Seeing Beyond Pictures

I went with my school's 4th graders on a field trip to our state's capitol yesterday. We toured the Capitol building, the Alabama History & Archives Museum, and the Civil Rights Memorial Center. And then we got to go to the Montgomery Biscuits Stadium where they fed us lunch. All in all, it was a great day!

And you know... I took so many pictures while in Montgomery. But due to privacy laws and stuff like that, I can't show them to you...

But I can tell you some things I observed...

I can show you this picture...

What you can't see is this little guy's face lighting up seeing us pass so many trucks and trees and big buildings and other exciting things of the like. You see - This guy is almost completely non-verbal. He can say maybe only a handful of words. But oh my goodness... His facial expressions and exciting "oohs" at everything speak volumes!

Or how about this one?

What you can't hear in this picture is the excited squeals from some of our kids over riding an escalator for the very first time.

Then there's about this one...

What you can't see in this picture is a sweet boy helping his classmate up after he tripped at the bottom of the stairs. Or how about the way that my student was pulled in by his peers who said, "Ms. Nichols, we want ___ to be included. Don't worry. I'll explain it again if he gets confused when the your lady's talking."

Next up is this one...

What you can't see/hear in this picture is the one kid who says he wants to pray for peace in Alabama and for Blacks and Whites to get along just like MLK said in his famous speech which he delivered on these same steps.

Or how about this one...

What you can't see/hear in this picture is the silence that came upon the room upon seeing this wall. These kids know the stories of the marches in Selma. They live in Selma. They go to school in Selma. It hit close to home.

Then there's about this one, which I almost didn't show...

What you can't hear in this picture  is the sweet little voice of a 4th grade African American girl asking me, "Ms. Nichols, do you think God will really forgive anybody?" When I asked what she thought, she sweetly said, "Ms. Nichols, I think He does. That's why I don't hate them. I just pray that God forgave those bad KKK men for what they did to black people," and then walked off. 

Then there's this one of the mayor of Selma.

What you can't see in this picture are all of our 4th graders crowded around him trying to squeeze into the photo, acting as if he's a celebrity. You can't see the mayor shaking the kids' hands and giving them all high fives and hugs. You can't see him patiently answering all of their silly questions with a smile on his face the whole time.