‘Benjamin Franklin’ Visits SIS

“This goes with what classes are studying,” Principal Jody Bentz noted, and during the 30 minutes Anderson spent talking to the students, they proved that.

Anderson commissioned Art to Move a Nation, a series of 15 paintings, and as he spoke of the painting of George Washington and the American flag, he asked students how the Constitution began.

The fourth grade students all stood and recited the preamble.

“The most important people in America are seekers of an education,” he said. “That means you.”

“In order to be an American, you need to know your history,” said Anderson, advising the students that if people want to take away your being an American, if you don’t know who you are, it’s possible that could happen.

You need to know two things, he said, who you are and what your special gift is.

“If you know who you are, you’ll be the master of your own ship,” said Anderson. “You know who you are. Every one of you have a special gift,” though some people with special gifts are thought to be a little different.

“Ben Franklin is one of those guys who saw things a little differently,” he said, noting that Franklin thought lightning was electricity, then asking students where we would be without his discovery.

“Do you look at the country and think sometimes it is going the wrong way?” he asked students. “Can I make a difference? We can all make a difference.”

He talked about people who think they know a lot because they get their information by watching the 5 o’clock news, or on the Internet, from teachers or from parents. “It’s important to get it from all sources,” he said.

“We need to look to the future, because we can build what we need to build if we look to the future,” he said.

“If Benjamin Franklin was here today, he would be proud of you and tell you to go out and make a difference,” said Anderson.