On Monday, January 19, schools closed nationwide to honor the birth of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., a champion of the American Civil Rights Movement. Interestingly enough, the national holiday celebrating the progression toward racial equality was directly followed by the inauguration of the nation’s first African-American president, Barack Obama. An unprecedented amount of students therefore were given two consecutive days off from school to honor these two occasions: one day to pay homage to history past, and another to rejoice in history-in-the-making.
Presidential inauguration days once only translated to school closures primarily in the Washington D.C. area, since the hordes of visitors tend to debilitate school bus operations. However, according to the New York Times, numerous school districts in northern Virginia, Maryland, and New Jersey also closed their doors on Tuesday. Whereas previous inauguration ceremonies might not have ignited such an abundance of enthusiasm on the part of students and parents alike, there is a uniquely heightened significance of this particular presidential inauguration.
Many school districts that chose to remain open on inauguration day did so to ensure that their student populations could collectively rejoice, and to provide teachers with the chance to embrace this piece of history in the classroom setting. Teachers and their students could absorb the weight of Barack Obama taking the oath of office together while watching it on live television. This event with such great historical implications has provided plenty of opportunities to form inauguration-based lesson plans, essay topics, creative hands-on projects, as well as encouraging healthy debate.
While those who did not vote for Barack Obama might not have been so enthused about the inauguration ceremony, not many would deny that the occasion was indeed groundbreaking. But in areas that closely supported John McCain during the race, there was little expression of excitement over the event. A teacher in Waynoka, Oklahoma, told the New York Times on January 16: “We may just watch a few clips of it and then move on.” However, detractors and political party clashes aside, the large spike in enthusiasm for presidential politics is largely unquestionable.
