September 11 and Sabi the Activist

7:15 AM:
On our way to school this morning Sabi and I were listening to the radio. There was talk of 9/11 all over the place on the radio today. Sabi asked me about it so I told her about it. I told her what it was and where we were on that day.

On that tragic morning, I was making a mad dash to my dad's house to drop Sabi off on my way to school. I got to my dad's house around 6:30 or 7:00. When I arrived at my dad's house he asked me if I had been watching the news. I said no thinking to myself "who has time to do that?" My dad then directed my attention to the tv where I watched the re-play of the plane crashing into the first tower. I remember thinking that my dad must have been watching some crazy movie. It didn't make sense. I was speechless. I think I plopped down on my dad's couch around this time and stayed there transfixed on the tv, trying to make sense of the mayhem I was watching. I stayed in that spot for the next 2o minutes or so, completely forgetting about my morning rush. I then went on to school listening to the radio updates and getting internet updates for the remainder of the day.

Sabi told me that she of course didn't remember any of that. She wanted to know why I didn't tell her about it. I told her that at the time I didn't think she would be able to understand it and that I have never found the right time to explain it to her but that now seemed as good a time as any to inform her. She didn't have to much to say about it after that. Before I dropped her off at school, I just told her that it was important for us as citizens of the world to make sure that we respect each other and try to be good people to the best of our ability so that we can do our part to make sure that an incident like 9/11 never happens again. That was the best I could do during our ride together this morning.

4:45 PM:
When I picked up Sabi this afternoon she was VERY excited. Today, she and a friend decided that they want to take action at their school. In Social Studies Sabi has been learning about social action, letter writing and petitions. Sabi and her friend are very concerned about the horrible state of their bathrooms and the way their fellow classmates treat the bathrooms. They are also concerned that their janitor has to work harder because the kids don't clean up after themselves. Sabi and her friend brainstormed and came up with the following:
1) They would each draft a letter to the principal to inform her of the problem.
2) They want to ask the principal for an appointment to discuss the problem.
3) They will volunteer to talk to the entire school about the problem during their morning whole school opening.
4) They want to draft a student pledge in which the kids will sign their names on a piece of paper stating that they will do their part to keep the bathrooms clean.

Sabi was so excited and energized about this idea. She couldn't wait to get home and get started on her letter. I couldn't believe my eyes. Sabi sat down and whipped out 3 pages right away. The spelling needed a little help and the organization wasn't perfect but the content was great. Check it out on her blog here.

Now I don't know if my talk with Sabi about 9/11 had anything to do with Sabi's enthusiasm about making her school a better place today. It probably didn't. I have to say though that I hope that we have more and more kids who try and do what Sabi and her friend are doing. I also have to say that I felt extra proud of my little girl tonight.