Today was my first official day as a student teacher. Classes don't start until Wednesday, but the school district hosted an institute day for all staff members. Teachers, administrators, aides, custodial staff, administrative staff, bus drivers, etc. all got together for a... I dunno what to call it other than a pep rally. The theme was "Past, Present and Future," so they showed a slide show about how the district had grown. The drama club from one of the high schools did a skit about the district over the years, and there was an inspirational DVD showing students embodying different facets of the district's Belief Statement. Best of all, there was an MC who got the crowd pumped up. Take for example, this paraphrased snippet from his introduction:
MC: "Today is an exciting time to be in this district. The Olympics just wrapped up and the USA took home 110 medals... more than any other country!"
*Crowd cheers!!!*
MC: "Both the Cubs and the White Sox are in first place!"
*Crowd cheers!!!*
MC: "And a senator from Illinois is running for President!"
*Crowd is completely silent... until someone starts to boo.*
So I now know the politics of the school district. It's not like they were asleep or forgot to cheer... they went from excited to dead silent as soon as Obama was referenced. This was an important demographic lesson for me. Even in the suburbs of Chicago, among a group of well-educated professionals, most of whom were under 40, there is a little red enclave in a big blue state.
Maybe I should wear a "Hillary 2012" t-shirt to school tomorrow.
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