Thanksgiving for All

As we celebrate Thanksgiving, we ought to pause to consider the basis of one of America's most treasured observances. Nearly four hundred years ago, the earliest European settlers to this continent took a break from their struggles to acknowledge that their success was more the result of the benevolent hand of Providence than of the sweat of their own brows. They also gratefully acknowledged the help provided them by the native peoples who were  occupying the land that they themselves had hoped to settle after they arrived.

They taught a lesson that's important for students to learn today. Regardless of our talents and our commitment to hard work, our success results as much from the benevolent assistance of the Almighty and from those around us.

In helping my students apply these concepts, we discussed the recent struggles of the unfortunate Hurricane Sandy victims in the northeast. Amidst their struggles to regain their footing after this storm, my students realized that these struggling victims could use additional help from strangers able to share with them. On the weekend before Thanksgiving, these students collected non-perishable grocery items to help replenish the empty shelves of a local food bank that had earlier delivered tons of food to the needy storm victims.

While my students were several hundred miles removed from the storm's destructive aftermath, I watched them respond as if the storm's victims were their own next-door neighbors. During this process,  many of them commented that they could just as likely have been the victims of similar circumstances beyond their control. They recognized that disaster can strike across all geographic, social, and economic boundaries.

Kelly Payne
Social Studies Teacher
Lexington/Richland 5