It Was 20 Years Ago Today...

Where were you twenty years ago?

For me, I was a Sophomore in high school. I was just finishing my first class with one of the teachers who would serve as my inspiration to go in to education. I remember Mr. Bailey talking to the class about the events occurring half a world away in Tienanmen Square. Little did we know that this would be the beginning of an amazing time in the world's history. Within weeks, this image was everywhere.
Today I find myself standing in Mr. Bailey's shoes. I have taught my students about the history of China. They have learned about the rise of Communism, the Great Leap Forward, and the Cultural Revolution. And, even more importantly, my students were bombarded with the images of a vibrant and glistening China that was broadcast all around the world last summer as they hosted the summer Olympics.

My students had struggled to marry the ideas of the China they had learned about in class, the China they had heard about on the news (with all the human rights violations) and the China they saw on TV.

Today is the 20th anniversary of an anonymous individual standing in front of a column of tanks outside Tienanmen Square. The image is embedded in our collective conscious. But, for kids who are the children of people who were in high school when this happened, it is surreal. I showed the kids this documentary. It does an amazing job of showing the events that lead up to the iconic image, as well as theories as to what happened to him once the cameras lost him in the crowd.

If you have some time, it is well worth watching. Even better, sit down with your child and explain to them how different the world was in 1989. Tienanmen Square. Berlin Wall. Soviet Union. Just to name a few.