2/12/2027

Morning Announcements

Morning Meeting Agenda

Mon · Social Studies Tue · Literacy Wed · Science Thu · Math Fri · ROAR + Houses
ROAR Friday

A promise under pressure

Today’s ROAR value is ACCOUNTABLE, and our house is Rêveur, the House of Dreamers. Today’s Black History Month feature made a promise, and kept it, while people screamed insults at him every single day.

Today’s ROAR letter is A — Accountable! Our house is Rêveur, the House of Dreamers.

The Rêveur house crest

Rêveur — the House of Dreamers!

Portrait of Jackie Robinson Photo via Wikimedia Commons

Meet Jackie Robinson! He was the first Black player to play Major League Baseball. He promised to stay calm no matter what mean things people said — and he kept that promise, every single game.

Let’s talk
  • Have you ever made a promise that was hard to keep? What happened?
  • Why do you think Jackie stayed calm even when people were unkind?
  • Accountable means doing what you said you would do. What’s a promise you’ve kept?
Reveal a factHide the fact
Jackie wore the number 42. It was such a big deal that every team in baseball retired that number — nobody else is allowed to wear it, ever again!
Try it

Swing like Jackie! Everybody pretend to swing a bat and run the bases. Now freeze — calm and steady, just like Jackie stayed calm no matter what!

[STAFF TRIVIA: add a question about a staff member — e.g., “Which teacher is in the Rêveur house?”]

Today’s ROAR value is Accountable, and our house is Rêveur, the blue House of Dreamers.

The Rêveur house crest

Rêveur, the House of Dreamers.

Mystery athlete: In 1945, Dodgers executive Branch Rickey interviewed him for three hours, acting out racist insults and physical provocations to test his reaction. Rickey needed to know one thing before signing him: could he take it without fighting back?

Who is he?Hide
Portrait of Jackie Robinson Photo via Wikimedia Commons
Jackie Robinson — on April 15, 1947, at age 28, he broke Major League Baseball’s color line with the Brooklyn Dodgers. He won Rookie of the Year that season, was named MVP in 1949, and made six straight All-Star teams. His number, 42, is retired across all of baseball.

Robinson made a specific agreement with Rickey: absorb every insult and provocation without retaliating — for at least the first few years. He kept that agreement while excelling on the field at the same time.

A double standard held on purpose: ordinary players versus Jackie Robinson
Let’s talk
  • Rickey specifically tested whether Robinson could take abuse without reacting. Why would that self-control matter as much as his baseball talent?
  • Robinson agreed to hold himself to a much harder standard than any other player faced. Is that fair? Defend your answer either way.
  • He batted .297 and stole 29 bases that rookie season, all while under this pressure. What does that tell you about the cost of staying that controlled?
Reveal the answersHide the answers
If Robinson had fought back even once, opponents of integration would have used it as “proof” that Black players didn’t belong — his self-control protected the entire effort, not just himself. Whether it was “fair” is a real question: it wasn’t, and Robinson knew it wasn’t, but he judged the unfairness worth enduring to open the door for others. And performing at an elite level while carrying that constant restraint shows the hidden cost of the arrangement — his talent was real, but so was the extra weight nobody else on the field was carrying.
Try it

Weigh the tradeoff! With a partner, debate: was Rickey right to ask Robinson to hold himself to that higher standard, or should Robinson have had the same freedom as everyone else to react? Argue both sides before deciding.

[STAFF TRIVIA: add a question about a staff member — e.g., “Which staff member kept a tough promise this year?”]

Additional Notes/Activities

If additional activities are needed for the Morning Meeting, they will be added here.