Teachers Help Students Understand Violence at US Capitol
2021-01-13
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1Social studies teachers across the United States are changing their plans for lessons this week.
2They want to help young people make sense of the news about the violence in Washington.
3Karley Reising is a social studies teacher at Robert E. Fitch High School in Groton, Connecticut.
4"In almost every single one of my classes, the students brought it up before I even could," she said.
5And she added, "...my seniors were really struggling with what this meant about the future of our country in a way that was pretty heartbreaking."
6Reising and others said they talked about the importance of being involved with the process of government.
7They wanted to lead students away from the idea that there must be violence to end a political fight.
8Michael Neagle teaches at Lowell High School in Massachusetts.
9After finishing his class on Thursday, January 7, he said it was one of the most important days he had as a teacher.
10He wants his students to be active in civic life.
11"We don't want kids to tune out and just say, 'Well, this is how it is. Nobody gets along. Politics.' That voter apathy is so dangerous," he said.
12South St. Paul, Minnesota, teacher Mark Westpfahl showed the morning newspapers to his sixth-grade students learning online.
13His school is near the place where George Floyd died.
14His students asked questions about the police response that will carry into later lessons.
15He planned to talk in future classes about how the two events can be compared to each other.
16"What was the response like? What was the media presence like?" he said.
17As Westpfahl taught his 10- and 11-year-old students on a video conference, three or four parents appeared without speaking. He wondered about their thoughts.
18Many teachers working online record their lessons so parents can study them with their students at home.
19One Washington, D.C. area teacher heard that some of her students had parents in the National Guard group working at the Capitol on Wednesday.
20This made her think carefully about the feelings of her students and their parents.
21In Alabama, 10th grade teacher Blake Busbin said he, too, thought about how students and the community would respond to his actions and words.
22He said he chooses his words very carefully.
23Busbin is a teacher at Auburn High School.
24He made a point to let students watch the unrest on TV.
25He was a high school senior on September 11, 2001 when terrorists attacked the United States with hijacked passenger jets.
26At that time, the school chief did not permit television in school.
27Busbin felt he lost an opportunity to watch history in the making.
28The day after the attack on the U.S. Capitol, he woke early and gathered 25 photographs.
29He showed each one for 10 to 15 seconds without saying anything, then asked students to write poems.
30He wanted students to first think quietly about what happened.
31The students did not write their names on the poems, and they did not read them in class.
32Busbin said they helped him understand students' thoughts and guide his future teaching.
33The poems, he said, show a desire for a more harmonious government, a more cooperative approach and a belief that things can get better.
34In David McMullen's classroom at Great Path Academy in Manchester, Connecticut, students argued about the identity of the attackers.
35He asked his students to write their thoughts about the event for future historians.
36"I tell my students, they are the future's primary sources," he said.
37Teachers usually stay away from voicing their opinions, or if they do talk about them, identify them as their own opinions.
38Reising said the conversation among her students was difficult because many have never met face to face.
39She tried, however, to end the discussion on a hopeful note.
40As young adults, she sees her students as citizens who can be active in government without using violence.
41Conor Murphy teaches at West Genesee High School in Camillus, New York.
42He remembered the 9/11 attacks, when he was in an American history class and watched the second plane hit the World Trade Center in New York.
43He said it was important to help students understand the historical importance of such an event.
44A year ago, he had a similar job teaching participation in government during President Donald Trump's impeachment trial in Congress.
45"But," he said, "I've never really had to teach anything quite so, in my opinion, profound."
46I'm Jill Robbins.
