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Dec 6, 2021 · To start with, yes, firearms need to be regulated. Fully automatics are not needed. Bump stocks really don't matter because with a semi-automatic rifle, the rifle fires as fast as you pull the...
- Victoria Pasquantonio
- Foster Civil Discourse and Reflection
- Establish Classroom Norms
- Embrace Silence
- Encourage Informed Dialogue
- Let Students Drive The Conversation
- Expect The Unexpected
- Encourage Student Agency
- Connect Curriculum and Current Events
- Listen to Young People
There’s no question that young people across the country engaged with the Parkland shooting and its aftermath. At Facing History and Ourselves, we heard from teachers around the country. They voiced their admiration for the Parkland survivors and other young people who spoke out to demand safer schools. Many closely followed students’ attempts to o...
One step in creating a reflective classroom is to establish—or revisit—classroom norms. Creating a classroom contract helps to make norms of respect and civility explicit and visible—and makes everyone in the classroom accountable to those norms. Preview the potentially challenging topic you want to discuss and ask students, “What do you need to be...
Civil conversations about controversial topics can also be supported with teaching strategies and structures that encourage reflection, active listening, and the consideration of multiple perspectives. Before beginning class discussion, provide students with opportunities to formulate and process their ideas. 1. Connect with a partner through empat...
In some cases, you may need to give students more information to ground class discussion. One source of rich and reliable information and ideas for teaching with current events is the New York Times Learning Network. Their recent teaching activity using the Timesarticle “Walmart and Dick’s Raise Minimum Age for Gun Buyers to 21” offers a helpful en...
As a teacher, you set the standards for discussion in your classroom, but your students should drive the agenda. The topic of gun violence and the ensuing student protests are worthy of discussion in any classroom as important current events, but even teachers passionately engaged with this issue should bring it to their students in an open-ended w...
Some students reacted to the coverage of Parkland in ways their teachers didn’t expect. “I am just giving them as much time and space to discuss the events openly and ask questions as I possibly can,” says Michelle Livas, a social studies teacher in the Chicago Public Schools. “Many of them are somewhat unsurprised or unfazed by talk of violence un...
When teachers take students’ concerns and reflections seriously, we show respect for students and encourage them as civic agents. In these conversations, teachers can support students’ right to expression regardless of whether we’d agree with or endorse their particular opinions. Some students might be uncertain about whether or how to participate,...
Sometimes, teachers have to put aside their planned lessons to address breaking current events. But often, we can make meaningful connections between issues in the news, our curriculum, and our core goals in the classroom. Our current moment is a powerful entry point for exploring issues in American law and government, moments in history, and civic...
Perhaps the most important advice for being in the classroom after Parkland is simply to listen to young people. Offer the skills and support to let students reflect, test new ideas with others, and examine models of social change, and assure them again and again that their voices matter. As a high school senior from Massachusetts recently told me:
Jun 29, 2022 · NPR spoke with high school and college students who have been impacted by gun violence, and are now working to make sure others won't be.
Jan 26, 2023 · Is gun control effective? What gun control measures exist at the federal level? What are gun buyback programs and do they work? Where does the U.S. public stand on the issue?
Apr 19, 2024 · Students exposed to gun violence are less likely to do well in school and less likely to graduate. What's more, the rate of firearm deaths for Black children is six times higher than it is...
Jan 10, 2023 · A meta-analysis of more than 150 studies on the impact of U.S. gun control policies suggests laws aimed at preventing children from accessing firearms are effective at reducing firearm deaths. In contrast, laws that strengthen concealed-carry and stand-your-ground protections tend to increase gun-related violence.
May 26, 2022 · When asked which specific measures would be "most effective" at preventing school shootings, 57% of teachers favored universal background checks, and the same number, 57%, also favored banning...
