"Tangible items can be reminders of the value of people’s unique stories, of building relationships with students and colleagues, and of our mission as educators to teach acceptance and respect.
At the end of four days in Montgomery, Alabama, I carried home one penny and a rock.
The invitation to Montgomery had come from Teaching Tolerance after I was accepted to join its advisory board. The board meeting schedule included three packed days of training, excellent speakers and shared presentations and experiences. We had time during the days before and after to explore the historic area on our own—places like the Civil Rights Memorial Center and the Equal Justice Initiative. My heart and brain left bursting with new ideas, perspectives, inspiration and memories with new friends. The small rock and single penny that I carried home will be continuous reminders of my time in Alabama and the work I am challenged to do.
The lowly penny. During one meeting session, every person in the room was handed a penny with the charge to remember a significant event or a memory from the year stamped on the coin. My still-shiny penny was minted in 2015. As we shared around the room, we talked of dates that prompted memories of high school graduations, rock concerts, personal accomplishments, births, trips, sicknesses, new jobs. These coins allowed us an avenue to tell our own stories, and those stories became the gift of making connections."
[For more on this story by Angela Hartman, go to https://www.tolerance.org/maga...one-penny-and-a-rock]
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