NPR gave me the news right as I pulled into a parking space. I should have immediately gotten out and gone to class, but I kept listening beyond the word "concede."
I was late to class. My students were gathered around the all-knowing internet.
"Ida, are you sad?"
In a class of eighteen students, none of them are eighteen years old. In a class of eighteen students, all but one supported Kerry.
I recently got in trouble at this school for giving the students an excercise that required them to develop opinions about their immediate environment and those within it.
"Ida, don't be a regular teacher. Tell us what you think."
I was shaking as I answered. We talked about percentages. We talked about the size of the country. We talked about the gubenatorial race. We talked about political and social responsiblity. We talked about choice. I almost said that continued and deliberate political action after losing was healthier in the same way that rape victims who struggle fiercely against their rapists are psychologically stronger afterwards than those who give in, but I opted for something a little more teenage soapbox-y.
"Know exactly why you believe what you believe. Be prepared to stand up for yourself in ways that result in more than fist fights. Know exactly why you're making the choices you're making. If you change your mind in the future, you'd better know why you changed your mind. It's much easier to survive your misery when you're deliberately aware of all of your choices, whether made in times of happiness or despair."
I segued into the play we're currently reading. I talked about the links between individual political choices in our current climate and the choices of the characters in the play.
"Wait...this a political play?"
In 2008, they'll all be eighteen.