For the past week, focus has been centered around Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Monday Jan. 20, the district is participating in “A Day On” in order to get the school involved in charity to honor King by bringing in canned goods or money.
“The MLK Planning Committee hopes kids are inspired to learn and do,”Instructional Services Director Mary Jane Evink said. “Not every knows Dr. King promoted service. Participating in service to others can be powerful. Bringing in a can of soup, by itself, may not be. But if opportunity is given to learn how their efforts are joined with others, how it impacts the community, and why King promoted this, then it can be meaningful.”
The MLK Planning Commitee also has other opportunities to get involved besides raising money and canned goods.
“We also hope students have an opportunity to express their thinking about Dr King, race, or service in the My 6 Words essay writing,” Evink said. “This requires some introspection to evaluate how a person thinks and feels about a topic, but it also provides an chance to see what others think and feel when they are posted in the school.”
Psychology teacher Aaron Portenga believes that this will be a good experience for students to get involved in.
“Our biggest hope would be is to get them to start thinking about Dr. Kings legacy of trying to make the world a better place for others and those less fortunate than yourself,” Portenga said. “People forget that Dr. King stood for the poor, trying to get people more aware of that and then starting to get our students to think outside of themselves and look at what different things you can do that can make a difference to somebody else.”
Portenga also hopes that students should give because they want to, not because they will get something in return.
“The food drive is not a contest and that’s on purpose,” Portenga said. “It’s to make sure that people are giving out of the kindness of their hearts to make someone else’s life better. Hopefully it’ll inspire people to do something that they don’t already do. ”
Sophomore Anya Berghoef thinks that some students will be affected by the activities taking place.
“If they’re really involved I think it could impact them,” Berghoef said.
There will be a live broadcast in 5th hour that will showcase all the activities that have been taking place over the past week. It will be discussing what King did to help others and how students can continue to help those who need it.
“It is also important for teachers and students to not put King up on a pedestal,” Evink said. “The King family and historians want us to remember he was a regular person, just like us. And because he was, and we are, we can be courageous and righteous and make a difference. We all can. That’s important.”