I make Power Points for my fourth grade class to help them learn new vocabulary. Today they were learning the word "frown" . From my previous experiences, I figure that they would recognize Obama, and, when I this picture come up on Google search, I grabbed it for my presentation.
I thought they didn't even register who the man was until Sarah piped up just as I was getting ready to move on to the next word.
"Teacher! Is that Obama?"
"Yes, it is! You see him frowning? Why do you think he is frowning?'
"I think he is angry."
Jenny added her bit, "Sad! I think he is sad!"
We had a brief discussion about whether he was angry or sad, then Eileen pointed out what could look like a tear under his left eye.
"Okay, so why do you think he is sad?" I asked.
Sarah responded in a simple tone. "Obama is sad because Steve Jobs died."
I know that this has been a very somber time for the Jobs family and for the Apple company (not to mention millions of grateful fans and Apple users), but I stared at her for two seconds and then exploded into laughter. I was caught completely off guard, and I found the whole situation hilarious.
(Note: I do not find Steve Jobs' tragic death nor my country's president hilarious. Just wanted to get that out there.)
I have Sarah two stars for such a good sentence. That's what I told the class, anyway. Really, the extra star was for making me laugh so much.
