• Tara Bozick •
• Originally published January 20, 2009 at 11:03 p.m., updated January 20, 2009 at 11:03 p.m.

One local teacher couldn't do better than letting her students watch history unroll live before their eyes.

The words "Inauguration Day" donned the marker board in Room 118, the site of Krista Boldt's eighth-grade U.S. history class at Patti Welder Magnet Middle School on Tuesday.

Sixteen students quietly stared at the television screen as Barack Obama took the oath of office to become the 44th president of the United States.

Fifteen-year-old Ian Sharpless sat at the back of the room, but the meaning of the morning's event struck him close.

After studying how blacks and whites used to live in segregated society, Ian realized the magnitude of a biracial president entering office.

"I think it's actually historic," Ian, who is also biracial, said. "I never thought it would be happening, having a black president. Now, everybody has a chance to do anything they want."

The basketball player hopes Obama will pull the troops out of Iraq because his brother joined the Army. Obama has already come so far, so Ian said he thinks he can accomplish a lot.

Ian and the rest of his class just finished learning about America's first presidency and the principles of the Constitution.

Boldt thought watching the new president swear to defend those principles would bring the lesson alive to the young students.

"This is important. This is a big deal. This is extremely historic," she told them. "This is something people are going to talk about for a very long time."

She told them they would be studying Lincoln's inaugural address soon, for comparison.

While she knows most of her students understand the inauguration as being historic, she realizes most won't fully realize it until they're older.

Boldt didn't realize history unfolded in front of her eyes when she was a fifth-grader watching the Challenger space shuttle explosion, for example.

The primary reason the 34-year-old teaches history is to prepare her students as participating citizens so the country will remain strong.

Fourteen-year-old Anthony Sanchez, seated in the front row, said Obama will support people.

"I think it may change the world, make it better for us," he said.

• Thoughts from Patti Welder eighth-graders:

  Bianca Ramirez, 15, of Victoria:

  "Everything's still going to stay the same. Most all the politicians are the same."

  Brittany Gipson, 14, of Victoria, believes Obama:

  "He said there's going to be a change."

  Laura ...

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Thoughts from Patti Welder eighth-graders:

Bianca Ramirez, 15, of Victoria:

"Everything's still going to stay the same. Most all the politicians are the same."

Brittany Gipson, 14, of Victoria, believes Obama:

"He said there's going to be a change."

Laura Buzzell,14, of Victoria:

"He seems very positive - that we can change. Obama can help people to get health insurance."

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