Several interested students stopped by to ask about us. We had a long discussion with a young man who wants to be either an architect or an actor. Another young woman aspires to be an electrical engineer. It's going to take some effort on her part. She doesn't have a lot of money but she plans to work and attend Harper and then eventually transfer to a four-year university to finish. If so, she will be the first in her family to attend college. Her parents didn't even complete high school. Her mother dropped out and her father got his GED after dropping out.

We got several to respond to the question we have been asking - "What has the U.S. war in Afghanistan (October 7, 2001 to December 28, 2014) accomplished?" Several more took the slip of paper and said they would email us a response.

Inspired by a short article I read in the newspaper I put together a half-page handout on the number of children that were killed in armed conflict around the world; just in 2014. They estimate around 2,500 children. This kind of data captures the attention of most of the students. Something about killing children just seems wrong. (Which it is).

Libby & Nancy

Although we had decided at the beginning of the school year not to return to Prospect this year, we changed our mind after analyzing the opt-out statistics and realizing that they had pretty much remained stagnant. Also with the re-entry to Afghanistan (as though we ever left!) and the chaos in Iraq, it seemed appropriate.

But there wasn't a lot of traffic at the table. I talked to several students and several more grabbed suckers as they rushed to class. We were asking students to respond to the following question: "What has the U.S. war in Afghanistan (October 7, 2001 to December 28, 2014) accomplished?" One young woman summed it up succintly - "I have absolutely no idea".

I enjoyed a long discussion with one of the security guards; an African-American man that has been there for many years. He is a certified teacher and has been trying to get a teaching position in the District for years. At the same time they talk about increasing the diversity of their teaching staff they won't hire him to teach social studies. Strange? Do you think race has anything to do with it?

I was struck by the United Nations character at the school. The display case next to my table showing students of the month featured Hispanic surnames, African, Italian, Eastern European. Students were speaking Spanish and Polish in the hallways.

I had made stickers with my favorite Martin Luther King Jr anti-war quote "A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom." I was able to pass out quite a few stickers. I was not, however, able to get anyone to fill out one of the questionnaires asking the question "What has the U.S. war in Afghanistan (October 7, 2001 to December 28, 2014) accomplished?" But it's the day before finals. The students seemed distracted and a bit squirrely. I also noticed that since the school has started giving all the students tablets, they spend a lot of time fiddling with their electronic devices. So it appears we aren't getting the students that wandered over to our table out of boredom.

All the District 214 schools have a police officer roaming the halls. I found out today that the guns they carry are real guns; not tasers. I just assumed they were tasers since they're in a school. That's disturbing.

Libby

Your intrepid reporter on the ground at Rolling Meadows High School is handing out candy and asking students “What has the U.S. war in Afghanistan accomplished? (October 7, 2001 – December 28, 2014)”  The first student to stop by answered, "Not much."  A security guy claimed that at first the U.S. gave the Afghans freedom from the Taliban and should have left then. The students are smarter and admit they have no clue.  Nobody knew why the U.S. had invaded Afghanistan in the first place.

A student who has already enlisted in the Marines came by. He is going to go kill people and feel good about himself, he said. Bragged that he is "a one-sided thinker." I think the young man sadly lacks a moral compass. He is probably perfect for the Marines.  Will take orders without asking questions.

Towards the end of the day a couple of young men came over and got candy and peace patches. One of them came back with a young girl and she got candy and patches too. Then another girl came and got patches. So, several students are now roaming the halls of RMHS with peace patches on their shirts.  Maybe they'll prompt some good discussions.  Peace out!

Lynne