Decision 2008

Last week I had the opportunity to visit some more classes at Mihail Eminescu High School. I was met in the teachers room by a dignified looking woman in her late 40's who stood about 5ft1. "Jeff, we are going to visit a British Culture class for twelfth graders. I will introduce you at the beginning. Hopefully if there is time at the end, students can ask you a few questions about America."

Together we slogged up five flights of stairs. For some reason every class I have observed is on the fifth floor. The first impression I make is of a man huffing and puffing with beads of sweat at the temples.

After being introduced to the class I was directed to a seat at the back of the room, and the lesson began. The topic for the day was the British Parliament. The following are some facts I learned about the Parliament.

1. In the House of Commons, there are two red lines drawn on the floor separating the Torries from the Labour Party. No one is allowed to cross these lines. This is to prevent sword fights and stranglings.

2. The Queen has the power to veto legislation. The last monarch to veto legislation was Charles the First. He was beheaded. It would be interesting to see what would happen if the Queen tried her luck and vetoed something just to be a provocative.

3. The House of Lords is composed of aristocrats who have inherited their titles. If, however, someone gets a Knighthood, they can be members of the House of Lords as well. The likes of Sir Paul McCartney and Sir Elton John are members of the House of Lords. I was going to ask if that included women like Dame Judy Dench or Dame Helen Mirren. I haven't gotten the whole Sir and Dame thing figured out. And what about Dame Edna?

With about 15 minutes left in the class, the teacher announced, "As you know, we have a special guest here from America. Maybe he can talk a little bit about the American system."

I walked to the front of the class and drew an abstract rendering of the Capitol Building. Drawing is not one of my strong suits. Once I attempted to draw a beaver on the white board, and my American History students thought it was a Tyranosaurous Rex. Some of them probably still think the French and Indian War erupted over competition for dinosaur pelts. To my surprise this class recognized the building and even knew about the Senate and the House of Representatives. It never fails to amaze me how much students from other countries know about America. US students struggle to know the basics. According to a recent study, when shown a picture of the Capitol, 30% of American high school students thought it was the White House. More students know who said "That's hot" than know who said "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself".

After a few minutes discussing the American system of government one of the students asked me about the upcoming elections. "So, who do you want to be the president?" I answered that I was still undecided and that both candidates had strengths and weaknesses. Yes-yes, I know. I admit that was a vague wishy-washy answer. I am not proud of my response. I then asked them what they thought. One girl raised her hand. "I think McCain will win." I asked her why she thought that. "Well," she responded. "I just think he is good." I have no right to criticize this answer. Her response was at least as good as mine. To her credit she came down definitively on one side. Then another girl piped up. "But he is too old." To that I responded. "He is the oldest candidate for president. If he is elected, he will be 72 when he takes office. I believe that Obama is 47. That's a big age difference."

"He doesn't look 47", one student said. "That's becuase he is black," said a girl at the back. "Black people don't get wrinkles." This was an opportunity to teach an American expression. "That's right, in America we say, 'black don't crack' ". I actually said, "black doesn't crack" because I didn't want them to be confused as to the correctness of the grammar. I didn't want to get into all the details about African American Vernacular English and its verb conjugations.

As I left the class, I felt out of touch with the goings on of life back in the States--especially with the elections. This weekend I had an opportunity to discuss this with my dear friend Pam Smucker (also known as Smucky--see "Milestones" blog entry from September 1st). The previous night my parents had hosted a "dinner and games" night and invited Pam along with family friends Daryl and Ella Richter. Politics became the topic of the evening. Interested in how people are feeling about the candidates back home, I quizzed Pam on what was said. The following is a list of the pertinent points:

1. John McCain seems arrogant to Daryl. 2. Michelle Obama's hair style and choice of dresses bothers Pam. 3. Ella doesn't like the way Michelle Obama points her chin when she answers questions.

It brings a tear to my eye witnessing American citizens actively engaged in our great democracy. I wonder what everyone thought of Mrs. McCain's choice of lipstick.