RUTLAND, Vt. (WCAX) - As American adults struggle to understand the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol last Wednesday, some are also having to explain what happened to the children in their lives. That includes teachers who are discussing it with their students.
Educators across our region are grappling with how to have that conversation.
Ellen Oppenheim, a behavior interventionist in Franklin County, said her students returned to school the next day wanting to talk about it.
“There were a lot of opinions, a lot of questions about what was happening and then fielding kids having their own opinions where other kids have differing opinions and how to deal with that conflict in the classroom,” said Oppenheim.
Sarah Wolff, an elementary school music teacher in Franklin County, said she tries to answer students’ questions honestly and with quick facts.
“But also making sure that you’re reassuring that fact with the fact that they’re safe and that they’re going to be taken care of and there are adults in their life that are here to protect them,” said Wolff.
Rutland High School Principal Greg Schillinger says as teachers explain to students the events at the Capitol, they’re also teaching them how to have a productive and civil conversation.
“Their focus is on the skill of civil dialogue no matter what the topic,” said Schillinger.
He says the first step is to do your homework. Then, factually understand the topic before you form an opinion. Next, weigh both sides of an issue before you engage in the dialogue. Lastly, find the middle ground.
“On a topic where two parties are drifting out to the extremes, to engage in the skill of compromise-- ways that this party can what they’re interested in or some of it, and this party can do the same,” he said.
Schillinger says history and civics teachers are also using this time to focus on underlying topics such as contested elections and impeachment, and connect their relevance to historical documents, such as the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. He says educators want to make sure students know how to think critically and civilly debate controversial issues beyond the classroom.
“The reality is they will graduate from here and there will be another controversial topic. It’s not so much that they need to be prepared to know everything about every topic but they need to be prepared to know the skill of how to engage in a civil discourse,” he said.
When asked if teachers did any specific preparation to have discussions about the riot with students, Schillinger said teachers are always prepared to talk about controversy and they lay the groundwork for discussions on controversial issues every day of the school year.
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Schools focus on civil discourse while teaching about US Capitol riot - WCAX
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