Resources for responding to January 6th

As ever-increasing cracks in the foundation of our democracy reveal weakness and corruption, so too do these revelations allow the light of justice and truth to penetrate. As educators, our work to help young people learn to communicate across differences, think critically, and work for justice is as important as ever. This remains an apt time to reconnect and reflect.

And an even more apt time to talk about what’s happening with our students.

Rest assured, they know something’s going on, but they’ll need your help to begin processing.

What’s happened now:

On January 6, 2021, a group of white supremacist terrorists infiltrated the US Capitol building and briefly shut down Congress. They committed many criminal acts, yet news outlets have portrayed them variously as “criminals”, “protesters” and “heroes”. What’s the truth? And who decides?

First of all: you’re not alone in this. Teachers nationwide are talking about this with their students. We are all trying to make sense of this at the same time as our students do. We’re the adults in the room, so we’re having to do the thing.

resources for responding to January 6th

And we’re also here to provide some resources and strategies for talking with your students.

Let’s start with the big picture: what happened
General resources for responding to January 6th

Putting it in historical perspective

Resources for anti-racist education

Looking for resources to talk about who’s at the heart of our conversations on what matters? Need help evaluating critical sources for bias, or just jumping into anti-racist education?

Resources for digital citizenship

One important portion of the events of January 6th was the role of the then-President, both in video messages and on social media. Looking for resources for unpacking the role online communications has played?

 

Teachers, we see you and we appreciate you. None of this is easy, but responding to moments like these are incredibly necessary. Education is necessary for democracy to be successful. We have a role to play in the health of our democracy and supporting our students. Our investment matters.

 

TIIE Staff

We're the staff of the Tarrant Institute for Innovative Education. Hi!

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