Jadorie, 10, reflects on 2020: ‘I miss everything, except math’

For school kids everywhere, this is a year they will likely never forget. Neither will their parents.

But amid all the upheaval for families, it can be tough to know how kids are thinking about this extraordinary time.

As a family support worker at Leschi Elementary in Seattle, Gerald Donaldson, has a special seat at the kids’ table, where kids tend to open up about what’s weighing on their minds.

This year, he picked up on some tough conversations about the coronavirus, the presidential election, and the protests. And he saw the collective mood shift at times, as kids took on the worries of their parents — or the joy.

As we close out 2020, we asked Donaldson to interview a few students, for a glimpse of how some big moments this year landed for them personally. Their take on the news is not always right, but it's how they see it.

This interview is with fifth-grader Jadorie Green-Fisher, age 10. It has been shortened and edited for clarity.

How do you feel about the outcome of the past election?

I feel good, because we will have a new president.

My mom was very, very happy. I was in the TV room watching TV and I heard my mom say, ‘Yay, Joe Biden won.’ And I was like, ‘wait, what?'

I like seeing my mommy happy.

Well, I didn’t like [President Trump] because he was the one who accepted the virus. And if he didn’t, then 2020 would have been funner and nicer.

I miss everything about school, except math — I don't like math.

How do you feel about all the racial unrest during the past summer? Do you know what I'm talking about?

I don't feel happy because a lot of people are getting killed, and some of them are our skin color. I'm not happy about it because all people should be joined in the world and should get treated equally. And it's not fair if everybody's not treated equally.

At that time, when all that was going on, were you afraid of outside at all?

Yes, I was. It made me feel scared and very uncomfortable and sad because I thought maybe one day that would all go away. But for a few days it didn’t and I just got really sadder and sadder by the day. And I did not enjoy it.

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, what does that mean to you as a young African-American girl?

It feels good. And it also makes me know that nobody is the same and everybody in the whole world is different. And I know that I am perfect in my own way.

Preach. Do you think you could be vice president of anything one day or president?

Yeah, because if I wanted to do it, then I could. And I would find a way to change the world.

My goodness, you guys always get me. That was powerful. Thank you, sister. I appreciate you.

You can find resources for family conversations about race, police violence and Black Lives Matter at Families of Color Seattle (FOCS).