Scripps Howard News Service

Dear Dr. Fournier:

Having celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King Day and looking to mark Black History Month in February, I wish I could find one aspect of King's life to teach my students for the entire month. We have many programs at school, but the students don't have a chance to dig deeper to understand who this man really was and how he changed the world. How can I, one person, impact one classroom or one child?

ASSESSMENT

The answer to your question lies within Dr. King's example. If you want to know how one person can cause big change, then look to his life. King's unique ability to influence change was rooted in his love and acceptance of others. With honor and respect, he listened and learned from Jesus, Gandhi, Tolstoy, Martin Buber and many more. By listening, he showed us how to accept all people.

Dr. King is touted for achieving civil rights for blacks, yet this was a secondary outcome of his greater goal. His greater achievement — something rarely taught in schools — was his love for others, regardless of religion, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation. King was dedicated to bringing nonviolent change through love, and that love gave him the courage to counter violence with a manifesto of peace.

One of the people King listened to and loved was Buber, a Jewish philosopher responsible for the concepts of "I-Thou" and "I-It" relationships. The "I-Thou" relationship places other people in a sacred light of peaceful co-existence. It respects and appreciates other people, even if in disagreement. On the other hand, the "I-It" belief views other people as separate, unconnected objects, objects that can be owned, manipulated and used for personal gain. This philosophy led to slavery in the United States, and it causes many of society's ills today. King believed we should view one another from the "I-Thou" perspective and treat one another as sacred beings, deserving of honor and dignity.

King also learned the importance of peace and love in relationships from Jesus, who gave the commandment "Love one another as I have loved you." Jesus embodied the ultimate message of love when he died on the cross. From Tolstoy, King learned "Everything I understand is because I love." Because Tolstoy treated everyone as "I-Thou," he honored what they said, and grew in wisdom and knowledge.

WHAT TO DO

If you teach your children anything about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., teach them the truth. His mission, for which he lived and died, was nonviolent love of all people, regardless of the color of their skin. Don't relegate King's message to a simple statement of race relations in America; his mission was much larger. He is a martyr and role model for every single person on Earth. Turn this into the mantra of your class, teaching your students to overcome violence with this message.

Unfortunately, our schools are full of both overt violence, subversive passive-aggression and bullying. This is everything that Dr. King fought against. Teach the truth and mark the moment each child learns what violence is and how to overcome it. Most important, remember this is not a task for one month of the year. Dr. King taught that it is a lesson for a lifetime.

-Write to Dr. Yvonne Fournier, Fournier Learning Strategies Inc., 5900 Poplar, Memphis, Tenn. 38119. E-mail her at drfournier@hfhw.net.