Help! My son's MLK homework

me

[mommybain]

HELP! My son has to write an opinion piece for homework on what MLK would think of the war in Afghanistan if he were still alive. He's also supposed to offer an opinion on what MLK would think of his 'dream'. (Please don't flame me because my kid's in public school...)

[Lizavetta]

He's also supposed to offer an opinion on what MLK would think of his 'dream'.

Better yet, have him write a report on what MLK would think of Professional Blacks Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, who go through life making damn sure that people are assessed according to skin color and not content of character.

[deadhead]

Your son should research and read articles on MLK. Once he has done this, he will have an opinion and begin to write his paper. Hope his opinion piece isn't due tomorrow :-)

[mrsmith]

seattletimes.com

I'm not much help, this is the best site I could find.... try the "interactive classroom" link.

[SMEDLEYBUTLER]

John Fund weighs in on King's Greedy Relations.

[bimmer]

Amen to that! I homeschool a teenager and am delighted at all we are missing out on.

[wattsmag2]

Instead of all this pretend to be someone else crap, why not have the children write their own opinions. They should be encouraged to think for themselves, not blindly follow the lead of others.

[mdittmar]

My son has to write an opinion piece for homework on what MLK would think of the war in Afghanistan if he were still alive.

"If a man is called to be a streetsweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven played music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great streetsweeper who did his job well."

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Maybe your son could talk about our military men and women(black,white,etc.),that our serving to keep us free and end his paper by suggesting a quote of his own to honor MLK:(i.e),

"If a man is called to be a soldier, he should serve even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven played music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should serve so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great soldier who did his job well."

[Uncle Miltie]

MLK asked that people be judged on the content of their characters. Considering the Taliban enslaved their population and housed murderous terrorists, I believe MLK would judge their characters to be heinous, and approve of our righteous war of self defense.

[bimmer]

FYI: Martin Luther King III, MLK's son, spoke at a homeschooling conference in Danvers, Mass a few years ago. He said, "The kind of things homeschoolers are doing may be the saving grace of our nation."

[notyourregularhandle]

Why should my son have an opinion on this?

Why shouldn't he? MLK is a very important person in this nations history. As for MLK's opinion on the war in Afghanistan ... that seems corny and irrelevant...but hey, that's public schools' for ya... (i went to a public school all my life so i'm not flaming you... ;)

[F16Fighter]

MLK tenets of reconciliation are certainly admiralable, however...Has your son also been asked to write essays on both George Washington AND Abraham Lincoln? If not, the public school your son attends is a sham.

P.S. -- Be prepared in the coming years for Bubba Clinton Day, ergo, written essays on America's first "black" President.

[jackbill]

It's a pity that he can't write about how the United States is being prohibited from building an MLK memorial on the Mall in Washington because MLK's "heirs" want the taxpayers to pony up money to use MLK's name and likeness to solicit money for the memorial.

Really nice folks. Sure.

[Drammach]

My Personal Opinion:
Not a flame, but an admonition?

Let Your son read about MLK, and form his own opinion.
Using ANYone's opinion, esp. us Freepers, almost guarantees a failing grade.
It won't be a Kid's opinion, but a kid's interpretation of an adult's opinion.
It won't ring true. ( At least to 1 teacher in 10. The rest probably couldn't tell or care. )

Just find a few sites about the life and history of MLK, print them out, and sit down with the little rugrat, and read them.
Point out relevant information dealing with equal rights, race relations, war, and love of country, etc.
Let the kid see what MLK thought about this stuff when he was alive, and then compare those opinions with what is going on today.

But above all, let the student form his/her own opinion.
They see it all differently than we do at that age.

Best of luck on the project.

[goodnesswins]

AND....when he's done the MLK assignment, ask the teacher and the PRINCIPAL of the school when the assignment about George Washington is coming.....and if they don't do one...I'd have him do one and turn it in for extra credit.

[TommyDale]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

[mafree]

1. Tell your son to look up what MLK said about militarism in general, as well as what he said specifically about the Vietnam War. My guess is that he'd still be against the war, especially if he sees it as being about something materialistic as opposed to higher ideals like freedom and justice for all. Don't think he'd like what happened on 9/11 or the Taliban too much though.

2. He'd have to see that some of his dream has come true but too much of it hasn't and likely never will.

On the whole, it's hard to guess at how someone would feel more than 30 years after they left this earth. As others have advised, steer your son to what MLK himself said and put it into the context of the times he lived in.

[TommyDale]

"MLK railed against those in Vietnam, he loathed the military. I do not think that the socialist and word thief would have thought any different today."

You left out the facts that he was a hypocrite Christian and a womanizer, just like his follower, Jesse Jackson.

[RLK]

Despite the BS opinions heard here about MLK, he was a hero in american history. He personally led a non-violent movement ...

---------------------

King was never non-violent. He created a climate where it was either his way or violence. Violent elements quiclky responded to that message and filled revolutionary organizations. He was the most effective organizer of violent leftist revelotion in the 20th century.

[Dubya_gal]

Why should my son have an opinion on this?

Because MLK is an important historical figure in whose name we celebrate a national holiday. If his teacher is doing his/her job, your child should learn what the man stood for and why our country set aside a day to celebrate what he has done. Encourage your son to read King's words and think about them carefully and critically. There may be things there that he will disagree with, and some he will agree with. But if he is going to be an educated member of our society he should learn about these things.

I think they are good questions, actually, because you can't mindlessly copy the answer out of the textbook like so many kids do for assignments. To answer those questions you have to understand King's views on things and apply them to a new situation. Don't assume that the teacher is trying to look for a "right" answer that must be liberal; perhaps he/she is trying to teach some critical thinking skills.

You can help the teacher with this goal by letting him do his own homework and encouraging him to do it in a thoughtful and intelligent way, rather than have some knee-jerk negative reaction or try to make a political statement to provoke people like some people on this thread would have you do.

[breakem]

Your first two sentences are contradictory. Was it his way or violence,as you say, then he could not be violent. He is not responsible for the other groups who advocated violence just as he is not responsible for the violence aimed at him.

He did something that was sadly needed in the country. If you call not judging people by the color of their skin or government not discrimiating against black taxpayers leftest, you have a convoluted view of the left. I thought these would be conservative ideas.