On Monday...

...no one walked out. Not really. Three kids were absent from my class. Many wore white as a symbol of solidarity, which, in our black-white uniformed campus probably did not look as dramatic as it could have. I held up two different white shirts that morning, trying to decide if they met the minimum cleanliness requirements for workplace wear. They did not. I discarded both and taught all day in the guise of the oppresser.

Thousands marched, gathering in the late afternoon just down the street and heading into downtown. A large majority of my students went, and their understanding of the situation seems to be growing with their participation level. Kids were discussing the 5-year stipulation in the proposed legislation, as well as the debate over flag-choice. We talked about this latter issue right before lunch, with kids asking why "they" said to bring only U.S. flags, and why "they" said you couldn't bring a Mexican flag. I said I thought it made sense to bring both, but that it was important to bring the U.S. flag when a large part of why people marched centered on a desire to continue to live and work in the U.S. Heads started nodding, and E. said, "Yo Mr. [TMAO] I hafta say, that makes sense."