A Philadelphia elementary school teacher is going the extra mile to make sure her young pupils feel uplifted, empowered and reassured as the country begins to move forward in the aftermath of the 2016 election.
In a video posted to her personal Facebook page, 27-year-old Jasmyn Wright is heard delivering a lesson appropriately dubbed, “Push Through,” in which she poses several scenarios to the class full of young Black third graders and asks them how they would cope.
In response, the children reply, “I’m gonna push through,” — a sentiment Wright says is actually a lesson in not giving up in the face of hardships.
“What if it’s too tough?” she asks the class. “I’m gonna push through!” they said collectively. “What if you’re too young?” Wright continued. “That ain’t true!” the students replied. “What if you’re too black?” she said “That ain’t true!” they responded. Watch the heartwarming moment in the video clip below.
“With the election that went on, they were more troubled and they were upset, ”Wright told The Root. “[So I thought,] yes, this is true, this has happened, but that doesn’t stop us from pushing through. We still have a calling, we still have a purpose, we still are made to leave an imprint in the world, and we cannot give up because of whatever happened.”
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Noting that many of the students were heavily effected by the outcome of the election despite their young age, the Spelman College graduate emphasizes the fact that her students’ young ages don’t exempt them from feeling or absorbing the things around them as much as adults do.
“They live in the same world that we do, they watch the same shows that we do, they listen to the same music, they hear the same news, and they are sponges and they soak things in,” she continued. “They’re also intelligent, so they can gain their own knowledge on issues.”
Ultimately, Wright says her goal is to instill a sense of self-pride in her students that allows them to be their own source of encouragement no matter what is going on around them.
“I want them to be their own source of encouragement when it seems there is no one else around who believes in them,” she said, adding that she works mostly through positive affirmations.”
Jasmyn Wright’s inspiring video now has over 3 million views on Facebook.