This section is dedicated to resources that are particularly relevant to recent global/domestic events.

Teaching About the Israel-Hamas War

A New York Times collection of resources to help students learn about Hamas’s recent attack on Israel, the dire situation in Gaza, the conflict’s roots, media literacy, and more. In this teaching resource, they use Times reporting, Opinion essays, podcasts, and photographs to help teachers and students better understand the events of this week, the complex history of the region, and the myriad issues related to this war.

Teaching about the Violence in Palestine and Israel

The Zinn Education project tells us that while many education groups are providing resources for teaching about the crisis as a “conflict” rooted in antisemitism and Islamophobia, that sole emphasis is misleading. Students need to study how the current crisis is shaped in large part by settler colonial history, land, water, conditions of apartheid, and the geopolitical motivations of world powers. Linked are their teaching resources to help students probe the long history of colonialism and resistance in Palestine and Israel — and the role that our U.S. government has played.

Centering Humanity While Following News of the Israel-Hamas War

A phenomenal group of lesson plans in which students reflect on their personal “universe of obligation,” how to find multiple perspectives in the news, and how they can center others’ humanity when taking action.

The Palestinian/Israeli Conflict

We join Facing History and Ourselves in mourning the loss of life and bearing witness to the trauma wrought by the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Like FH, we believe that students in every classroom should be confronting difficult histories, wrestling with contemporary issues, and navigating challenging conversations. We also encourage informed and respectful dialogue that references primary sources and multiple perspectives and inspires empathy for all who are suffering. Addressing the recent violence requires careful preparation by both educators and students and Facing History provides many valuable resources to support this effort.

If you choose to engage with your students about these issues, we recommend reviewing their Teaching With Current Events Checklist. You may also want to consult several articles they offer that present a range of opinions and perspectives to help you and your students unpack the roots, causes, and impact of these events:

• Council on Foreign Relations: Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

• US Institute of Peace: What Sparked the Latest Israeli-Palestinian Confrontations?

As students navigate the news coverage of the recent events and the historical narratives of the conflict, they should also consider general ways in which distrust and hatred can engender violence and be reinforced by it. Facing History offers resources analyzing the dynamics of “us” versus “them” that illuminate how this dynamic connects to conflict and injustice. These resources also facilitate building empathy and trust across divides.

• Facing History: Creating “We” and “They” (video: Kwame Anthony Appiah)

• Facing History: When Does “Us” Turn Against “Them”? (video: Kwame Anthony Appiah)

Finally, we understand that this is a complex topic with many viewpoints and we have only begun to gather resources to support further conversation and learning. Multiple perspectives are vital to our understanding of one another's humanity.  If your perspective is not represented in these resources, we welcome you to share additional resources with mbanks@csdecatur.net

How to Talk to Kids About Violence, Crime, and War

Common Sense Media gathers tips and conversation starters to help you talk to kids of different ages about the toughest topics.

Talking to Your Kids About War

VeryWell Family explores ways families can speak with young people about war, including tips on sharing information and restricting media coverage.

https://www.verywellfamily.com/how-to-talk-to-kids-about-war-4147597

How to Talk to Your Children About Conflict and War

UNICEF’s guide offers eight tips to support and comfort your children.

https://www.unicef.org/parenting/how-talk-your-children-about-conflict-and-war

Four Myths About Trans Athletes, Debunked

Upholding trans athletes' rights requires rooting out the inaccurate beliefs underlying harmful policies sweeping through state legislatures. The ACLU provides the facts to debunk four myths about trans athletes using the expertise of doctors, academics, and sports psychologists.

Processing Attacks in Israel and the Outbreak of War in the Region

Use resources from Facing History to help students process violence, terror, and the loss of life in the wake of attacks in Israel and Israel's declaration of war against Hamas.

Confronting White Nationalism In Schools: A Toolkit

This toolkit is designed to help parents, students, teachers, school administrators, and the wider community counter bigoted organizing through sample scenarios that schools frequently encounter.

Evaluating Online Resources: The Complete Beginner’s Guide

Website discusses how to help students find trustworthy sources and avoid plagiarism, copyright, and accessibility Issues.

Education Censorship, HB 1084, and Other Education Issues in GA

Important GA Educational Issues: The AJC Team Get Schooled team talks to panelists about how the ongoing culture wars are reshaping Georgia’s public schools. Education reporters Vanessa McCray and Ty Tagami discuss these topics with Sen. Sonya Halpern, Minority Caucus Vice Chair and Senate Education & Youth Committee,  Fred A. Jones Jr., Senior Director of Public Policy & Advocacy, Southern Education Foundation, Cole Muzio, President, Frontline Policy Council, and Rep. Will Wade,  House Education Committee, Republican - Dawsonville.

