CRITICAL CONVERSATION RESOURCES
Work2BeWell: Critical Conversations
In the Work2BeWell Heart-to-Heart Critical Conversations module, students are provided with tools to be successful during difficult conversations. This module prepares students for heart-to-heart conversations with parents, peers, etc. prior to the conversations, and helps them navigate conversations when they don’t go so well.
ENVOLVE: Activities for this Moment
Life during COVID, an ever-changing educational climate, and a divisive election season has been difficult enough for the students at your school.
Student leaders have worked tirelessly to help campus populations feel included, loved, and valued, despite the events going on in the world. But events like yesterday can leave anyone feeling paralyzed and heartbroken.
We don’t claim to have all the answers, but we want to make sure we’re helping as best as we’re able. You will find a shortlist of simple activities below that your leaders can implement NOW to promote compassion and unity on your campus.
They aren’t overly complex or elaborate, but as we’ve learned over the years, the best activities are often the simplest.
Creating Civic Spaces in Troubling Times
As educators, we have a responsibility to prioritize our students’ lived experiences in informing the essential questions we address in our curriculum. The proven practices mandated in the high school civics requirement as well as the new Illinois social studies standards support such endeavors. We must create civic spaces that engage students like current and controversial issue discussions that lead to students communicating conclusions and taking informed action (service learning). The Parkland High School students and their peers from around the nation are not going away. They are demonstrating that civic engagement does not begin and end with voting at 18, but encompasses a wide variety of issues and strategies for taking informed action, from lobbying, to social media campaigns, to advocacy.
Resources For Teachers On the Days After the Attack on the U.S. Capitol
For educators, I am going to share some resources/ideas for use in your classrooms tomorrow. A reminder about everything that I share here: There is no one easy answer. Not everything works for every student or every teacher or in every classroom. I am not an expert in your classroom or your students (or an expert in anything, actually!). This is not a conversation that needs to or should be relegated to only Social Studies and English Language Arts classrooms.
Please note:
(1) These suggestions are not saying you MUST “teach” about what happened on 1/6/2021 (or any “day after” event or injustice). Days After Pedagogy doesn’t mean turning trauma into a standard or a benchmarked lesson. But if you’re going to TALK about it, do so with intention, care, and an explicit commitment to justice and equity.
Resources for Teachers On the Days AFter the Attack on the U.S. Capitol
When Bad Things Are Happening - Teaching Tolerance
When news breaks of disaster or violence, your students may want to discuss a crisis as it unfolds. Here’s how.
Leading Conversations After Crisis
The Teaching Tolerance Advisory Board shared ideas for starting discussions the day after the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
To Sustain the Tough Conversations, Active Listening Must Be the Norm
We have to prepare students—and ourselves—to communicate, question and work our way through a disconnect when the outside world spills into the classroom.
To Sustain the Tough Conversations, Active Listening Must Be the Norm
5 TIPS FOR TEACHING IN TIMES OF “CIVIL UNREST”
Many teachers are preparing for difficult conversations with students this week. We’d like to share our tips for effective teaching in times of great social change.
Playmakers: Approaching Hard Conversations with Kids
Between changes in daily life stemming from COVID-19, the racial justice movement, political divisiveness, financial pressures, and more, kids are noticing when adults around them may be feeling different emotions. They don’t always know what to do about it or have the social and emotional skills developed enough yet to express themselves. Young children need to feel safe, supported, and informed as we grapple with these tough times.
You can help. Approaching hard conversations with kids is very important.
Resources For Talking To Students About Politics, Civic Engagement, and Uncertainty
In these challenging times, we are committed to leaning into our mission to serve as a resource to all educators.
Resources for talking to students about politics, civic engagement, and uncertainty
How To Talk To Kids About The Riots At The U.S. Capitol (NPR)
Music teacher Martin Urbach was up most of Wednesday night working with colleagues on lesson plans to help his students make sense of the day's events. "I only got like two hours of sleep.
No doubt many young people across the country are finding this moment extremely scary. Parents, caregivers, and teachers can help children cope.
How to Talk To Kids About The Riots at the US Capitol - NPR