Honoring the Memory of Nelson Mandela

There are moments in our world when events transpire that have meaning beyond words across the entire globe. Yesterday the world experienced such a moment. Nelson Mandela passed from this world yesterday and with his passing the world lost one of the greatest and most influential men of our time. Men die everyday, of course. Some are mourned by hundreds or even thousands of people while others die in lonely obscurity. But few pass with an impact felt by so large a community throughout the world as has Nelson Mandela.

Why is it that this single, solitary individual is loved by so many?

Simply because his entire life was spent in devotion and dedication to the simple truth that we all deserve to be free. His life, words and deeds, changed the course of history by bringing to an end the oppressive white minority rule in South Africa. In the process, he spent 27 years in prison. But the experience served not to embitter the man but rather to deepen his love, compassion and wisdom.

Such are the men whose names we cherish and honor. Those who have changed the world for the better, not through violence and warfare, but through compassion, humanity and love of mankind, aiding in bending the flow of history toward a better world for all. Nelson Mandela joins the ranks of others of his kind. Men such as Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.

We join the world in mourning the passing of such a powerfully important and iconic figure, but, at the same time, we choose to honor him by celebrating his life, joyously, and with full knowledge that we are the better for having lived in the same brief moment in history as did he.

We choose to celebrate the memory of these great men by remembering them. In ancient times, the lives of great men were remembered in song and stories told to great affect around the fires at night. In much the same manner, but with a modern twist, we retell these stories and honor these great lives through reenactment for children so that they too may know and understand the impact that one life may have on many. By extension, we hope they may realize the very same greatness that exists potentially in us all.

As we move toward the time of year when many of us will celebrate the birth of one whose impact makes all others pale in comparison, we look ahead toward the cold dark months of January and February when students cannot easily receive the benefits of outdoor play and many a day is spent entirely indoors. These dark months are the perfect time for gathering around the proverbial fire and retelling the stories we pass down from one generation to another. and Ben Franklin whose birthdays we celebrate in January, or Abraham Lincoln in February. Frederick Douglass, the ex slave who rose to become the leader of a newly freed people. All of these great men have important stories and they are tales that need to be told and retold so that the great legacy of their lives is never forgotten.

If you feel the same way, please contact us and let's see if we cannot bring one of these experiences to the students of your school in the months to come. In some small way, we believe by honoring the memory of one, we will honor the memory of all.

Geoff Beauchamp is the Regional Manager of Mobile Ed Productions where "Education Through Entertainment" has been the guiding principal since 1979. Mobile Ed Productions produces and markets quality educational school assembly programs in the fieldsof science, history, writing, astronomy, natural science, mathematics, character issues and a variety of other curriculum based areas. In addition, Mr. Beauchamp is a professional actor with 30 years of experience in film, television and on stage. He created and still performs occasionally in Mobile Ed's THE LIVING LINCOLN. He also spent ten years coordinating assembly programs for the elementary school where his own children went to school.