BIOGRAPHY BALL

Last week, we attended the Biography Ball at Nicholas' school. What is the Biography Ball, you ask? Every two years, members of the Junior Class (second and third graders) get to chose a historical figure to be for the day.  The students read books on their person of choice, write a brief report about the person without revealing his/her identity, and dress up as their person on the day of the Biography Ball. On that day, the parents come in to class and try to guess the identity of the other 19 or so characters. Nicholas chose Benjamin Banneker for his character.

I had never heard of Mr. Banneker until the Biography Ball, but I will share a few facts about him courtesy of Nicholas. Mr. Banneker was a free black man born in the 18th Century near Baltimore.  He was a tinkerer and is called by many the "first African-American scientist."

Reportedly, Mr. Banneker once took apart a watch. After studying the inner workings, he is said to have designed his own watch. He also wrote an almanac on an annual basis that contained a variety of unique and important facts and observations.

Finally, Mr. Banneker was also known for his principled opposition to slavery. He once wrote a letter to then Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson. In that letter, Banneker asked Jefferson how he rectified writing "all men are created equal" in the Declaration of Independence with the fact that many people in America, Jefferson included, owned slaves. Jefferson did not have a good answer in his reply to Banneker. Nicholas astutely wrote in his report of Jefferson's hypocrisy - "when you say one thing but then do the opposite."

At the Ball, I managed to guess the identity of the figures for all but one child - the composer Edvard Grieg. Like "Edvard," Nicholas stumped everyone.

Until that day none of the parents had heard of Benjamin Banneker. However, I have a feeling that all of us will remember this man after Nicholas brought him to life in writing and in pottery in the Design Study Class.

Here's to Nicholas and here's to Benjamin Banneker!