All Together: BREAKING NEWS!!!!!!!!
Deborah: Given the scandalous allegations of reported election irregularities, the People’s Republic of the Fourth Grade set up a secret commission to investigate these allegations of vote rigging. Since there is no centralized authority to guarantee a proper vote count or the security of elections, the United States of LREI formed a special commission. After months of careful scrutiny it was determined that there was a basis to doubt the results of the election in Deborah and Joel’s Fourth Grade class.
Joel: Although the underlying intelligence is highly classified, the LREI Intelligence Committee has found evidence of voter hacking in the Fourth Grade. Consequently a recount has been instituted and the results have been overturned. It was still a very close vote…very close.
Joel: The Benevolent Dictators of Fourth Grade — Dan, Tara, Deborah, and Joel — declare the following election results to be true:
Deborah: For her joyful outlook we appoint Alden Secretary of Happiness, Guitars, and Falling Into Rooms And Out Of Chairs.
Joel: For his deadpan humor and sportsmanship, we appoint Alex Chief White House Correspondent.
Deborah: For his organizational energy and public speaking abilities we appoint Asher to be not only the White House Press Secretary, but also chief in charge of scheduling.
Joel: For his vociferous vocabulary and piano virtuosity, we appoint Avery Secretary of Language and White House Musician.
Deborah: For her puzzle prowess and mathematical acumen, we name Bailey Chief of Cryptology, making and breaking codes.
Joel: For his positive spirit, peaceful mood, and friendly attitude towards all we appoint Crosby Secretary of Kindness and Communications.
Deborah: For his close relationship with exclamatory punctuation we name Ezra Secretary of Positivity and the Exclamation! King! Of! The! Punctuation! Council!
Joel: For her extensive knowledge of history and her dedication to detail we appoint Gia the Head of the National Archives, and the Secretary of Time.
Deborah: For her poetic observational skills and empathy we name Jade the Queen of Lost Objects and Allyship.
Joel: For his big picture thinking we appoint Kieran Secretary of Social Studies…and Fort Building.
Deborah: For her concise, creative, and analytical thinking and her boundless energy for work, we appoint Laiali Attorney General.
Joel: For his perseverance at tackling challenges we appoint Lorenzo Secretary of Defense, Head of the Special Commission for Weapons Made Out of Scotch Tape.
Deborah: For her creativity as a graphic designer and writer of memorable slogans, we name Makeda Head of Public Relations.
Joel: For her deep relationship with literature and writing we appoint Margot Head of the National Library Council and Poet Laureate.
Deborah: For his enthusiasm for mathematical and scientific challenges we appoint Miles the Head of New Projects at NASA.
Joel: For his critical lens and sense of fairness, we appoint Nate Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
Deborah: For her exceptional skills in the visual arts and comedic writing we appoint Romy Head of the National Council of the Arts.
Joel: For his passion for activism and human rights we name Sam Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Deborah: For her leadership powers as a social organizer and her flair with magic markers we appoint Suko Secretary of Protests and Equality.
Joel: For his motivated approach to learning and calm energy we appoint Yves Prime Minister of Pacing and Line Leading.
Deborah: For his ability to make us laugh with his unique voice and colorful footwear, we appoint Zen Secretary of Comedy and Fashion.
Joel: The Benevolent Dictators also wish our newly appointed ambassadors — Lorenzo, Chase, Yves, Makeda, Avery, Kieran — best of luck in their respective journeys abroad.
Tara: Imagine a nation run by our fourth grade. The artists, the poets, the musicians, the communicators, social justice seekers all working together toward a more inclusive future without hate or fear.
Deborah: Welcome to the new world order. One filled with Critical Thinking, Courage, Citizenship, and Creativity. And by the way our new White House is no longer white! (hold up poster of a rainbow white house)
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Monthly Archives: June 2017
Delivering Letters to Gavin Grimm at the ACLU
On Wednesday we went to visit the ACLU to hand-deliver our letters to Gavin Grimm. After hearing stories and more from several staff members, including Gavin’s lawyer, as well as a video that Gavin Grimm made just for us (watch it above!), we decided another round of letters were in order! Here are some thoughts of gratitude for our new heroes at the ACLU.
Dear Chris, Jake, and all the other ACLU members and staff,
Thank you for letting us come in and talk to you about the Gavin Grimm case.
I think that the ACLU is really cool. It helps people that need someone to talk to. It helps people that are having problems in their community based on their gender, identity, and who they are married to (and many many many many many more things but I’m pretty sure it would be too long to list).
It’s great that you knew so much about the Gavin Grimm case. Our class has been studying it for quite a while by now, and we were REALLY interested. How did he pull through this sad (and probably pretty uncomfortable) experience? One of our teachers is transgender. I was the person who introduced the case in the first place. I watched a video on The Washington Post with my mom one morning and I got inspired and wanted to share this very interesting and tear-jerking video with my class. The video sparked a huge study about human rights (especially LGBTQ) and lots of dislike for Trump.
I have one question: I know that you help people with their problems, but animals are Americans too! It is called the American Civil Liberties Union after all. Do you help animals as well as people?
