It Couldn't Have Been Any Better

It couldn’t have been any better.

Arun Gandhi smiled gently at the middle schoolers greeting him in the bright sunshine beneath the azure sky.

Five time Nobel Prize nominee Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson was at our school.

It couldn’t have been any better.

As he moved from room to room smiling students nervously showed what they had written, created, drawn, and painted in anticipation of his visit. His quiet demeanor set nervous students at ease as he waited for his lunch, ate with students, walked our halls.



About fifty people circled the A______ Peace Garden as Mr. Gandhi came out to dedicate the new Peace Pole, declaring peace in our corner of the world in four languages. Students took turns getting their pictures with him, arranging camera angles so the piece of the World Trade Center, which already honors this place dedicated to human harmony, would frame their moment with our guest.

It couldn’t have been any better.

A respectful student body stood and applauded as Arun Gandhi entered. A respectful student body listened closely as the quiet man with the foreign accent spoke tales from a childhood helping his revered grandfather teach the world, teach him, the path to peace.

Those who know middle schoolers would be as amazed as the teachers in this audience to watch these children, marinated a dozen years in video games and fast paced movies, sit quietly, respectfully, honored and appreciative of our visitor.

It couldn’t have been any better.

Students spoke, students led, students shared.

A student operating a computer and projector threw a video he and his classmates had made onto the large screen in the darkened gym. Amid images of famous men and women, and everyday people who do their best in improving the world they posed the question: What makes a hero?”

One student stood before that crowd of hundreds. She spoke spontaneously that with the wealth and resources we are comfortable in using comes the responsibility to help others. Another student shared how Mr. Gandhi was building a school in India. This school, dedicated to the memory of his wife of fifty years, would benefit impoverished children in India. She told Mr Gandhi and her classmates how our school wants to help. She spoke how A______ students are starting a fundraising program to help build that school. She told us that it is the hope of A______ students to create a sister school relationship with that school.

That is a proud moment for me. The children of this school seek to include children in a school on the other side of the world in our family.

Hanging on a wall in the gym was a huge photo montage.



It was made by 24 separate classes, each working on a two foot square sheet of black paper. Each square had silvery lines separating what should be lightly colored, or medium, or dark. Each square filled by independent students in independent classes with words of encouragement, images of hope, pictures of heroes. And when those squares, filled with pictures of firefighters, and police officers, and mothers and fathers and even teachers, were put together, a portrait of Mahatma Gandhi smiled down from the gym wall. His grandson gazed back.

Arun Gandhi turned to a teacher.

“This is the first time I’ve seen such a picture of my grandfather. I’m moved by this unique work of art.”

He kindly placed his autograph on the portrait. It now graces our library.




It couldn’t have been any better.

A fellow teacher asked: “Of the hundreds of schools you must have visited, how does A______ compare?”

Mr Gandhi responded: “This is perhaps the most progressive school I have ever visited.”

In thinking about this day there isn’t a single stand out item. The day was filled with powerful moments. Stories of a man I have respected all of my life. Watching individual students behave with grace and manners and respect. Sharing a meal with a person who is dedicating his life to carry on such a great work. Enjoying the beautiful Oregon spring day in a garden dedicated to peace. Seeing my colleagues shine as they work with their charges in a simply glorious situation.

The testament of this day isn’t about the preparations children or staff made for this visit. The day was a testament to the years our school has placed in making connections between children and the larger world. Our Student Peace Advocates classes (SPA), our Peace Garden, Student leadership, character building programs, the everyday care and love A______ Middle School has fostered a culture, a school family, that makes being an educator everything I dreamt it might be.