President-elect Barack Obama

For the rest of January, I’ll be writing a special Inauguration blog for middle and high school students. This is the first entry.

On Thursday January 15th I’m heading to Washington, D.C. for the Inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States of America. I know DC is way chillier than what I’m used to, but I’m too excited to worry about cold hands and feet. This will be an amazing adventure that will take me back into America’s historic past and forward into our nation’s future.

Want to come along? No, I don’t have an extra plane ticket (sorry about that) but I do have a virtual seat for you in the front row. Through this blog you can be right beside me from the moment I arrive at Baltimore-Washington International Airport on Jan. 15th until my return to the San Francisco Bay Area. I’ll only be gone for 7 days, but I’ve got tons of stuff planned for my time in Washington. Come along and be part of the experience at:

• The Library of Congress the largest library in the world with over 20 million books. And that’s not counting all the discs, tapes, movies, maps, photographs, posters and drawings! Teachers: check this out.

• The Supreme Court, the highest court in the land and the final word on the interpretation of the U.S. Constitution. The court was established in 1789 (the year George Washington was inaugurated).

• The U.S. Capitol home of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Check this out.

• President-elect Obama’s Inauguration Welcome Event on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

• Shaw Jr. High School where I’ll be lending a helping hand sorting 10,000 books during the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service.

• The National Mall where millions of people will witness Barack Obama’s Presidential Swearing-in Ceremony.

• The traditional Inaugural Parade where I hope to find a good viewing spot along the 2 mile route from the Capitol to the White House

And that’s just a fraction of what I’ll be blogging about through text, video clips, as well as audio and pix.

Want to be a part of America’s history and our next chapter? You can start right now by thinking about these questions…

• Why should you or any middle school student care about what happens in Washington?
• What does the election of the first African-American president say about us, as Americans?
• If you were going to be inaugurated President of the United States on January 20th, what would be the first thing you’d do to make our country better?
• What could you do to make your school a better place?

What do you think… about any of it? Got something else you want to say about President-elect Obama, the election, the Inauguration, America, democracy, freedom, etc.? Post your comments here. Got a whole lot to say? Be a guest blogger! I’ll publish a few of the best student blogs I receive. Just . Your ideas and opinions matter! Go ahead. Feel free.