Gun Violence in the U.S.

1. Resources for Teachers in the Wake of Gun Tragedies: Educators for Social Change (E4SC) has put together plenty of resources for educators to use in the wake of gun tragedies. Lesson plans and other resources will help educators have conversations about gun violence successfully in their classrooms.

2. Teaching Resources about Gun Violence: The National Council for the Social Studies provides teaching resources and background articles on teaching about gun violence. The list includes lessons, articles, and videos from The Atlantic, Facing History and Ourselves, New York Times, NPR, PBS, and more sources! From these resources, students can learn about gun control around the world, the gun control movement that arose after the Parkland school shooting, gun control vs. gun rights, etc.

3. Embrace Race's How to Talk to Kids After Incidents of Mass Violence: Kids often hear about high profile incidents of violence from their peers. It's okay to not have answers for kids, but choosing silence can be very problematic and scary for them. This is because the narratives that kids, especially young kids, make up to make sense of what is happening can lead to wrong conclusions and sometimes even greater fear and anxiety than a conversation about the truth with a trusted adult. You can do this. Here are some guidelines for having conversations with kids in the wake of news of a violent event.

The Flint, MI Water Crisis

Drawing from three recent real-world case studies (Flint, Michigan; Newark, New Jersey; and Jackson, Mississippi), the Zinn Education Project introduced a new mixer activity (suitable for middle and high school students) that surfaces both the causes and consequences of environmental racism. 

CNN Opinion: The real message behind expelling the Black members of the ‘Tennessee Three’

Jemar Tisby, a professor of history at Simmons College of Kentucky, shares thoughts about the historical ramifications of this action.

Decorum and Sanctioning Representatives Jones, Pearson, and Zephyr

In April 2023, three state lawmakers in Tennessee and Montana were excluded from legislative sessions or expelled outright on the grounds that they violated rules of decorum. This mini-lesson includes an optional opening activity that helps students consider how to discuss politics in non-polarizing ways, helps students learn about the events leading up to the sanctioning of the Tennessee and Montana representatives, and raises questions around the use of rules around decorum to censure the legislators. Each activity can be used on its own or taught in any combination best suited to your students.

The Death of Tyre Nichols: A Place for Teenagers to Respond

The NYT invites teens to post their thoughts, emotions, reactions, and questions in this moderated forum.

Ukraine, Syria, Myanmar, et.al. - Teaching War

Teachers, parents, all of us often find ourselves at a loss when children ask us why horrible things happen. The organization Educators for Social Change curated a valuable list of resources that teachers can use to address war in the classroom. Please see these resources as well as others specifically addressing the Russia/Ukraine conflict, at this link. You can also use this link to access a list of countries currently at war and a synopsis of the conflicts.

Handle with Care: Supporting Young People During Crises

Learning for Justice offers recommendations and resources to help guide conversations with young people and to manage potential subsequent actions and reactions.

https://www.learningforjustice.org/magazine/handle-with-care-supporting-young-people-during-crises 

Facing History and Ourselves - Current Events in the Classroom

Facing History and Ourselves has curated a rich group of timely resources that help teachers address recent events and issues in the news. They provide tools to help teachers make connections between current events and your curriculum, including activities and discussion strategies for high school and middle school students.

https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/current-events-your-classroom 

The Jan 6th Insurrection at the U.S. Capital

Teachers are on the front lines of a volatile culture war when it comes to educating students about Jan. 6. Issues of race, culture, and politics collide to create what amounts to quicksand for those who may wish to address the conflict. Yet, do not despair, there is some guidance out there. At the website linked below, social justice advocate, Henry J. Turner, provides multiple resources to help teachers process and address the insurrection of Jan 6, 2021 with students.

https://henryjturner.com/2022/01/05/resources-to-help-educators-process-the-january-6-2021-attack-on-the-capitol/ 

BIPOC Isn't Working? What Should We Call People of Color?

This opinion piece in Newsweek provides an interesting perspective on the use of the term BIPOC and whether it should be used to describe people from backgrounds other than White.

Social justice advocate Henry J. Turner provides teaching resources to address the insurrection of Jan 6, 2021.

