This year, SCFS took Martin Luther King Jr. Day “on” for the 21st year in a row. Our students and faculty spent the week leading up to January 15th learning about the life of Dr. King and the legacy of the Civil Rights movement and the ongoing work for justice in the present. Students created art pieces, poems, and projects as a class and displayed them around the school in preparation for our celebration. Families and friends were invited to view the exhibit throughout the day.
On MLK day, we held a special Meeting for Worship. Our Interim Head of School, Annie, read the book “Be A King” and asked students to reflect on how they could be a “King.” Friends stood to share their reflections into the silence. Throughout the rest of the day, each Friends School student created an answer to this query through writing and art. The 2/3 classrooms were so moved by their lesson on the Children’s Crusade of 1963 they decided to commemorate it by creating their own signs and leaving the classroom through the window to start their own march and protest. They walked towards the front of the school and waved their signs towards the road while singing freedom songs. The students’ signs highlighted ongoing issues they are passionate about like environmental justice, queer rights, and religious equality, to name a few. K/1 classes also marched around the school after reading “The Youngest Marcher” and made their own posters. For grades 4-8, students wanted to remember those who have helped fight for the rights of historically oppressed groups through an interpretive dance to Hosier’s “Nina Cried Power,” as performed at our community gathering which families and friends were invited to join.
This day is so important for us at SCFS because we find it imperative to educate our students on the importance of equity and inclusion and examine how we can each take action in response to injustice. Although students and teachers engage in learning around social justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion all year round, Martin Luther King Jr. Day allows us to emphasize and give extra time to these important discussions. Through our child-centered learning approach, this is also an opportunity to give our students the time and space to make their voices heard on topics close to their hearts.