My students have spent the past few weeks studying Egypt long ago and Egypt today. When we talk about Ancient Egypt my students are thrilled by the thoughts of mummies, and pyramids, and the stories that go with the topics. It was very interesting learning about the mummification process, the rulers of Egypt long ago and how progressive they were as a civilization. Many of my students were shocked to find out that women of Ancient Egypt were business owners and could buy and sell property! What happened from the fall of Egypt in 669 B.C. to 2012 is a mystery to me. Many citizens in Egypt have found themselves fighting for a better life, and a better country since January, 2011. My students viewed some great stories from 60 minutes about the Revolution from January, 2011, and more recent footage from the Fall of 2011. Here we are almost two years later and Egypt is not quite where they want to be. What an awesome thing for my students to view and realize that Changing a government and promoting Democracy takes TIME. I fear that people want things fast, quick, easy and life is anything but, quick and easy. Yes, Egypt began a revolution with Facebook and Twitter and it lasted 18 days. But their dream of having a democracy is just unfolding and that could take years to resolve.
The Revolution in Egypt began by some ordinary people who chose to be activists and seek change. Imagine what our students will be accomplishing in the next 30 years?
We had some fantastic conversations about how that connects to our world, as well as what our founding fathers felt like when our nation was struggling to be a Democracy. How did they feel writing the first Constitution? James Madison, and Benjamin Franklin didn't tweet their proposals or location of
town hall meetings, but I bet they experienced some of the same thoughts
and feelings as the revolutionaries in Egypt. I bet there was fear, struggle, and they were not where they wanted to be in two years. In fact, I bet some of our leaders and politicians today would say we are not where we want to be, TODAY!! Democracy isn't perfect, and it does take time! How lucky we are that our founding fathers signed that Constitution 225 years ago!
As my students complete their Egypt studies and projects I hope they begin to see and connect that all countries struggle to find a government system that works and serves the people. There are good leaders and not so good leaders. Some people understand
how to use their power in a positive way and others use it for things
almost unspeakable. I hope they see that even our own country can struggle, but thankfully, WE HAVE DEMOCRACY and WE CAN VOTE.
Below follow some Egypt Projects we have completed:
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