PBS Newshour - The U.S. Withdrawal from Afghanistan

The Taliban is set to return to power in Afghanistan, 20 years after being ousted by U.S.-led military operations. The current situation in which thousands are fleeing the country has been referred to as a humanitarian crisis. What will Taliban 2.0 look like for Afghans? This website provides a resource lesson for teachers who wish to explore such issues. 

Teaching About the Haiti Earthquake

Although it was created for the earthquake that took place in 2010, this webpage is currently being updated and offers a selection of website sources that teachers may find useful in teaching about the 2021 earthquake in Haiti and the ongoing humanitarian response. Please take time to look through and vet the resources thoroughly before presenting them in class, as some may be quite distressing. See also the 'Handling emotional issues' section of the page for help with student distress. 

• Inside the Haiti Earthquake is a "serious game" created for educational purposes, suitable for older students. Students can play the role of a survivor, a journalist, or an aid worker; the choices they make influence how the story progresses.

Critical Race Theory

1. EXPLAINED: The Truth About Critical Race Theory and How It Shows Up in Your Child’s Classroom This engaging and informative article discusses CRT's definitions, CRT's origins, and how it shows up in your child's classroom. It's definitely not the big bad wolf that some would like you to believe it is. In actuality, it's merely a theory that explicates the historical perspective of an honest, lived truth for many BIPOC in the US.

2. Drawing Conclusions: Parents Skeptical of Critical Race Theory Talk to Experts

This fascinating series of videos from 11 Alive, follows two metro Atlanta parents, Bart and Coley Glasgow from Canton, Georgia, who were concerned about critical race theory (CTR) and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in public schools. The Glasgows went on a fact-finding journey, interviewed experts in African American studies, DEI, implicit bias, and America’s civil rights movement, then, made a final decision. Access the YouTube playlist here.

3. Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings breaks down the history of CRT and how it’s used in educational settings. Video 26 mins. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKwPPGQDRH8&t=874s

Tensions Over Teaching Race & Racism

In this Harvard University Education Now webinar, panelists discuss what educators and families can do to make sure students are supported, learning, and prepared with the knowledge they need to understand their own histories and the diverse and global society they’ll enter. A discussion on how schools, educators, and families can navigate the continued politicization and tensions around teaching and talking about race, racism, diversity, and equity.

The Murder of George Floyd

The murder of George Floyd. The Derek Chauvin trial. These are heavy, challenging times for us all, but particularly for communities of color. Education Minnesota has compiled a list of resources for educators and parents to help children and adolescents cope with and process this, and other traumatic events.

The Surge in Asian American Violence

Asian-American Harassment related to the COVID-19 Outbreak - This page provides Resource Links to support AAPI students and/or other students who may be experiencing hate crimes. 

Support for Grieving Students

The Coalition to Support Grieving Students - The Coalition’s purpose is to create and share a set of free, industry-endorsed resources that will empower school communities across America in the ongoing support of grieving students.

Anti Bias Training

Get Trained to End Harassment! - Hollaback is an awesome nonprofit working to end harassment — in all its forms. They believe that everyone deserves the resources to respond to, prevent, and intervene in instances of harassment. Therefore, they provide both customized and free anti-harassment training experiences. They have many free training sessions scheduled for March-May 2021 that speak specifically to Asian American discrimination. Check them out!

Interrupting Bias (Learning for Justice)

This site addresses basic ways that teachers and students can stand up against biased statements as soon as they arise.

https://www.learningforjustice.org/magazine/publications/speak-up-at-school/in-the-moment/basic-strategies  

Opportunities for White Folk in the Fight for Racial Justice: Moving from Actor, to Ally, to Accomplice

The ideas captured on this website, very much a work in progress, have been developed to support White people to act for racial justice. It draws from ideas and resources developed mostly by Black, Brown, and People of Color, and has been edited by Black, Brown, and People of Color. Hopefully, this chart challenges White folks to go outside of our comfort zones, take some bigger risks, and make some more significant sacrifices because this is what we’ve been asked to do by those most impacted by racism, colonialism, patriarchy, white supremacy, xenophobia, and hyper-capitalism. 

The Difference Between Being an Ally and a Co-Conspirator

Take a risk: Dr. Bettina Love discusses the difference between being an ally and being a co-conspirator. This Clip of WE WANT TO DO MORE THAN SURVIVE is from CSPAN on March 19, 2019. While this is not a recent clip, unfortunately, its sentiment never ceases to be a current event.

Pulitzer Center's Top 10 Resources of 2022!