1Social studies teachers across the United States are changing their plans for lessons this week. They want to help young people make sense of the news about the violence in Washington. 2Fighting apathy about politics 3Karley Reising is a social studies teacher at Robert E. Fitch High School in Groton, Connecticut. "In almost every single one of my classes, the students brought it up before I even could," she said. And she added, "...my seniors were really struggling with what this meant about the future of our country in a way that was pretty heartbreaking." 4Reising and others said they talked about the importance of being involved with the process of government. They wanted to lead students away from the idea that there must be violence to end a political fight. 5Michael Neagle teaches at Lowell High School in Massachusetts. After finishing his class on Thursday, January 7, he said it was one of the most important days he had as a teacher. He wants his students to be active in civic life. "We don't want kids to tune out and just say, 'Well, this is how it is. Nobody gets along. Politics.' That voter apathy is so dangerous," he said. 6Teaching with morning newspapers 7South St. Paul, Minnesota, teacher Mark Westpfahl showed the morning newspapers to his sixth-grade students learning online. His school is near the place where George Floyd died. His students asked questions about the police response that will carry into later lessons. He planned to talk in future classes about how the two events can be compared to each other. "What was the response like? What was the media presence like?" he said. 8Parents are watching 9As Westpfahl taught his 10- and 11-year-old students on a video conference, three or four parents appeared without speaking. He wondered about their thoughts. 10Many teachers working online record their lessons so parents can study them with their students at home. One Washington, D.C. area teacher heard that some of her students had parents in the National Guard group working at the Capitol on Wednesday. This made her think carefully about the feelings of her students and their parents. 11In Alabama, 10th grade teacher Blake Busbin said he, too, thought about how students and the community would respond to his actions and words. He said he chooses his words very carefully. 12Busbin is a teacher at Auburn High School. He made a point to let students watch the unrest on TV. He was a high school senior on September 11, 2001 when terrorists attacked the United States with hijacked passenger jets. At that time, the school chief did not permit television in school. Busbin felt he lost an opportunity to watch history in the making. 13Careful thought and writing 14The day after the attack on the U.S. Capitol, he woke early and gathered 25 photographs. He showed each one for 10 to 15 seconds without saying anything, then asked students to write poems. He wanted students to first think quietly about what happened. 15The students did not write their names on the poems, and they did not read them in class. Busbin said they helped him understand students' thoughts and guide his future teaching. The poems, he said, show a desire for a more harmonious government, a more cooperative approach and a belief that things can get better. 16In David McMullen's classroom at Great Path Academy in Manchester, Connecticut, students argued about the identity of the attackers. 17He asked his students to write their thoughts about the event for future historians. "I tell my students, they are the future's primary sources," he said. 18Hopeful note for involvement 19Teachers usually stay away from voicing their opinions, or if they do talk about them, identify them as their own opinions. 20Reising said the conversation among her students was difficult because many have never met face to face. She tried, however, to end the discussion on a hopeful note. As young adults, she sees her students as citizens who can be active in government without using violence. 21Conor Murphy teaches at West Genesee High School in Camillus, New York. He remembered the 9/11 attacks, when he was in an American history class and watched the second plane hit the World Trade Center in New York. 22He said it was important to help students understand the historical importance of such an event. A year ago, he had a similar job teaching participation in government during President Donald Trump's impeachment trial in Congress. 23"But," he said, "I've never really had to teach anything quite so, in my opinion, profound." 24I'm Jill Robbins. 25Michael Melia and Carolyn Thompson wrote this story for the Associated Press. Jill Robbins adapted it for Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 26_____________________________________________________________________________ 27Words in This Story 28kids - n. young people or children 29tune out - phrasal verb. to stop caring 30apathy - n. the state of not caring about something 31response - n. something that is done as a reaction to something else 32make a point -v. to place importance on something so it receives attention 33harmonious -adj. not experiencing disagreement or fighting 34primary source - n. a document or story created at the time of an historic event 35participation -n. being involved with others in doing something 36profound - adj. difficult to understand or requiring deep thought or wisdom 37How do you think teachers should lead discussion of the insurrection? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section. 38For Teachers 39Common Sense Media offers these resources to help teachers talk with students about the violence at the Capitol. 40The Center for Civic Education has this collection of ideas for teaching about the peaceful transition of power. 41Facing History offers these teaching ideas.