While most teachers aim to inspire the next generation, one Fairfax County, Virginia, elementary school teacher says he was taught to plan seven generations ahead.
November is Native American Heritage Month. At Wakefield Forest Elementary School in Fairfax, advanced academics resource teacher Tony Gray has added a lifetime of experience to his lesson plan.
“I’m a Mohawk, so it’s kind of near and dear to me,” Gray said. “I grew up on a reservation and really learned to appreciate nature and have a lot of respect for everything around me, as well as my elders.”
As a member of the Haudenosaunee’s Bear Clan, Gray grew up on a reservation in upstate New York, where his family still lives.
Fifth grade students listened earnestly, as Gray showed photos of products invented by Native Americans, including rubber, baby bottles and chewing gum.
When Gray asked students where maple syrup came from, he explained his family has tapped trees in years past. He displayed photos of his father, a chief on their reservation, and explained the intricacies of his headdress.
Monday’s lesson included an introduction to Mary Golda Ross, a Native American aerospace engineer, who was the first female engineer hired by Lockheed Corporation. Then the fifth graders built and flew paper rockets in class.
In his 23rd year teaching in Fairfax County Public Schools, Gray said he’s told students about a lesson he learned — to think seven generations ahead.
“To not think selfishly about yourself,” he said. “It’s a big macro picture. For whatever decision you make, how is going to affect not only me, but the next generation, and then the next generation.”
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