The Inauguration of Barack Obama According to Thirteen Year Olds

Along with the majority of America, I had to work on Inauguration Day.

Fortunately, my job that day entailed filling in the shoes of an 8th grade English teacher who was absent for the very reason I wanted to be.  By the elegant picture of our president above her computer, the signature bumper sticker on her file cabinet, and the Obama shaped cookie on her desk, I saw why this teacher took a personal day and traveled to DC to witness history in the making.  Because of her own passion, the lesson plans that day consisted of silent reading and watching the ceremonies.

Education in Connecticut is oh-so-cutting-edge.  To make sure Nutmegger children aren't raised to be ignorant, the students were excused from class for an hour to watch the swearing in on the big screen in the auditorium.

At first, the chatty pre-teens angered anyone in the room who wasn't a student, as they snickered at the funny looking people on the screen moments before the official ceremony.  The teacher behind me shouted over my head at the kids she knew better than I did.  As I have observed over the past few months, however, this group of Middle School kids are surprisingly respectful at assemblies when it comes down to it.  They could beat any High-Schooler in a "Who Can Be the Least Obnoxious" competition.  

But today, they were excited.  In the classroom they reflected on the past administration, and forecasted what would happen in the upcoming one, repeating phrases they heard their proselytizing parents use too often.  As I tried to calm the heated debates that were forming during the students' "silent reading time", the muted newscasters and vignettes of cheering Americans projected on the classroom overhead were the only things silent that day. In the auditorium, the hundreds of students stood up when the speaker told everyone present to stand, clapped anytime the multitude on the Mall cheered, and raised their voices when there was a song.  

I laughed as my authority over this rambunctious group waned, and joined them in their standing and cheering.  

There are certain moments in history that you will always remember where you were when they happened: September 11th, when the Sox won the World Series, the shooting at Virginia Tech.

On January 20, 2009, the day that Barack Hussein Obama became president of the United States, when excitement overcame America and a small town Connecticut Middle School, I'm glad I found myself within those walls.  I wouldn't have fancied a better memory of the occasion.