Meeting Colin Powell with My Kids

Meeting Colin Powell with My Kids

by Joan Asprakis

It was an amazing moment standing there with my three students posing for a photo with Colin Powell.

Tamira was the first to shake his hand after being encouraged by Colin himself. He was so warm and relaxed with us all, the smile hardly leaving his face for a moment through the Eisenhower Fellowship Seminar we had just observed. There were delegates from all over the world.

Colin told them he had a story from each of their countries and shared a few. We heard that they had been invited to the U.S. to see our style of democracy and our way of life. Jessica, Jay, and Tamira listened very attentively to the whole discussion. I was glad that Tamira was sitting next to me so that when she became thirsty and started to reach into her bag to get her bottle of Pepsi I could gently motion to her “not here”. She was sitting directly opposite Colin.

I relaxed, though, and thought that if she had indeed taken that sip, he would just smile and understand. We all sat a little taller when he made a point of mentioning the young students in the audience (who all attended Philadelphia high schools), sharing that he, too, had attended public schools in Harlem. This was the beauty of America, he told the Fellows. You could start at the bottom and rise to the top of your country.

I relaxed, though, and thought that if she had indeed taken that sip, he would just smile and understand.

After the photo session, each of the students received a signed book (I can’t recall the exact name but it was about Colin Powell’s leadership) with their names on it. “Keep that and hand it down in your families. This will be really valuable some day,” I instructed them. They happily agreed, and I could see the gift had worked its magic already. It was a refreshing change from monetary rewards and certificates.

I was so proud of my essayists and the fact that they had jumped right in when I asked them to write the Leadership Essay, getting it typed on their own as we were in the middle of PSSA hell with workbooks practically thrown at us every week. How to get all this done when I really wanted to teach my kids? I thought the Eisenhower Fellowship Leadership Essay contest would perk things up since it promised the winners would meet Colin Powell. The kids knew who he was and were impressed by the possibility. And the timing was perfect since I had just gone over essay writing again and explained transition words and how their use could improve their writing scores.

There had been numerous winners this year in my Creative Writing class, and I had their certificates copied and displayed on my back bulletin board to show the kids that Lincoln High students can too win writing contests. My English classes were being killed with PSSA prep so we were all so thrilled and shocked when the email came that we had three students place and they were going to meet Colin Powell. And there was one from each of my three English classes. Each class was a winner! (We had also previously had a winner in my journalism class for an article.)

But wait, what about the teachers? Why hadn’t I been invited to go along with my students? With everything going on in education and how teachers were being mistreated now, I felt hurt and defensive. I had struggled so hard this year to keep the stress out of my classroom and encourage my students through all that was happening. I wanted to meet Colin too, and thought my students might not feel secure enough to get down to the Rittenhouse Hotel themselves on public transportation. We got the directions from the Internet, and I went over them with Jessica and Tamira. Jay had been there before and felt more confident.

I emailed back and asked, “What about the teachers?” Vera emailed back that there was not enough room for the teachers, but there was one more place and I could go if I got right back to her! I didn’t hesitate a second. I was just as thrilled as the kids!

Joan Asprakis taught English, journalism, and creative writing at Lincoln High School last school year. She retired from the School District of Philadelphia in June and facilitated the Philadelphia Writing Project's Project Write summer program for students in July. Joan joined the Philadelphia Writing Project as a teacher consultant in 1997.