Greenwich Teachers, Superintendent React To Capitol Riot

Greenwich CT

08 January, 2021

1:42 PM

Description

GREENWICH, CT — In a letter sent to staff Thursday, Superintendent Toni Jones spoke out regarding the chaos Wednesday that culminated in a violent insurrectionist mob overwhelming police and entering the U.S. Capitol to halt the Electoral College certification of Joe Biden as the country's next president. In her letter to staff, Jones referred to the events Wednesday as "disturbing, alarming and emotionally draining," and urged the district community to continue to support each other. (To sign up for Greenwich breaking news alerts and more, click here.) "In times of crisis," Jones said in the letter, "opportunities are created for us to make sure students know that we are here for them by educating and stating the facts, but also staying away from discussions that include personal support for a political party. It is indisputable that what we witnessed yesterday inside the Capitol building was led by individuals who do not represent the democratic ideals of our country that we proudly teach. Actions by groups that promote violence, hate, and racism were on display. It was shocking and scary and should never be acceptable." Jones also noted the district will "proceed with caution" and will not be watching the inauguration ceremony, scheduled for Jan. 20, live in any of the district's pre-K-8 classrooms "for the reasons that we saw" Wednesday. "As we had learned from the horrors of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986," the letter reads, "viewing live events can have the potential of showing disturbing images. We think it is best to utilize recorded portions of the historic event with grades 4-8 in civics and social studies. The GHS social studies department may utilize a unified approach based on historical events without judgment of personal bias." The district also provided Patch with written feedback from teachers at Greenwich High School regarding their classes Thursday. Civics teacher Evan Olmstead said he was very encouraged by the "thoughtful and meaningful" ways his students engaged in conversation about Wednesday's events. "I opened civics [class] with my own summary of events and then asked for student thoughts or questions," Olmstead said in a statement. "The students who spoke condemned the actions of yesterday. We discussed the meaning of the day and what appropriate responses may be going forward." Olmstead said these discussions were "respectful and somber," and that it was "heartening" to see students engage in a thoughtful way so soon after the events. Ryan Jones, an AP Government teacher, said his students were "disappointed, but perhaps not surprised" to witness Wednesday's events. Many students also brought up a recent class discussion on the limits of free speech, Jones said. "The consensus was clear: Words matter and have consequences," Jones said in a statement. "Overall, it was a day filled with hope." Courtney Powers, also a civics teacher, said she began all her classes Thursday with a student-led discussion regarding "what do you think happened [Wednesday]?" Students started by creating a list defining the terms politicians and media used to describe the day, such as "mob, riot, protest and insurrection," among others, Powers said. She then showed students a timeline of events and brief video clips. A class discussion followed, during which students shared their impressions, understanding and questions, Powers said. "Young people have experienced so many historic and traumatic events over the past 10 months," Powers said in a statement. "They need and deserve a space to discuss, share and process their thoughts and beliefs. I am constantly impressed by teens' ability to have substantial civic conversations regardless of different partisan identification. Throughout the discussion students made connections to events in history, the Black Lives Matter movement, the power of social media and misinformation and their beliefs in democracy." Patch has included all statements in full from teachers, sent by the district, below: Evan Olmstead, Civics & AVID - "I was very encouraged by the thoughtful and meaningful way my students engaged in conversation about yesterday's events. I opened Civics with my own summary of events and then asked for student thoughts or questions. The students who spoke condemned the actions of yesterday. We discussed the meaning of the day and what appropriate responses may be going forward. To what extent was race a factor in the mob's ability to enter the Capitol when security was so tight during a Black Lives Matter protest a year ago? Would it be appropriate to invoke the 25th amendment, or to impeach the president given his words prior to what occurred? Discussion was respectful and somber, and while none of us have clear answers at this time, it was heartening to see students able to engage in a thoughtful way so soon after these events." Ryan Jones, AP Government - "One topic that has been an undercurrent in AP Government this year has been polarization and I think students were disappointed but perhaps not surprised to witness yesterday's events. I try to keep students solution oriented, and I was thrilled to see them eagerly work as a cohesive unit to figure out ways to bring our nation closer together and to move forward after this reckoning. The central elements of their plans were to be discerning consumers of information and to listen to one another. Many students also brought up a recent class discussion of the limits of free speech. The consensus was clear: words matter and have consequences. Overall, it was a day filled with hope." Dan Silkman, US History and AP Government - "In my US History 212 and AP US Government classes today, students were provided a basic timeline of yesterday's events in DC, and then they were asked to complete a 15-minute self-reflection writing exercise to take stock of their personal thoughts and feelings ("What was your reaction to yesterday's events?" "What picture or video shared on social media was meaningful to you and why?" "What questions do you have?"). Afterwards, students in each class engaged in an informal large-group discussion, sharing reactions of fear and rage, shock and disappointment, sadness and helplessness. Questions and concerns were raised regarding civil disobedience and First Amendment rights, police action and national security, expectations of elected officials, racism and white supremacy, as well as next steps for addressing immediate challenges while building toward long-term solutions. With vulnerability and respect and intellectual curiosity, students began to process these unfortunate events at the Capitol and consider where we go from here." Aaron Hull, Honors Civics and AP Government- "In