The American Dream

Today begins the first day of the Togetherness series at Northern Onondaga Public Library in North Syracuse. Working for the New York Council for the Humanities, my task is to work with 6th graders and their parents to discuss books. Why? Studies show that it is this period of time that kids lose interest in chapter books; such distraction hurts their academic life later on (I know, there are studies out there that say everything).

Looking at the theme of WE THE PEOPLE, all the books I've chosen are geared towards living an American life. Can this be done in 6 texts? Absolutely not. Yet, preparing the discussions has me thinking hard, once again, on the pursuit of happiness and the opportunity to at least try to make dreams come true. 

I pulled out an editorial and a personal narrative that Khang Nguyen wrote when he was at Brown. I read both and smiled that a young man, now a medical student at Johns Hopkins, could be so astute at his young age. What gives him a drive, however, is his father's history in Vietnam. For him, not pursuing education and possibilities would be the best way to shame what his father endured.

We forget that life elsewhere is not life here. It is an election year -- an important election year -- and for me, I'm not going to neglect that our ancestry is typically the immigrant's story. Perhaps this writing is more patriotic than I usually get, but that is what is driving me towards serenity these days.