In that case, they can use the antibullying “Name It, Claim It, Stop It” approach, by clearly stating what they heard, explaining why the words are hurtful, and articulating a plan for possible next steps. Or, educators may have to respond immediately, such as when one student has hurt another student with a slur or stereotype. Carving out time for a subsequent conversation allows students to share what they know or hear, reflect on it, and then conduct research to deepen their understanding.
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Still, when students ask challenging questions about current events, educators may have to make in-the-moment decisions about how to respond.
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Using the free Stanford Civic Online Reasoning curriculum, for example, students learn how to ask for evidence for a claim and to agree on what constitutes valid evidence.
Having students conduct research about local issues and guiding them to understand credible sources can be a first step before diving into wide-ranging conversations that may bring up heated discussion.
Some conversations may be polarizing or uncomfortable-particularly for parents following along at home-and can put teachers in tough positions. Most important, she said, it’s helped “students understand that they have power and a voice.” Laying the Foundations for Social Engagement During classroom discussions, her students open up about topics like job loss in their families, which has led to civic action like a recent project where students created proposals on the best way to use an undeveloped plot of community land. “It takes a lot of work because you have to create safe spaces” for students to listen, discuss, and brainstorm ideas that are truly meaningful to them, says Aldige. These conversations can also help students connect school to a larger purpose outside of the school walls, according to Alyce Aldige, a sixth-grade teacher in Long Island City, New York. For one activity, Vaughan asks students to respond to literary quotations that classmates select, then try to explain why they might have picked them-encouraging students to think through another classmate’s reasoning process. “It’s tangible in the room that the world is going through a lot,” says Minneapolis high school English teacher Susan Vaughan of online discussions in her class where students practice understanding multiple perspectives.
Seeing one’s actions impact others is empowering, according to research, particularly for students who may otherwise feel disenfranchised by systems and institutions that distribute power unfairly. “To me, it’s seeing the impact and having a say in what your environment looks like,” whether that is the classroom, the city, or greater society. By participating in pointed discussions, conducting research on pressing local issues, or working with governments, these students are no longer seeing school as separate from the “real world,” but as a catalyst for change within it.Įven young children can practice “participating and shaping own world as part of the classroom,” points out Rafael Perez-Segura, a bilingual pre-K teacher in New York City, who says he starts fostering student agency in children as young as 3 years old. Some teachers, meanwhile, are increasingly using their classrooms to create opportunities for students to uncover their passions and make a civic impact-both in person and virtually. Students around the country have organized marches on gun violence and fundraisers for first responders, sat on boards of education to push for policy changes in their schools, and connected to peers across the country in online forums on topics ranging from global warming to racial equity. In the last five years, teenage activists like Greta Thunberg, Emma Gonzalez, and A'Dreana have uncovered their power through online communities, in time set aside in the school day, or in the unexpected freedom offered by virtual school.
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