At Zavala Elementary, fifth graders in Xochitl Lara’s class shared these thoughts about their favorite U.S. president. The students are all members of the Zavala Owls Media Club and they produce a newspaper each month.
The students each had a picture of their favorite president on a paper plate. They also had a sheet of paper with facts they’d written about their president.
Jennah Gonzalez, 11: My favorite president is Barack Obama because he’s the first African American to be president of the United States. Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009. He was born Aug. 4, 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii.” She had a paper plate with a picture of Obama.
Leilani Iniguez, 10: Her favorite president is John F. Kennedy: “He was the youngest president to be elected at age 42.” She admired him for helping African Americans. In 1963, Kennedy sent a bill to Congress making sure African Americans had civil rights.” Reporter’s note: Kennedy’s comprehensive civil rights bill was making its way through Congress when Kennedy was killed in November of 1963. President Lyndon Johnson pushed the bill through Congress and it was passed as the Civil Rights Act. Many saw it as a way of honoring Kennedy, whose administration created the bill.
Emily Estrada, 11: Her favorite president is John F. Kennedy: “I really like him because he was the youngest president and he inspired me to do anything at any age. “ She had one of Kennedy’s famous quotes on a piece of paper. “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”
Gregorio Mares, 11: “My favorite president is Ulysses Grant because he was the 18th president. He was commanding general. He worked closely with Abraham Lincoln to win the civil war.”
Ethan Garza, 11: His favorite president is Thomas Jefferson. “He helped write the Declaration of Independence. He was the third president.”
Oscar Lugo, 11: His favorite president is Chester A. Arthur: “He was the quartermaster general of the New York militia in the American Civil War.
Charlize Morales, 11: Her favorite president is George Washington: “He was the first president of the U.S. He was the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army in the American Revolution.”
Kassandra Salazar, 10: Her favorite president is Abraham Lincoln: “He was against slavery and he wanted everybody to be equal. My favorite quote is ‘In the end, it’s not the years in your life that counts, it’s the life in your years.’”
Hannah Garcia, 10: Her favorite president is Teddy Roosevelt. “Because when he went hunting one day, when his friends caught a bear for him to shoot, he took a look at it and said, ‘No’ because he said it was an old bear. Bears are my favorite animal.”
