Historical Reflection

I was walking to my next class, economics, yet again. The same class where the teacher, Mr. Stacy, comes in unprepared and discombobulated. He asks for homework he never assigned and pausing in the middle of lectures to rant on about his personal life problems. Right when I got to the door, Mr. Stacy walks out with a disappointed face, and a Caucasian man in a wheelchair came strolling slowly behind him.
“Hi young lady, how are you?” the man asked.
“HI, I’m good. May I ask who you are?”
“Oh you haven’t heard?! I’m the new dean of the college.”
“The last one is gone? Good, this college needed a change. Some new things to happen. A new plan, because the way he was going with everything was going to bring this college to the ground.” I replied.
At this, another student came on her way to economics class, and listened in on the conversation. “Well I have some new plans that should turn this school around. New programs, new ideas, and new systems… and from walking around this place, I would say we need new buildings and better facilities.”
“I agree,” stated the girl behind me.
“I’ve already begun with the teachers. A few are leaving today, and some know their days are numbered at this school. I have some new ones coming in, more… free. They have a unique way of teaching that I think would interest their students.”
“Oooo that’s good, because the last dean was a conservative, and hired all these old school teachers.”
“ President Roosevelt once said, ‘A conservative is a man with two perfectly good legs, who, however, has never learned how to walk forward.’ So it wasn’t his fault. No one told him that newer could be just as good if not better. He stuck to the kind of teachers he was used to.”
“But what new plans were you speaking of? And new programs?” I questioned.
“My aren’t you the curios one?! Well, I wanted to start a new financial aid system. A lot of the students here are taking out student loan after student loan, and killing their credit for the next years to come. There is so much extra money this school could give out to help its students, then hopefully more would decide to attend this college. More financial aid for those that show the most interests in being involved with the college once accepted.’
“And there is no real art classes here. Yes, this is a law based school, but art can be presented somewhere in some form. The late President Roosevelt also said, ‘Art is not a treasure in the past, or an importation from another land, but part of the present life of all living and creating peoples.”
“So you’re going to make new classes?”
“No, the students are going to make new classes. What classes do you guys need, what classes do you feel are left out of education? Suggest them, and if we have the budget, and can find the teacher, we will have those classes for you. I’ve realized college is to serve the students, and should therefore be what the students want in an education.
‘Competition has been shown to be useful up to a certain point and no further, but cooperation, which is the thing we must strive for today, begins where competition leaves off.’ You kids compete to get into this school, doing your best in high school and programs to get into a college that you believe will be the best for you. But when you come here, you dread it, because after the competing is over, the fun is gone, the interest in being here is lacking. And that’s what I hope to implement. ”
“That’s how I’ve been feeling. And I really agree. That’s wonderful. So, if I wanted to run track, you’d find a way to make that happen? I’ve been running track here, and I’ve always dreamed about running track on my college team, but since there’s no track team here, I’ve resulted to class, studying, and nothing else.” The girl behind me smiled with excitement. ‘Please say yes to a track team’ her eyes pleaded.
“Yes, starting a track team would be part of my plan. If you want it, I’ll try my best to get that class or program for you.”
“I’m sorry, I haven’t even asked your name,” I said
“Ha of course, my name is Roosevelt. Franklin Delano Roosevelt.”
“Hello Mr. Roosevelt, my name is Mariyah Gillis,” at this, the girl behind me walked into the classroom.

Primary Sources:
Roosevelt's Quotes
More Primary Sources
Inaugural Address

I picked FDR because I look at him as a man of change. Much like Obama, he started serving the country during a hard time, and he worked to bring it back up. He succeeded, using tactics and plans people of that time called unorthodox and such. So if I was to ever go to a college, and thought it wasn't the best choice for me, instead of wasting my money, I would want Franklin D. Roosevelt to show up and save the day.