Sharpening the Knife

As we are wrapping up Africa, my students have been completing a review packet to get them ready for their test on either Thursday or Friday. Part of their packet contains an Op-Ed from the NY Times.

Thursday will be the 20th anniversary of the release of Nelson Mandela after 27 years in prison. Never ceasing to amaze me, the NYT found several people who were imprisoned for political reasons during the same period of time as Mandela, and asked them to write a short Op-Ed on their reaction to his release, as well as any other thoughts towards Mandela. My students have read about and watched videos on apartheid and South Africa and have a good understanding of the events that happened in the not so distant past, and I thought it would be good for them to read the opinions of others during that time.

After reading, we talked about their reactions and the important lessons that can be learned from Nelson Mandela. Typical answers include to never give up and to stand up for what you believe in: typical KIPP answers.

When I read to them the response from a man who was imprisoned in China in the 90s, I heard some really great responses. In this piece, Wei Jingsheng references a Chinese saying that notes that "a knife must be ground to be sharpened." I asked my kids what this meant, and what it was referring to. It took them a minute, but they finally made the connection between the saying and Mandela's 27 years spent in prison where he studied and read and made himself better.

We then talked about how hard KIPP is sometimes and why we do the things we do. We talked about going through hard times and how that makes you a better person, a wise person. We discussed laziness and dull knives and how dangerous they are. We dug into the importance of knives and survival and helping others; about how knives aren't a bad thing, but a good thing.

I just love when I can help students make connections like this: from an abstract idea like persistence and adversity to making a better life for themselves.