This week’s guest article is brought to us anonymously by our friend and colleague who teaches outside of Boston. She knew from her first day of Kindergarten that she wanted to be a teacher and was lucky enough to bring this dream to life in the fall of 2001. She has been in the classroom ever since. This article drew from two of her chief sources of inspiration: her students and former First Lady Michelle Obama.

Who doesn’t love a good book? As a lifelong reader, I was thrilled to hear that Michelle Obama was coming out with a book last fall: Becoming. I have admired her from the moment that she stepped into the spotlight and I couldn’t wait to learn more about her journey. Apparently, I was not the only one – her book quickly climbed the best seller lists and she embarked on a highly anticipated book tour across the country! My school was lucky enough to get a few tickets, which provided the opportunity for three students and one guidance counselor to attend this event. Although the students had not specifically studied Michelle Obama, she was a famous and influential person that they were so excited to see in real life.

While I did not attend the event, I thoroughly enjoyed reading her book and conducting a discussion with students who did attend. To start that conversation, I asked them to talk in a group and reflect on five quotes from Michelle Obama’s book. I also asked what they thought were highlights from Mrs. Obama’s book talk. Student A is a senior who is planning to pursue a career in modeling after she graduates due to, in her words, “her perfectly symmetrical face”. She is a bilingual student who is very proud of her Puerto Rican heritage. Student B is a former English Learner student and is in her junior year. She is planning to go to college to become a pediatrician upon graduation. We started our conversation over a box of munchkins before school, and it beautifully turned into a deep discussion about each student’s values and aspirations. I’ve organized the conversation around key quotes from Becoming. I left the conversation feeling inspired by their answers and hopeful for the future. I hope this glimpse into our discussion will inspire you as well.

“I knew how to make a little noise for a cause.” (p.402)

My students immediately went deep and mentioned what made them most angry about society today. Their answers had nothing to do with some typical teenage problems such as curfew, cell phones, or homework. Instead, they stated that the issues that fired them up the most were police brutality, hatred, racism and rape culture. They were willing to go big! I knew from this first quote that they were eager to have an open and honest conversation. They felt that Michelle inspired them to use their voices as she herself had used her own voice to fight for what is right.

“Life is short and not to be wasted.” (p. 146)

While I thought that this quote might inspire a conversation about future jobs, places to travel, or their favorite activities, it actually served as a reminder for them to fight for what they believe in. They understood this quote to mean that life is too short to stay quiet! Student A stressed that, “…people stay quiet and we must empower one another to speak up”. Student B chimed in and said that, “Sometimes people are too afraid to speak up but we can work together to make things right.” The night they heard her speak, they were inspired to believe that they could accomplish anything. When I asked what stood out to them that night, Student A responded with, “Her [Mrs. Obama’s] story about growing up in Chicago and eventually ending up in the White House.” Seeing the path that her life took – and presumably the ways in which their own paths mirrored hers – served as their strongest memory of the night. That and how tall and beautiful she is!

“When they go low, we go high.” (p. 407)

”We love this quote!”, they instantly responded. This brought them back to the concept of hatred that they find so prevalent in society. I was pleased to hear Student A explain that she had been taught to, “Kill them with kindness”. Everything came full circle here as the interview originally started out with the theme of using one’s voice. While the students did not think that they should be run over by those who are louder or more powerful, they also did not articulate a need to express hate towards those who had taken the low road. While agency, voice, and kindness were obviously key ingredients to taking the high road, Student A did quickly proclaim, “They better not lay a hand on me…or forget about it!”

“Voting, for me, was a habit, a healthy ritual to be done conscientiously and at every opportunity.” (p. 274)

Although only one of the students is old enough to vote, they clearly value the importance of it. Student A said, “I was able to vote and I think that more people need to get out there and vote. If they had, then maybe the election would have turned out differently.” Student B was unable to vote at this time but looked forward to the opportunity in the future.

“Kids will invest more when they feel they’re being invested in.” (p. 384)

The students were very impressed with Mrs. Obama’s work ethic and dedication to her studies. They were also impressed with the mentor program that she established, in which she paired high school girls with accomplished women in numerous career sectors in Washington. Life can be hard, and Student B explained that, “It is important to have people who can help me figure things out”. Student A valued having a good mentor but that at this point explained, “I only look up to myself”. This was a good reminder to me about the value of establishing relationships, being a mentor, and connecting with kids beyond the work of the school day.

These were just a few snippets of a longer conversation, and one I anticipate will be ongoing. Mrs. Obama’s experiences and stories clearly prompted a lot of thought among my students and I expect the experience of hearing from her directly will serve as a touchpoint for them as their goals and values develop.

So, what does this mean for me and what did it teach me about my students?

• While my students hate getting up early for school, they do value their high school education.

• They prompted me to question the resources that we use and to reflect on the need to keep topics and themes relevant to today and especially to the issues students think about most often. They are dying to talk about the world around them and I want to give them the platform to do so.

• Many schools have started to incorporate advisory periods and some of these current events topics they raised in our conversation could be regularly discussed in the context of an advisory period. If a focus on advisory is to help students figure out their future, I think that helping them find what they want to stand up for in their future is equally important.

• They also impressed upon me the importance of smaller classes as they can frequently feel lost in the crowd. They encourage all teachers to pull up a chair, sit with them, teach, and learn alongside them.

I walked away from my interview with these students feeling inspired by their determination to make the world a better place. I was reminded with every quote and question that they have many convictions and they are not afraid to share them. Each of our students has a voice. It is our role to encourage them to use it, and just as importantly, to be quiet and listen when all they want to do is be heard.