Sincerely, and happy helping,
Ezra
Dear Jake and Chris (and whoever this letter gets sent to),
Thank you for teaching us about the ACLU and what you guys do. Your explanations helped me (and others too, I’m sure) realize how the fight for LGBTQ rights is larger than just a few simple cases at court. Those cases and problems are serious!
I think that there were some conversations that were interesting and made me think. One was when the lawyer said that the Supreme Court had denied Gavin Grimm’s case, and they were being sent to the 4th Court or something like that. He also said that they were going in September and they had high hopes for this. It makes me think that in general, people should not give up. They should keep fighting for their rights.
There was another person whose parents immigrated and his mom and a green card but his dad did not. He told us that his day would have to sneak out the back door of their house. I wondered why his dad did that. I realize he’s an illegal immigrant so if someone comes and checks him and they see he doesn’t have a green card, and they will send him back and split up the family.
Thank you again for teaching us about the ACLU and what you do. We really learned a lot.
Sincerely,
Gia Garland
Dear Chris and Jake and everyone,
Thank you for letting us come to the ACLU. I really enjoyed it.
When you talked about Syrian refugees it reminded me of a student at my dad’s school who went home over the holidays and couldn’t come back. It also reminded me of how much we’ve learned about immigration. So many immigrants have done so many impacting things from our county. We are a nation of immigrants.
It was really cool when that video came on that it basically addressed us. It makes me feel really good that Gavin is excited to get the letters we made. We support a bunch of causes, but very few causes know that one specific fourth grade class supports them, or sends a video to them saying thank you. Good luck in the case and I hope Gavin likes the letters.
I’ve been saving money for charity or a good cause and I think I found my cause. I’ll be sending $100 or more bucks to you.
Sincerely,
Kieran
Dear Jake,
Thank you so much for teaching us about ACLU and Gavin Grimm’s case. I really enjoyed it. It really made me think when you talked about Donald Trump and when he canceled the bathroom law. It made me really mad when he did that. It also made me think when we talked about how kids went up and spoke too. It really made me think I could change the world.
My favorite part of the visit was when we saw the video of Gavin Grimm speaking to us. I liked this because it really showed that he is nice enough to take time out of his day to make it.
Thanks again!
From,
Alden
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A Journey of People From Past to Present: The Video
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The Year-End Play Project: A Journey of People from Past to Present
It’s that time of year! Time for the Fourth Grade to write and perform a play about all that we have learned this year.
Asher explains:
But we skipped ahead….there were many steps to this process. First, we needed to write the script. After coming up with a rough draft, we invited some experts in.What we are about to perform for you is a story of immigrants, migrants and protests. In Fourth Grade this year we studied immigrant stories of coming over from other countries and settling in the lower east side. This year we also studied the Great Migration and how African Americans moved to the northern states because of race issues in the south. There are protests that relate to immigration, migration and present day politics that you will see in the play. We hope you enjoy our play A Journey Of People From Past To Present.
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June 2, 2017
It’s show time!
Let’s meet the cast and their characters!
Please note: The snapshots/portraits of us below were taken while we were engaging in a warm-up/loose-up walk to the final production. They are presented alongside excerpts from our script.
Historical Immigration
Steerage/Ellis Island/Lower East Side
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There’s our director, Charissa.
Yes, It’s called the Statue of Liberty. It’s said that she welcomes all us immigrants to this new land. Let’s go!
![](http://blog.lrei.org/4dj-17/files/2017/06/IMG_2617-1yrb10g-e1496518808888.jpg)
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Inspector R.(Crosby): Where are you from?
Aruna (Suko): We are from India.
Inspector R.(Crosby): Turn around. Good. How much money do you have?
Amala (Mia): 25 Dollars.
Inspector R.(Crosby): Good, that’s minimum, so you won’t become a public charge. Here are your landing cards.
Inspector R. (Crosby): Next! Manifest number 430.
Crying family gets in line behind Makeda.![](http://blog.lrei.org/4dj-17/files/2017/06/IMG_2664-2nmo9f7-e1496518671539.jpg)
Aruna (Suko): (directly to the audience): Look, Mama that whole family is crying. It looks like they’re being split up. Now I know why they call this place the Island of Tears.
Amala (Mia): I wonder if Manhattan will be The Island of Hope.
Aruna (Suko): Yeah I wonder.
![](http://blog.lrei.org/4dj-17/files/2017/06/IMG_2708-2-28ay4gc-e1496522909884.jpg)
Landlord (Yves): I’m Mr. Weber, your landlord. This is your new tenement. Now you must follow these rules:
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No pets or you’re out
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No complaints or you’re out
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If you don’t pay the monthly rent you’re out
Now I got a lot of other people who would want this tenement, so don’t play with your chances.
![](http://blog.lrei.org/4dj-17/files/2017/06/IMG_2665-26llyx7-e1496518624334.jpg)
Simone (Romy): Wow. This is going to be a LOT more different than living in France.
![](http://blog.lrei.org/4dj-17/files/2017/06/IMG_2734-rgxwj8-e1496519004536.jpg)
Ero (Ezra): It’s okay, let’s try and steer our ships with positivity! Moving to America was the only option that we had. We will eventually get used to it.
