LET’S GO FLY A KITE…
Marine Military Academy ESL students and faculty were relieved to find the Gulf breezes picked up just enough to launch their self-designed kites. The students’ collection of colorful self expressions were fastened to the ‘spine’ of the kites with kite string and a handy bright blue hand grip, then launched into the bright blue yonder from all directions of the freshly-mowed field.
“Let’s go fly a kite
Up to the highest height
Let’s go fly a kite
And send it soaring
Up through the atmosphere
Up where the air is clear
Oh, let’s go fly a kite
Let’s go fly a kite!” *
Here’s a bit of trivia for you nostalgia buffs: “Let’s Go Fly A Kite” is a song from Walt Disney‘s film Mary Poppins, composed by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman*. This song is heard at the end of the film when the story’s protagonist realizes that his family is more important than his job. He mends his son’s kite and takes his entire family on a kite-flying outing. The metaphor of the mended kite – a symbol of the mended Banks family – is reflected in the song and was inspired by the Sherman brothers’ father, Al Sherman, who besides being a well-known songwriter in his day was also an amateur kite maker, who made kites for neighborhood children as a weekend hobby. Walt Disney had asked his songwriters to write a song about a kite because of his two daughters. Both daughters were members of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority and their symbol is a kite. The song “Let’s Go Fly a Kite” is dedicated to Kappa Alpha Theta.
To learn more about the Marine Military Academy’s summer ESL program visit the ESL summer camp page.
