My seventh and eighth grade students are now studying the years leading up to World War II, and in connection with this topic, they learned about people who were inspired by Franklin Roosevelt's 1941 State of the Union Address, commonly known as the “Four Freedoms” speech, to create works of art. After study of these artists, students had to create their own works of art, reflecting on the Four Freedoms today. While it wasn't the original intent, the assignment gave me insight into their lives. I learned more about what they worry about, and what is important to them. Repeatedly, student work demonstrated their concerns about freedom of Internet expression, conflict in the Middle East, and the oppression of women in fundamentalist religious communities. They reflected on their worries about poverty, the ability of people to marry freely those they love without respect to gender, the availability of health care, interest in dissidents such as Chinese artist, Ai Weiwei, and the fear of most young people since 1945, nuclear war. Their honesty, depth of concern, and maturity made me sad that they are so aware at such a young age, while at the same time it also made me hopeful about the future. How lucky I am to be a teacher, to experience the wisdom of youth. Here is what some students wrote about their work:
DK: [The Social Armor: three suits of armor made with clay of differing malleabilities]
“The third and final set is flexibly baked-solid enough to protect, but soft enough to allow movement and individuality. This represents the Four Freedoms in countries like the United States, where all four are valued equally, the “to” freedoms preserving flexibility, while the “from” freedoms provide stability. Naturally, I cannot provide an accurate account of what others would believe about this set as I am a child of a nation adhering to its standards. Granted, the United States is not perfect, even in this armor. Some places it is brittle where it needs to be soft, some places it is flexible where it needs to be solid. But overall, I think the ability to alter between ideologies when it comes to policy is better than being stuck in a single way, with a single answer to all questions.”
AP: [Four Plexiglass Collage Boxes, shown above] “I chose to make the box for freedom of speech first because I thought it would take the most time. The freedom of speech box was hard because I have never experienced a time when I wasn’t allowed to say what I wanted to say. My parents, teachers, and friends have always encouraged me to say what is on my mind. The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect Internet Protocol Act (PIPA) have been the only conflicts with freedom of speech that I recall. The absence of freedom of speech has not yet affected me, and I hope that it never will.”
NI: [In my video artwork, I] involve the audience in connecting the problems FDR faced back in 1941 with those we face today, such as the stock market crash and foreclosures. Seventy years later, President Obama is faced with similar problems. It sometimes seems that we are in a parallel world. Later in the video, I involve the audience with thinking about the importance of the freedoms that we have, and for which we are still fighting—freedoms that FDR urged everyone around the world to have. However, in the same year as that speech, the US entered into WWII, which ended many economic problems. We cannot go down that same path, and we have to express ourselves and speak out to make sure our leaders solve problems diplomatically and peacefully, and avoid entering into any wars. If we were to follow that same path now as FDR had to follow back in 1941, we could find ourselves in World War III, which might be the last war.”
AO: [Video] “Many people in the Arab world have seen their speech suppressed as they fight oppressive regimes. Just last week, three Western journalists were killed trying to expose government brutality in Syria. It may seem that in the United States, we all have freedom of religion, but after 9/11, many Muslims were targeted for hate crimes and discrimination. Once again, we are facing an economic crisis and a lot of Americans are struggling to pay their bills. Sadly, after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, we are nowhere near being free of fear. It seems like we have made a dent in the wall that blocks us from having all four freedoms, but we are not there yet.”
I hope my students are learning from their study of history, figuring out how to lead through understanding of the freedoms they value. They fill me with optimism for our future, and I am ever grateful to them all.
