interspersed the music with reflections from his own background and spirited discussions with the students.

 

 

And more…

 

Readings: “I Have a Dream”     “The Friendship”      “Classic Slave Narratives”

                “Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt”

 

Slideshow:   - the major events of the Civil Rights Movement

  prepared by Mr. Robert  Schur, 7^th grade CMS social Studies teacher

 

Videos:    “Eye on the Prize”      “The Long Walk Home”            “Remember the Titans”

               “Four Little Girls”       “The Rescuers”

 

In addition, CMS students were able to listen to music from different cultures, talk with international students from PEA, and begin working on a huge quilt celebrating tolerance and understanding.  Teachers on each of the school’s twelve teams worked with their students to develop additional activities, many of which will continue well after MLK Day 2002 has passed.