Difficult Discussions Around Current Events
Current events naturally come up in the ELA classroom- especially when relating older texts to the current day. It can be hard to explain events and tragedies to students- especially when there’s nuance, decisions and happenings above their understanding. Especially when you yourself don’t even have a firm understanding. Add in parent and administration influence and opinion and conversations around current events can be incredibly difficult to navigate. But as a teacher, I’ve found solace in something deeper. When the weight of the world bears down, when I’m disheartened for our students, I turn to a simple yet powerful approach – slowing down and prioritizing our classroom community. Reconnect with students, and allow students to reconnect with one another. This post dives into the heart of teaching during tumultuous times, shedding light on the vital role teachers play in nurturing unity, understanding, and compassion.
The Teacher’s Dilemma
When thinking about what I would post on the blog this week, my thoughts kept coming back to, “what really matters to teachers right now?” I thought, what do I do in my own classroom? When the world has me feeling discouraged, sad for our children, and honestly straight up depressed how do I deal, as a teacher? My answer is always simple, and honestly at the heart of teaching- I slow everything down and focus on community. So file this post under “world events” or “class community”- I’m not quite sure. Any blogger knows that keyword research is the basis for any blog post, but this week I just cannot.
Acknowledging Our Emotions
Because while I am taking a step back from the classroom this year- I still feel the same way as I did when I taught while simultaneously watching the Insurrection of January 6th, or when Black male after Black male was murdered by police in our country- heartbroken. The list goes on, and I will spare both of us. Posts on social media encourage parents to not fear, or to be proud of “raising dragon fighters in the time of dragons” or some crap like that. I get it. It is easy to get caught in the weeds and look at the negativity of everything these days.
But I also think it’s worth acknowledging our feelings when terrible thing after terrible thing happens in our world. And we owe it to our students to acknowledge that current events are not normal. Our world should not operate as it currently is. Everything comes along with so many emotions that are hard for even adults to process and handle. After all, our students look to us way more than we know to see how we are reacting to the things that happen in this world. And whether you’ve directly experienced it yet or not, teaching is political.
Acknowledging Diversity and Responsibility
And here, I’ll call it like it is for a moment- white teachers: your diverse students see how you react and engage with events and tragedies that directly affect them. It’s a big thing and requires a lot of unpacking for many (myself included). But you’re missing a huge opportunity to make all students feel like valued people in your class and in this world when you ignore or mishandle the way you react to events and comments that impact them and their wellbeing.
Nurturing Humanity in the Classroom
So what do you do as a teacher when things in the world suck, or you don’t quite understand what’s going on in the world but you know that many of your students are affected by what you see in the news?
Foster Unity & Build Class Community
You take time from curriculum and tasks to reconnect with their humanity. It’s essential to your classroom, your school culture, and our world.
You remind each and every one that you care, and that they matter. Because if you are that one constant adult to stand up for them, to address an anti-semetic or Islamaphobic comment in front of the class, for example, then they will see that there is a place for trust, and hope, and friendship. Even just in your classroom alone. That’s a big deal. That’s a huge deal.
Then you remind your students that you are a class. You are a group with commonalities, even if just for one class period. A class of teenagers, with emotions about school, and families, and movies and music that also holds common ground. And you show them that people who are different from one another don’t have to be best friends (but they absolutely can be). You show them that people who are different from each other need to be able to function alongside each other, to work together. Because we’re all human and lend something beautiful to this world.
Implementing Reconnection
So how the heck do you do that? One, don’t get a hero complex. It’s easy, and debilitating. People have to do their own work in this world.
You allow time for your students to reconnect.
You explain why you are making time to reconnect.
Then you throw some board games throughout the room and let kids just play games for a day. Or you create a class playlist of uplifting songs to listen to throughout the year (See exactly how I did that here). You give students time to journal about what’s affecting them in the world today, then allow them to share anonymously on posters throughout the room (setting boundaries and guidelines beforehand, of course).
You go outside and let students draw with chalk. Have them write a poem beforehand and now they have something “rigorous” to do with their chalk time (give parameters that work for your class but keep them minimal because your kids will impress you, I promise).
I remember a week that was just full of crappy news, I was feeling down, my students were dragging at the end of the year, and we took time to just stop. My students used what they had learned about poetry throughout the year to write a poem about themselves. I told them to take time to write and revise, but the poetry writing was casual. I said that your poem will be in chalk tomorrow, so just remember that as you write.
The Power of Reconnecting
I had many students who were willing to be vulnerable. I had other students who were willing to be vulnerable on paper- “but can I write something else in chalk?”
Yay for teachable moments and practicing negotiation skills! “Of course you can, but your chalk writing/ drawing needs to explicitly put positivity into our world.” And can I tell you, my students blew me away. Some came to school with quotes, some used their amazing art skills to make the parking lot an art gallery. I’m a cryer, and they were giving me all the feels.
Reconnect to Empower
So when you feel yourself doom scrolling, or wondering how you teach something when you know your students will be elsewhere in their minds- please take time to allow them to process and reconnect (or even connect) with one another.
I know it isn’t always appreciated by administration, but even 5 minutes of reconnection can help. And if your administration cares about school culture, classroom culture, and growing empathetic human beings- your time to reconnect in class will truly be an asset to your school community and beyond.
What do you do to shake things up and reconnect with students when times are tough? I’d love to know!
I’m So Glad You’re Here,
Kameo
Want more ideas for how to connect with your students? Here’s what I’ve Got:
Allow your students time to get to know one another- even if it’s in the middle of the school year.
Print & hand out some encouraging word cards- write a personal note to each student on the back.
