Kids Could Tell Clinton a Thing or Two

Seeing as how it’s not every day that one of their own gets to go to Washington, and miss four whole days of school, and stand within spitting distance of the President in his very own mansion, and then gets to take home a presidential box of M&M;’s as a party favor, well . . . Daniel Nally was the star of his sixth-grade class the other day.

Not that Daniel, who is 10 years old, is much of a stage hog.

Fact is, after his teacher suggested that he stand in front of the class at Dr. Albert Schweitzer Elementary School in Anaheim to read his essay on the guy he and his dad went to Washington to see, Daniel obliged, but he looked down the whole time.

“William Jefferson Clinton is now the President of the United States,” Daniel read. “He likes to play the saxophone and he likes to eat at McDonald’s.

“He is an organized person, but he is not very punctual. For example, the parade down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House, his new home, was late getting started.”

And Daniel’s voice was maybe only a few decibels above a whisper.

But that was OK, see, because Daniel’s eyewitness account from our nation’s capital was something that his classmates were dying to hear, and in anticipation they closed their mouths, stilled their hands and feet, and stared at the boy with the brown hair and freckles and orange T-shirt.

Why, just to give you an idea about how much this personal civics lesson meant to them, a hands-up survey as to where they would prefer to go, Walt Disney World or the inauguration of the 42nd President of the United States, revealed that Disney World won by only four votes.

(Not counting the teacher herself, Miss Frances Coad, who was enthusiastically raising her hand for the inauguration and pleading to be included in the final count. For purposes of journalistic accuracy, however, this could not be allowed.)

And while the inauguration was going on last week, the class watched it together on TV instead of the usual sixth-grade stuff. History in the making and all that.

“They were excited for Daniel to be there,” Miss Coad said. “We were all there with him.”

But there was something else that Daniel’s adventure brought home to his classmates on this, his first day back at school. Daniel referred to it himself in his essay when he said that the President “knows the problems we have in this country.”

The 31 sixth-graders in Miss Coad’s class, 10, 11 and 12 years old, representing more racial and ethic backgrounds than most people can think of, could tell the President about problems: gangs, drugs and the casual violence that looms over their lives, scaring them half to death.

Annie Kinsman said that if Bill Clinton were to walk through the door right now she’d ask him to “stop all the graffiti and all the drive-by shootings and all the gangs in this area.”

Austin Cockrill put it this way: “I think they should stop selling missile weaponry in the state of California so that they could stop all the drive-by shootings that are killing innocent bystanders.”

Austin’s classmates applauded at that, and Miss Coad said that she was impressed by his big words.

Then Ralph Martinez said that one of his brother’s friends, a guy who’d become sort of famous by scrawling his name everywhere, was walking home from high school when drive-by shooters gunned him down, killing him.

Steven Bustamante said his brother was talking on the phone the other day when drive-by shooters strafed his house, shattering the window in front of him.

“One of these days, it could just happen, to anybody, to us!” said Janine Morse. “There could be a drive-by and they shoot you. Twelve-year-olds are in gangs!”

“We’re going to junior high next year, and we’re going to be faced with different things,” Michelle Katekintha went on. “You might be hurt. It is just really scary. It could happen anytime, anyplace.”

Well. This seemed to get everybody thinking, and from the looks on their faces, the thoughts weren’t too comforting. But they were hardly new.

Asked to give just one piece of advice to the new fellow in the White House, nearly every little hand in the place shot up. The children of Miss Coad’s class want an end to gangs, to homelessness, to the illegal drug trade and to graffiti, for starters.

And they said they realized that not Bill Clinton, or anybody else standing alone, was going to do that for them.

As Miss Coad pointed out, Daniel referred to this in his report from Washington in which he quoted Clinton as challenging young Americans to a “season of service.” What did that mean, to them, right here in Anaheim? Miss Coad asked.

“We should be a good influence,” Daniel said. “The kids who are going to be in sixth grade next year are looking at us.”

“All of us should start caring for each other,” said Jennifer Paden. “We all need to work together!”

And, well, at that , the children in Miss Coad’s class started clapping big-time. Everybody definitely seemed to be on the same wave length. It was frankly inspirational.

Bill Clinton should take note. Daniel Nally brought the message home.