Yesterday, my learners and I went to the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles. We went to the Anne Frank exhibit, the Holocaust exhibit and the Tolerance exhibit. In the car on the ride back, I had several interesting conversations with Lee and with a few of my fantastic learners. Some of them said that they were wondering why they didn't feel anything during the tours. Some of them said that it felt too alien, too big, too unlike our world--something that could never happen here, that could never happen to us. I was moved by this analysis because it was so honest and so real. I still remember the morning of 9/11... and I remember not reacting to it as strongly as I do when I see footage of the terrorist attacks today. I didn't get it then. I think what I hope most for my students at this point in time is that they begin to understand the different types of privilege that we have been born into. I think it's easy to get mad at small things--I definitely get upset when my computer is slow or the internet is down. But when I back up and look at things big picture, I begin to see how lucky I am that I was born where I was at the time I was--that is privilege that I am only now beginning to understand.
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