All in the Family

During the first week of school, I had my students write ten things about themselves in a list because I'm a listmaker and they should be too. Then, I asked them to choose one or two of their favorite things to state on video. I put the footage together to show the parents as part of Parent Night.

When it was time to do the recording, I asked each student to tell me what they planned on saying. One girl said that she wanted to say that a thing that defined her was that she hated Republicans. I suggested that she say something more specific about the presidential candidates. I asked her if she wanted to be positive or negative and suggested that she say either, "I really like Barack Obama" or "I really don't like John McCain" instead of the more general, "I hate Republicans."

But she insisted that she preferred her way. I reminded her that since I was going to be showing it to all of the parents that it might be a better idea that she should say something else because that statement might offend a Republican in the crowd. She gave me a sly smile and said, "I really really hate Republicans. I want the parents who are Republicans to see it." I asked her why. She paused, smiled again, and then replied, "My dad is a Republican."