Paging Dr. King

Yesterday in class we started talking about Martin Luther King, Jr. We talked about segregation and how blacks were discriminated against in the South. Being in Pekin I felt like I had to drive home the point that it's not alright to not like someone because of one aspect of their life, meaning skin color, gender, religion, etc. Following this one boy raised his hand and said, "Hey Mr. Ritchason, remember when I told you my grandpa couldn't come to Grandparents' Day because he was gay?" Um, ya, sure. "Well sometimes my mom and grandma call him a faggot." Great, I can just imagine the notes and emails I'm going to get in the morning from parents. Before I could even move on, another boy shouted out "Well I'm 1/4 black." My student teacher Lizzy commented how out of left field this was because the kid doesn't even know fractions. To be honest he's actually mildly retarded. Oh yes, it's true. Hopefully he had a wonderful Kwanzaa celebration.