This is a blog post is written by Middle School Art Teacher Dori Boyce about the recent Professional Development program, “Discussing Challenging Current Events in the Hybrid Classroom.” She explains that providing space to discuss and process current events, regardless of what school may look like in these times, is a crucial part of our role as educators. 

Landon’s faculty have had the opportunity to attend a variety of professional development programs, throughout the year, and I recently took part in “Discussing Challenging Current Events in the Hybrid Classroom.” The workshop was appealing to me because there seems to be so much to discuss with our students, but it has been difficult to manage the fact that some students are here in person, some are at home, and all deserve the opportunity to process and talk about what is happening in the world around them. 

The facilitator, Stephanie Tellis, encouraged educators to be proactive, responsive, and to circle back. I was encouraged to learn that much of what Landon is already doing supports being proactive, allowing us to initiate difficult or sensitive conversations. We are intentional about building safe classroom environments and strong advisory cultures.  

Once that foundation is formed, educators can follow steps to being responsive when leading a discussion about current events. First, Ms. Tellis suggested taking a “temperature check” of both myself and my students in order to evaluate if the group has capacity for such a discussion. It is also important to set the tone and provide clear expectations about what engagement should look like.  

Next, the adult is responsible for centering the facts. This is not to say the teacher is silencing students, but instead ensuring that everyone is operating with an understanding of the facts because students cannot discuss a topic they do not have the facts about. Additionally, if emotions are high and the group is best served by processing those emotions, journaling is a great tool to offer students time to complete. Finally, it is important that the educator circle back to check in on students individually as needed. 

Providing space to discuss and process current events, regardless of what school may look like in these times, is a crucial part of our role as educators.