The Hardest Homework

Aaron was given a homework assignment last Friday:

He had to make a poster about Martin Luther King Jr. (or "Marshin Looper", as Ryan calls him) and what he stood for, because this Friday (today) the whole school was going to be doing a peace march, while singing, "We Shall Overcome".

This would probably never be a Kindergarten assignment, if it wasn't a whole school assignment, and here's why:

Me: Aaron, have you guys been learning about Martin Luther King at school?
Aaron: Yes.
Me: And what did you learn?
Aaron: That some bad guys killed him because they didn't like his rules.
Me: .....ok..... What else?
Aaron: That's all.
Me: Well, we have to make a poster about MLK and what he stands for. What would you like to draw on it?
Aaron: A soldier.
Me: ...Why?
Aaron: Because Martin Luther King wanted freedom, and that's what soldiers are fighting for. [WHAT?? How is OUR child turning into a Republican? Apparently I have more to talk to with this child than just MLK. ;)  ]
Me: .....yes.....well..... ummm.... You see, MLK wasn't really about fighting. He was more about peace and love and freedom.
Aaron: Well, I could draw the Pilgrims! They wanted freedom, and they didn't fight, either.
Me: Yes, but they wanted religious freedom.
Aaron: What kind of freedom did MLK want?
Me: They didn't teach you at school?
Aaron: They just told us he was killed. [Ahhh.... the mind of a 6-year-old.]
Me: Well... ummm... uh... a long time ago, people were mean to African Americans because their skin was a different color from ours. Know what I mean?
Aaron: Yes.
Me: Does that make them different from us on the inside, or are we all the same?
Aaron: Same.
Me: Yes. And that just makes them who they are. Like how you're tall. That's just how you were born, and you're still the same as everyone else on the inside. Right?
Aaron: Right.
Me: Well, some people thought it was bad to be different, and they made mean rules for people who were different. It would be like if Carlos in your class could never be line leader because his skin is a different color than yours.
Aaron: Carlos has the same color skin as me.
Me: Right. Ummm... Ok.... So, back to the poster. Uh... forget drawing a picture. What word makes you think of MLK?
Aaron: Killed. Because the bad guys killed him.
Me:... No. Let's think of a word that DESCRIBES him.
Aaron: Famous. Was he famous, mom?
Me: Yes, very. Still is. But I was thinking more about a word that symbolizes what he stood for.
Aaron: What does symbolizes mean?
Me: Well, what he was about, really. Like letting everyone be equal and the same.
Aaron: *blank stare*
Me: *sigh* Love, Peace or Freedom... which word do you want?
Aaron: *counts the letters of each word on his fingers* Love.

For crying out loud. Why couldn't the homework have been to make a poster illustrating a quantum physics theory?