6 Ways to Help Students Make Sense of the Capitol Siege Subscribe 15 min read
Corrected: This story has been updated to accurately reflect electives teacher Jessica Rucker’s quote.
In the days immediately following the assault on the U.S. Capitol, teachers were in crisis mode
, scrambling to respond to students’ fears, answer their questions, and help classes get the facts straight about what happened. A far-right mob had assaulted a beacon of American democracy in the name of President Donald Trump an unparalleled event in modern American history. Five people died.
Now, with a few more days of distance from the events of Jan. 6, and with the House poised to impeach Trump for a second time and threats of armed protests the week of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration looming, teachers are faced with the next daunting challenge: Helping students analyze how the country got to this point, and what it means about how we tell the American st
Texas teachers, students confront history lessons in real time as mob stormed the U.S. Capitol
Educators navigate complex discussions on democracy, race and civic engagement after this week’s events.
Bryan Adams High School US History teacher Stephen Patterson, left, African-American Studies and world history teacher Bri Thomas, center, and Principal Ryan Bott spent much of Wednesday afternoon and Thursday helping students and each other process the rioting at the U.S. Capitol.(Brandon Wade / Special Contributor)
Teacher Bri Thomas was in the middle of a history lesson about Thomas Jefferson’s writings and the way a president’s words shape public discourse when her phone started vibrating with news alerts.