Oldies!

Happy Wednesday Everyone!  

My blog post today is inspired by my drive to my kid's school this morning.  In our school district, the kiddos have a half-day on Wednesdays so I drive them in before getting to work back here at home.  For some reason, today, I didn't really feel like listening to my usual - National Public Radio (NPR), which by the way is a great way to start your day with a little knowledge of the world...but I digress...today I decided to rock it out to the oldies station!  

Now when I was a kid, my mom drove us to school every day because she worked at my school.  We always listened to oldies on the radio on the drive to school!  It probably wasn't cool to be into oldies when I was 12 or14 (which was about 30 years ago) but I loved all the old music my mom loved, and I loved hearing her tell stories about her childhood and growing up years that the music sometimes evoked.  Now when I turn on the oldies station, it's music that I loved from my childhood and teen years.  This morning the first song that came on, was a Bon Jovi classic - Livin' on a Prayer!  I think I've shared some Bon Jovi with you fairly recently, but it was a song he did very recently about the pandemic.  (Check out that October 13th post here).  Livin' on a Prayer is a classic early 80's Bon Jovi rock anthem!  You've got to check it out!

Oh, be still my beating heart!!...the big hair...the fringe...the scarves...did you catch that little hair fluff during the middle of the song...swoon!  These guys were all the rage when I was in middle school!  I know, you are probably rolling on the floor laughing at me right now, but the way I feel about this old Bon Jovi song is the way my mom felt about the music she listened to as a girl as we drove to school those early mornings, and it's the same way you'll feel when you are older about songs that bring you back to a time and place!  

Anyway, the reason I brought this particular song up is that we just crossed the half-way point of the school year, and it's a good reminder that even through all the challenges of this year, we are making it, and we will make it - together!  Bon Jovi says, "We've got each other, and that's a lot," and then, "take my hand and we'll make it I swear!"  Well, we can't exactly take each other's hands physically during this pandemic, but we can support each metaphorically during this second half of the school year, by "holding on that what we've got!" 

I hope you've enjoyed my little foray into the '80s, now let's throw it way back to the 1950s and shift gears to our Black History Month spotlight, which today highlights the efforts of Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycotts.  Link to my google classroom to watch this video which details, Parks' involvement and explains how the movement was successful.  Rosa Parks is a very publicly recognized figure in the civil rights movement so it's likely that you've heard her name before and are aware of what she did, refusing to give up her seat on the bus that day, but it's important to make sure that we recognize the role she played in the larger bus boycott movement and how it helped bring this unfair practice to an end.  The case in question, and the fairness of its practice, moved all the way to the US supreme court where it was ruled that segregation on public transportation was illegal.  

Today, let Parks' story continue to inspire us to overcome injustice and inequality.  

 

I hope you all have a good and productive day!  

Be Well,

Mrs. Hempey