Students illustrate King’s vision

Thursday, Jan. 17, 2008

Students illustrate King’s vision

by Katherine Mullen | Staff Writer

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The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s ideas of social justice and equality were alive this week when more than 100 students were recognized for illustrating the slain civil rights leader’s vision through their words, art and actions.

On Tuesday — the day King would have turned 79 — community leaders, teachers, parents and students gathered at Gov. Thomas Johnson High School in Frederick for Frederick County Public Schools’ 18th annual celebration ‘‘From Vision to Action.”

The event not only celebrates King, a preacher and Nobel Peace Prize winner, but also honors elementary, middle and high school students with the ‘‘King award” for demonstrating King’s leadership qualities. Sixty-two students received the award during Tuesday’s event.

According to Ted Luck, supervisor of Education That is Multicultural and gifted and talented programs, every school in Frederick County participated and chose one student to receive the King award.

The award recognizes the students’ commitment to Character Counts! pillars – responsibility, caring, fairness, trustworthiness, citizenship and respect. Character Counts! is an ethical decision making system that was established in 1997.

After the ceremony, Kerri Gerring of Walkersville waited outside the auditorium to meet her daughter, Shayna Gerring, a King award winner from Thurmont Primary. She said she was proud and excited for her 7-year-old daughter, and hoped that the award taught Shayna to respect herself and others.

Shayna said she admires King’s character traits of respect, trustworthiness and fairness and said she recognizes these in herself. ‘‘I’ve done a lot of great things for my classmates,” Shayna said. ‘‘I’m fair to other people and I’m caring a lot, and there’s a lot of trustworthiness in me.”

Stephen Middleton, a senior at Tuscarora High School, gave a rousing recitation of King’s famous speech, ‘‘I Have a Dream” and was also a King award recipient.

According to the event’s program, Stephen served as class president and captain of the football team. He also organized Black History Month celebrations at Tuscarora last year, during which he read a summary of notable African-American achievements every day during school announcements.

The celebration also recognized students who created art that reflected the themes of peace, unity, diversity and change. The works of art were displayed outside the auditorium for viewing during the event.

Other children wrote about their heroes – famous men and women such as Bessie Coleman and Mahatma Gandhi, and more familiar ones, such as mom, dad and grandpa.

Linda Burgee, superintendent of Frederick County schools, awarded these students with medals after they walked across the stage to the applause of a jam-packed auditorium.

Student choruses from Brunswick Elementary, Gov. Thomas Johnson High and Monocacy Elementary schools performed between presentations.