On Monday, January 19, schools closed nationwide to honor the birth of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., a champion of the American Civil Rights Movement. Interestingly enough, the national holiday celebrating the progression toward racial equality was directly followed by the inauguration of the nation’s first African-American president, Barack Obama. An unprecedented amount of students therefore were given two consecutive days off from school to honor these two occasions: one day to pay homage to history past, and another to rejoice in history-in-the-making.
Presidential inauguration days once only translated to school closures primarily in the Washington D.C. area, since the hordes of visitors tend to debilitate school bus operations. However, according to the New York Times, numerous school districts in northern Virginia, Maryland, and New Jersey also closed their doors on Tuesday. Whereas previous inauguration ceremonies might not have ignited such an abundance of enthusiasm on the part of students and parents alike, there is a uniquely heightened significance of this particular presidential inauguration.
Students have the tendency to appreciate courses that hold relevancy to their own lives. On many college campuses, courses on Hip Hop Music or Sex and the City's affect on gender relations are often immediately filled on the first day of registration. For many students, courses such as economics o
