“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…’” As Martin Luther King Jr.’s powerful voice rang through my classroom via my iPod rigged to the class cassette player, my students listened in rapt attention. They were transported from rural China to the Washington, D.C. of King’s era. As they heard the audience’s thunderous applause, they, too, clapped wildly. It was a moving moment for me.
This marked one of the first times my classes actually understood the English coming out of the cassette player. After discussing the speech and giving the historical background to them, I had all my students write their own “I Have a Dream” speech. I soon discovered all my students had dreams, like landing on the moon, going to a university, owning a computer, meeting their idol, and world peace. The students then gave their speech to the class.
– “I have a dream that I can get married with a girl, which I love deeply,” Confessed one boy to his classmates. A sentiment many of his classmates echoed, to a good-natured laughing from his classmates.
– “I have a dream that everyone is friendly. I have a dream that my friends are happy every day. I have a dream that I will have many friends. I have a dream that China will be strong!”
– “I have a dream that I can be a doctor in the future to help other people.”
– “I have a dream I can make a good grade for our country.”
– “I have a dream that my hometown can get more beautiful.”
– “I have a dream that I can give much money to charity.”
– “I have a dream that every poor child will have enough to eat.”
– “I have a dream that I can make contributions to protect the environment.”
– “I have a dream that everyone in China has a fair chance of education.”
It was great to hear all of them share their dreams with their classmates. They wanted to be writers, doctors, singers, astronauts, teachers, basketball players, scientists and more.
They dreamed that the world would have no pollution, no injustice, no wars. They dreamed to be useful, to be rich in order to help the poor, to change the world by their hard work. Most importantly, they hope that all their dreams can come true and that tomorrow will be better.
Like Martin Luther King Jr., these students from a poor rural mountainous region in Sichuan dare to dream. Because of them, I began to believe in my dream. I dream that one day, education will not be a privilege, but a right. I, too, dream that one day this nation (and world) will rise up and live out the true meaning of the creed, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”
“我梦想有一天，这个国家会奋起，实现这一信条的真谛:’我们认
这标志着第一次我的学生们真正理解了从卡式录音机的里传出来的英
-“我有一个梦想，我希望能和我深爱的姑娘结婚”，
-“我有一个梦想，每个人都是友爱的。我有一个梦想，
-“我有一个梦想，在将来我能成为一名医生，来帮助其他人。”
-“我有一个梦想，我能够为我们的国家取得优异的成绩。”
-“我有一个梦想，我的家乡能够变得更加美丽。”
-“我有一个梦想，我能为慈善事业捐更多的钱。”
-“我有一个梦想，每一个穷孩子都能吃饱。”
-“我有一个梦想，我能为保护环境贡献力量。”
-“我有一个梦想，在中国的每一个人都能有获得教育的平等机会。
很高兴能够听到他们将自己的梦想和同学们分享。他们想成为作家、
他们梦想，世界将没有污染，没有不公正，没有战争。他们梦想，
像马丁·路德·金一样，这些学生虽然来自于四川的贫穷农村山区，