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Last updated 11:43 am CT September 02, 2010.
Students Get Living History Lesson
Now Mrs. Beaupre's class has no problem saying "Barack Obama" with enthusiasm. On Inauguration Day their excitement was echoed in classrooms throughout the building.
"I think [students] are really excited about [the inauguration]," said eight grader Kiley Crews.
No detail escaped a group of third graders. From who held the bible as Mr. Obama took the oath--his wife--to just how old that Bible is.
"The Bible that the president puts his hand on when he's [sworn] in is two hundred years old," said one girl. Obama was sworn in on the same Bible Abraham Lincoln used in 1861.
In the junior high, some students stood when Mr. Obama took the oath. Despite the fact that even the oldest kids at school are too young to vote, students of all ages recognized that the day is one for the books.
"Most of the people here thought that there wouldn't be an African American president and he was just elected," one third grader noted.
"Dr. King made his speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and it made so much difference. This is just historic. We have an African American president now and its just great," said eighth grader Erin Anderson.
Students say the moment and the new president's message will stick with them.
"He said that everybody should be equal and its fair for everyone to do what they want to do," one young girl noted.
"I think it follows with the American spirit that you set out to do something and you can do it whatever you put your mind to," said eighth grader Jared Heern.
By Dana Jay
djay@wsiltv.com
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