Imagine....

Imagine all the people living life in peace
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people sharing all the world


Imagine by John Lennon

Something special happens when my National Honor Society students get together with their friends known as the King Dreamers.

This friendship started three years ago when we went to King Elementary in Des Moines to meet an amazing group of fourth graders involved in the I Have a Dream Foundation.  Through this foundation these children are given opportunities they might not have otherwise. And by developing a friendship with the Dreamers over the last three years, we have been given so many gifts from them as well.

The Dreamers came to Van Meter this week for our annual holiday party.  We shared food, played board games, created snowflakes to decorate the library, and had fun sharing holiday and music sites on the laptops.  For the last part of our party, we invited the Van Meter 5th graders to the secondary library to meet the Dreamers and have a little fun with them as well.

However, all of those activities were not what stood out to me and others who were observing the young people that day.  As I looked around the library, I saw walls that had been taken down, friendships that picked up where they had left off, and an equality that had developed between all of them over the last three years.

Laughter filled the room.  Smiles were on every face.  Voices were heard. And they were all sharing a space that fostered these wonderful relationships.

This to me is very important as an educator.  We have given these students time to grow together and learn so many things from one another.  And this is something that they none of them will ever forget.

And just imagine what it would be like if every one of our young people could take part in experiences such as this.

Just imagine what it would be like for us.