The Pulitzer Center education team creates standards-aligned lesson plans for K-12 classrooms that use underreported global news stories to cultivate a more curious, informed, empathetic, and engaged public. In 2022, they published 76 new curricular resources. Designed by their team and partner educators, including 22 Teacher Fellows and 40 1619 Education Network teams, these resources aim to spark engagement with systemic issues in the news while also strengthening core skills. This webpage shares their top ten lesson plans of 2022, which were selected to reflect 2022's most-accessed curricular resources and spotlight a range of current issues and geographies. 

Pulitzer Center's Top 10 Resources of 2021!

This webpage shares their top ten lesson plans of 2021, which were selected to reflect 2021's most-accessed curricular resources and spotlight a range of current issues and geographies. 

Try the following award-winning podcasts to access current event opinions from the Latinx, Black, Asian, and other communities. Please listen carefully to each podcast to vet its appropriateness before sharing it with students!

Tamarindo!

The Latinx empowerment podcast discusses politics, pop culture, and how to balance it all con calma!

Through Tamarindo, hosts Ana Sheila Victorino and Brenda Gonzalez use levity to inform, inspire, and impact our community. Join Brenda and Ana Sheila as they delve into discussions on identity, race, gender, representation, and life! Each episode brings a reflection on current political events, and suggestions for mindfulness and grounding, or what they call calma moments.

Asian Enough

From the Los Angeles Times, “Asian Enough” is a podcast about being Asian American -- the joys, the complications, and everything in between. In each episode, hosts Jen Yamato, Johana Bhuiyan, Tracy Brown and Suhauna Hussain of the Times invite special guests to share personal stories and unpack identity on their own terms. They explore the vast diaspora across cultures, backgrounds, and generations, and try to expand the ways in which being Asian American is defined.

Code Switch

NPR's "Code Switch", hosted by journalists of color, tackles the subject of race with empathy and humor. The hosts explore how race affects every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, food, and everything in between. This podcast makes all of us part of the conversation — because we're all part of the story. Code Switch was named Apple Podcasts' first-ever Show of the Year in 2020.

Nice White Parents

A limited-series podcast from the New York Times about building a better school system and how the most powerful force in shaping them, White parents, often get in the way.

Disability Visibility

Disability Visibility is a podcast hosted by San Francisco night owl Alice Wong featuring conversations on politics, culture, and media with disabled people. If you’re interested in disability rights, social justice, and intersectionality, this show is for you. It’s time to hear more disabled people in podcasting and radio. Named one of the 15 best podcasts by women that you’re not listening to by Refinery 29 in 2021.

https://disabilityvisibilityproject.com/podcast-2/ 

How to Decenter Yourself in Conversations With Members of Marginalized Communities

There are parts of all our identities where we find ourselves having privilege. For example, although I am a Black woman and Black people are marginalized in the US, there are parts of my identity where I do have historical privilege such as being a Christian in the United States, having a middle-class socioeconomic status, and having an extensive post-secondary education. If someone who is historically marginalized is trying to tell us what life is like for them, then it is important for us to seek to understand others’ experiences, reflect before contributing to a conversation, and use our own privilege to give marginalized groups a platform. These behaviors can help create safer spaces for meaningful discourse. This site provides strategies.

https://onlinegrad.baylor.edu/resources/how-to-decenter-yourself/ 

To access hundreds of resources addressing the topics listed below (and many others), we suggest you visit the Racial Equity Tools, GLSEN, Amnesty International, NEA, and Equity Literacy Institute meta-search engines.

Implicit Bias, Microaggressions, and Stereotypes

Gender 

• • Gender Fluidity/Boys/Girls

Sexuality 

Whiteness 

Racism

Ableism 

Lookism (Includes Phenotype)

• • • Colorism/Size/Perception of Beauty

Religious Discrimination 

• • Anti-Semitism/Anti-Islam/Anti-Sikhism

Ageism 

• • Youth/Elderly 

Human Rights

Talking About Race

The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture has a wonderfully rich website with information to help you talk about race if you are an educator, parent or caregiver, or simply a person committed to equity. It's well worth the visit!

Implicit Bias, Microaggressions, and Stereotypes Resources

NEA resources to sharpen our racial analysis and deepen our understanding of implicit bias, microaggressions, and stereotypes.

Harvard U. - Repository of Anti-Racism Resources

Harvard's site tells us that simply not being racist is insufficient in eradicating the problem. We must work on actively becoming Anti-Racist in order to properly push back against the system that oppresses Black, Indigenous, and other People of the Global Majority (POGM). Members of the university community have compiled resources that can educate, facilitate, and equip those seeking to become more effective anti-racism allies.