Ezra: don’t be so pessimistic… Romy: Here we go again Yves: is he going to start singing? Wyeth: life isn’t a musical number! Romy: No!! too late!Whole family: Hey, I’m not giving you my pay
But we could do this another day
And if you knock, knock us over,
We’ll steer with positivity.
We can’t afford the rent
But America’s where we went
And if you knock, knock us over,
We’ll steer with positivity
Whoa oh oh oh oh oh oh
Positivity!
Whoa oh oh oh oh oh oh
Positivity!
Triangle Shirtwaist Protest
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Zen: What are you guys doing? Why aren’t you going to work?
Milla: We are handing out flyers to announce our strike for better working conditions in the factories. We’re heading over to Cooper Union.
Zen: What do you mean better working conditions?
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All cheer and chant: WE WANT BETTER PAY AND WE DON’T WANT TO WORK ALL DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! x2Alden (Clara Lemlich): I think we need better working conditions that’s why we’re all here. We are poor but a little bit of respect would be nice! We come to work everyday and work too many hours to get too little pay. We should have safer fire escapes that work and be able to use the bathroom when we need to. The doors should be open and we should not be punished for not coming in on Sunday! We need more changes now! So let’s strike to end this madness.
![](http://blog.lrei.org/4dj-17/files/2017/06/IMG_2707-28ii73g-e1496518984150.jpg)
Asher: We’ll be fine. And anyway what’s the worst they could do? It is so many against so few.
The Great Migration
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Papa Till (Bailey): Working in the fields was so hard today. I wish we could keep more of our crops instead of having to give them to the landowner.
![](http://blog.lrei.org/4dj-17/files/2017/06/IMG_2659-1onx0w2-e1496518517186.jpg)
Nessie (Jade): (Comes in angrily, slams down the Crisis on the table) Have you seen the new issue of the Crisis yet?!
Freeman (Miles): No I haven’t. I do know that Sheriff Johnson was saying that most of the white people in the town said we shouldn’t be reading it anymore.
Nessie (Jade): It’s because they don’t want us to know the truth about how bad things are getting for black people in the South.
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Meese (Kieran): And what’s more, once we get further North, the train cars aren’t even segregated anymore.
Jeffrey (Jasiri) Really? That’s hard to believe.
Papa Till (Bailey): The first thing we are going to need to do when we get to Chicago is find a place to live.
Meese (Kieran): Don’t worry. I know someone who has a place to rent.
Billy (Leo): Is it big?
Meese (Kieran): Unfortunately, it is pretty small. But hopefully in a little while, you can get a bigger place.
Papa Till (Bailey): Ok. Sounds good. Children, we’re almost to Chicago now.
Meese (Kieran): I’m looking forward to getting back there. You are going to love it.
(Children make train movement and sounds, move across stage.)![](http://blog.lrei.org/4dj-17/files/2017/06/IMG_2720-1412pwr-e1496525732531.jpg)
Mama (Margot): Here in the North, at least people like us will have a chance.
![](http://blog.lrei.org/4dj-17/files/2017/06/IMG_2722-1acbrnc-e1496518944619.jpg)
Thannie (Makeda): That’s true. I think with a few of our personal things, we can make this into our home.
![](http://blog.lrei.org/4dj-17/files/2017/06/IMG_2719-252q25a-e1496518414212.jpg)
Eleanor (Gia): We have heard that Chicago has more opportunities for people like us than the South.
Chicago, Chicago,
You have many layers
Some good, some bad
You frighten me,
Wild Chicago
Protest Scene
Ain’t gonna let nobody turn me around Turn me around, turn me around Ain’t gonna let nobody turn me around Keep on a-walkin’, keep on a-talkin’ Gonna build a brand new world
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Contemporary Immigration Scene
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Hamoudi: This first day in an American school wasn’t the best.
![](http://blog.lrei.org/4dj-17/files/2017/06/IMG_2718-1ot52oa-e1496518546114.jpg)
Rema: It was pretty hard. I miss our friends.
Hamoudi: I wish our family and friends were here right now.
Song: Harlan and Beckett
“Oh Friends” Don’t you know I’m all alone. Sitting in these chairs talking to your pictures.
Music: Avery plays some piano and the pictures come life
Sam: Hi Hamoudi.
Hamoudi: Ahhhhhh! Did the photo just talk to me?
Rema: I think it did!
Sam: Of course we did! Did you think we’d leave you two just because we live in different countries? Now, why are you both so sad?
![](http://blog.lrei.org/4dj-17/files/2017/06/IMG_2733-24w6wgy-e1496518466230.jpg)
Lorenzo: You will be alright! Everybody has hard times. There’s so many great things the kids don’t know about you yet. Like how you are football champions!! Back over here, people still talk about your skills!
Hamoudi: Thanks, grandpa. They call it soccer here.
Washington Square Park Protest Scene
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Alex: This is Alex Amorosino reporting from EI News. Today, in New York City there is an emergency rally against the President’s ban on immigration and refugees. Let’s go take a look. (Looks directly at camera)
All except Alex, Asher: No hate, No fear, immigrants are welcome here! X3
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