Voice

Yesterday at Large Group the Invisible Children group came to show a video and make a presentation. I had seen what Invisible Children has done, I have bought some dvd's, bough some t-shirts. Made some donations. I have never been called to go to a foreign country in that way so I never felt convicted by their message.

Until last night.

Don't freak out, I'm not going to Uganda. I'm not going to the Congo. I wasn't convicted that I need to even work with Invisible Children at all. It was a different kind of conviction. But in order to understand it, I need to explain some things about what Invisible Children is doing this year. They are doing a new global even this year called 25. It stands for the 25 years that Joseph Kony and the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) have caused violence, death, and unrest in Northern Uganda and the surrounding countries. This year, participants are going to be silent for 25 years - one hour for every year of Joseph Kony's reign of terror.

What got me thinking was who was I not speaking up for? I love what Invisible Children is doing - I am going to participate in their event this year (and if you want to donate, look at my donation profile page. I'll be making a whole other blog post specifically describing it). But who are the voices that I have let stay silent. Who are the invisible children here, in the United States, that I have neglected to see. This hit me hard because as I watched the Tony video, all I could see where the faces of my own students as night commuters, child soldiers, kids without families, without hope. The fire began to burn again, the one that had been put out because of waking up early, completing PACT, trying to find jobs, making a living, etc. The fire for justice in the education system here in America.

This video helped me see that it is not enough to just show up and teach students. That being a voice for them is more than just showing up to classroom. I don't know exactly how to do that - how to specifically advocate for students who are in poverty, who are being abused at home, who don't have clothes, school supplies, who look to gangs for safety and community, who drop out, get pregnant, or just don't care. Who listens to these kids?

So on April 25th, during the Invisible Children silence campaign, I will be silent for my future students. For those who do not have a voice or do not feel they have a voice. And hopefully Jesus will change my perceptions and give me new inspiration for my future in teaching and education.