Teacher Watches Fifth Graders Pray During Ramadan

Um, I was in my virtual classroom,

um, with my virtual students and

they were logging off to go eat lunch.

So I was just sitting here and I heard some commotion in the hallway

and I went out to see, um, some students out there, some fifth graders.

And they were looking for somewhere to pray.

It is Ramadan.

They, um, practice... they are Muslim.

They practice the Islam faith.

Um, and they needed a place to pray

and they asked if they could come and pray in my room.

And I've never experienced

these students praying before.

I've never seen it.

I know they do, and it's usually in another, um, place in the school,

but that teacher wasn't here today, the counselor.

And so they asked if they could come in here.

They knew I didn't have students.

And they said I could stay.

And so I sat at my table

and I watched these four precious babies.

Without any adult there forcing them to do it,

which happens a lot in religion.

With any... no one here guiding them

or leading them or telling them what to do,

there was a beautiful symphony

of these four knowing exactly what to do.

Things with their hands, things with their bodies,

standing, sitting, um, almost bowing and kneeling and

in perfect synchronicity.

And very seriously.

And it was so incredible to watch.

I sat at my desk and I just started weeping.

They got done

and I was sitting there wiping my tears and

they looked at me and they said, "What?"

And I just said, "I'm proud of you.

I'm so proud of you."

And they came over and we hugged and we had a moment, but...

Man, to have that faith as a fifth grader

where you take it on yourself

to pray when you're supposed to

and do what you were supposed to do,

it was beautiful to watch and

I'm so proud of my babies.