News Detail

On Charlottesville: What We Must Stand For

8/14/2017

by Mike Davis, Ph.D.
Head of School

As we prepare to welcome everyone back to Colorado Academy’s campus, my normally unbridled excitement about the start of a new school year is dampened by the terror of racial violence in Charlottesville, Virginia. As a history teacher who spent part of his summer reading new scholarship on the Holocaust, the images of fiery torches in a nighttime march sent chills down my spine. Watching the vitriol demonstrated by white supremacist marchers culminating in the death of a young woman in Charlottesville, I could only feel dismay and anger. I know that those feelings are shared by members of our community, faculty, and staff, especially those who have had various life experiences that make them no stranger to hatred and bigotry.

I have no doubt that I was not the only American who momentarily wondered, “Is this happening in the United States?" "How did we get to this place?”

As students enter our classrooms on the first day of school, they, too, will bring questions with them, and our faculty will respond as they often have over many years, trying to help students find some understanding of violence that stems from hatred, whether it was anti-Semitism during the Holocaust, racial hatred in the U.S. Civil Rights era, or more recent violence both at home and in cities around the world.

As parents and as educators, our only response to these events is to teach students and to raise children to be good people who stand up for what is right and fair, to speak when others will not, to help those in need, and to pursue justice.

I am grateful to serve a community like Colorado Academy that cares about social justice and aims to be an inclusive institution. We want to be a school community that grapples with real issues and supports freedom of inquiry. At times, this means we must listen to diverse perspectives. Yet, we must do more than just listen—we need to understand.

Good teachers like those at CA help students find solace, understanding, and action through age-appropriate classroom conversations. Last year, after a number of dedicated police officers were killed in Dallas, the online education news organization called Chalkbeat interviewed teachers about their advice on how to do that, and I thought it I was worth sharing some selected lines. The whole article can be found here:

Start by understanding yourself.

Jaishri Shankar, teacher in Kingstree, S.C. for the last three years:

….What has been important is turning the classroom into what my kids needed. That day (of a shooting) they … needed the space and time to process what was happening and what it means to them ....

Defy your fear.

Jade Anderson, first-grade teacher at Memphis Business Academy:

Don’t be afraid. Your students want to hear what people are saying. They look up to you, they admire you. I think we are afraid to talk about social issues, but the kids do understand. Be bold and be honest.

Acknowledge what’s going on.

Tyrone C. Howard, associate dean of equity, diversity, & inclusion and director, UCLA Black Male Institute:

Teachers can provide a real sense of calming, and provide a real space for students to share what they’re feeling and thinking… When students are feeling scared for their own safety, they can provide that space…We all just need a lot of understanding. This is a time for healing and empathy and love. And it sounds cliché, but we’re in a precarious time, and students need us more than they’ve needed us in a long time.

Move from sorrow to action.

Faith Benson, teacher at Wright Middle School in Nashville, Tenn.:

I think the first priority, as a teacher is to talk about it.

(For students, we have to remember)...It’s kind of a tough place to be in, where you so deeply care about what happens in the world, but the world is telling you you’re too young to make a difference.

Remember: everyone lives in a context.

Rico Munn, superintendent of Aurora Public Schools in Colorado:

I think in any classroom setting, our teachers and teachers everywhere need to be aware of the experiences of their students — both individually and collectively. Good teaching takes those experiences and helps put it into context.

Push for evidence.

Rich Milner, Helen Faison Professor of Urban Education at the University of Pittsburgh:

The best teachers don’t always have the conversations only when there’s a catastrophe. They create the kind of classroom from the very beginning that is open to discourse and conversation.... Teachers also empower and equip students to lead the conversations on their own.

Resist the temptation to shut down.

Noelle Ford, high school Spanish teacher in Baltimore area:

I think it’s extremely important to have conversations. We strive as a community to constantly have those conversations about the tension that exists. It’s better to bring it to light versus shutting it down.

Schools like Colorado Academy must stand for justice, and there are times when we will not excuse or defend perspectives that are in opposition to our mission. I feel fortunate that Colorado Academy is a community and space where we can come together to carry on candid conversations, and where we can listen and learn from one another. I hope you’ll plan to join us for some of our SPEAK lectures this year to focus on creating a culture of dignity, to understand the transformative power of education, and to take part in essential conversations that help children.

At CA, we are helping to raise children and, in this complex world in which we live, students must be able to count on us for very clear direction. Of one thing I am certain—hate has no place on our campus.

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