Honoring Martin Luther King Jr.

Posted on Wednesday, January 19th, 2022

In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, teachers and students took a closer look at some of the activist’s most influential speeches, his legacy, and the civil rights movement.

Orange Cluster students in Head Teacher Miriam Filer and Assistant Teacher Peter Tedesco’s class learned the word “aspiration” as part of their “Power of Words” curriculum.

The class looked at members of the civil rights movement who had aspirations for a better America and then closely looked at Dr. King and his “I Have a Dream” speech. Students wrote their dreams for the school community through a diversity, equity, and inclusion lens.

The Blue Cluster not only honored MLK Day last week, but it is also Peace Month in the cluster. Throughout the month of January, Blue Cluster students honor Dr. King’s memory with a study of peaceful protest movements. During their Town Hall, students and teachers watched Dr. King’s speech from his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance. They listened for three topics that are still relevant today: the right to a peaceful protest for change, voting rights, and economic inequality.

In Music Teacher Abby Shuppy’s classes, students learned “We Shall Overcome,” along with discussing the musical connections to the civil rights movement.

Green Cluster students in Head Teacher Jenna Konstantine and Assistant Teacher Matthew Peters’ class watched an excerpt from Dr. King’s speech “What is your life’s blueprint?” – an address to junior high school students in Philadelphia six months before he was killed.

After watching the video, students answered the questions: what does it mean to have a blueprint for your life, what does Dr. King say are the three most important components of a life’s blueprint, and where does your own blueprint come from?

On Wednesday of this week, Purple Cluster students in the Hudson and Lexington rooms held a peaceful march around their floor in honor of Dr. King.