my Honors Civics class, because of the Georgia runoff and the January 6 Electoral College count, we ran a three-class (two research, one presentation) project answering the question, "Is our Constitutional System Working?" Student groups were asked to address the prompt from the Federal Executive, Congressional, and Judicial branch perspective, the State perspective, and discuss the role of the media. Both political parties were considered, and several groups dipped back into the curriculum to evaluate the nature of the New Yorker prompt article, Trump's Authoritarian Moment is Here, by using the Ad Fontes Media Bias chart to see what several other media outlets were saying, unprompted by their teacher to do so. It was a very cool example of civic engagement. Of the eight groups we had time to hear from today across two classes (two will present Monday), six said the system was working, and two said it was not. The conclusion arrived at by the group was very well done: " Although strong attempts towards unconstitutional and authoritarian actions have been made by the executive branch and other members of congress, and the executives party, the system has been successful at blocking the advancement of these actions. The division of powers through congress helps prevent the attempts of unconstitutional authoritarianism to prevail and alongside the court demands the lawful upholding of the constitution. The states and their individual policies help to divide the power further to prevent full control from the executive branch and many state policies help prevent unconstitutional actions such as voter fraud. The media helps in exposing these unlawful actions by keeping the people aware of accurate and credible information on their country's politics. With these barriers set in place, the system is able to be overall successful in fighting the rise of authoritarianism in America." Ian Tiedemann, 9th Grade Global Studies: "On Jan. 6, President-elect Joe Biden addressed the nation to remind us that "democracy is fragile." The fragile nature of democracy is a primary theme of the 9th grade Global Studies course at Greenwich High School. During our course students analyze many waves of democratization that include the French Revolution, the end of colonialism in Africa and Asia, the collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe, and the ongoing movements resulting from the Arab Spring. In all, students come away with a common trend: establishing truly democratic institutions is not a straight line or immediate transition, but rather an ongoing, tumultuous process that must bridge divergent perspectives and overcome serious challenges. The siege of the US Capitol was a reminder that even established democratic systems must continuously strive to protect the institutions and democratic norms that are so difficult to erect and so simple to tear down." Kathy Mendez, InLab 11/Design Studio: "It is our responsibility as educators to help our students navigate and process traumatic events. Unfortunately, yesterday's attack on the Capitol building is no exception. The event carries with it a lot of emotional weight in these polarizing times in our nation, so it is imperative to acknowledge that students process traumatic events in different ways. When traumatic events occur, I use these as an opportunity to reaffirm the values of the Greenwich Public Schools (Vision of the Graduate capacities) and provide my students creating a safe space to process, talk, ask questions, and have a healthy dialogue modeled with norms of respect, kindness, and empathy. With this in mind, today's lesson in Design Studio/InLab 11 (Civics) centered around allowing students a choice to engage in discussion or meet in a breakout room. Since they are currently in the midst of their "Government's response to crisis" projects, I let them take the lead in sharing their reactions, questions, and connections to historical and contemporary case studies. For teachers looking for more resources about pedagogical tips for teaching "The Day After," here is a short curated list." Letting Students Lead: "These essential questions can spark and guide student discussion: · What do you think about the events that took place at the U.S. Capitol yesterday? · What would you like to know more about or understand more about the events that happened yesterday at the Capitol? · How do different people or groups of people represent and express their power? · What does a just use of power look like? · What basic freedoms are required by a just society? · When might one person's freedom violate another's? · How do you think we can all stay safe during this time? What should we do?" (Teaching Tolerance) Courtney Powers - Civics 500, Global Studies 9th Grade - "In all classes today we had a student led discussion on "What do you think happened yesterday?" Students started by creating a Jamboard defining the terms politicians and the media used to describe the day: "mob, riot, protest, siege, treason, terrorist, coup, sedition, insurrection". Then, I showed students a timeline of events. Students watched brief video clips and took notes on what shocked or surprised them, connected to the terms, or they believed were key events. Then I opened the class up for discussion and they shared their impressions, understanding and questions. "Young people have experienced so many historic and traumatic events over the past 10 months. They need and deserve a space to discuss, share and process their thoughts and beliefs. I am constantly impressed by teens' ability to have substantial civic conversations regardless of different partisan identification. Throughout the discussion students made connections to events in history, the Black Lives Matter movement, the power of social media and misinformation and their beliefs in democracy." Karen Boyea AP United States History and Honors Civics - "As a social studies teacher, there are times when you have to set aside the lesson you had planned when events of great significance occur. Instead of discussing industrialists in the late 1800s as I had planned prior to Wednesday afternoon, we found ourselves discussing the events that unfolded at the Capitol. In my Honors Civics and AP U.S. History classes, I was impressed by the quality of my students' questions, including, 'Will we see a rise in political parties beyond the Democratic and Republican parties?' and 'What does it mean to be a patriot in 2021?' As well, we connected what happened on January 6th to what happened in 1861 when Lincoln's election was certified by Congress and the Election of 1876. We also read President George H.W. Bush's letter to incoming President Bill Clinton and made note of the final line of the letter, 'Your success now is our country's success. I am rooting hard for you.'"