Sunday night’s bedtime story was different.
Over Zoom, Karen Eller read her students the picture book “Something Happened In Our Town.” As she flipped each page, she told the story of two families — one white, one black — as they navigated questions after a black man is shot by police in their town.
Just the night before, Eller’s fourth-graders had heard protesters chanting “Black Lives Matter” and “I can’t breathe” outside their homes. They heard helicopters circling overhead.
A black man in Minneapolis had died at the hands of a white police officer. The Bancroft School students had questions, namely, why?
Monday morning, teachers like Eller logged into Zoom ready to have tough conversations with their students about race, police brutality and the weekend’s events. Regardless of age, most students are aware of what’s going on in the world, teachers said, whether it’s through their parents or social media.
Much like adults, students are scared and confused about what’s to come.
And while teachers are trying to offer as much support as they can, remote learning forced by the COVID-19 pandemic is making it harder to discuss an already difficult subject.
“The kids have been out of school with the pandemic. It’s been a lot for our students to have to deal with and process,” Eller said. “To have them continuing to witness people being treated differently because of the color of their skin, especially at such a young age, just hurts you as their teacher.”
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Over the past week, teachers and schools have tried their best to connect students with resources. Some districts have offered counseling and others have planned group meetings, giving students, parents and teachers a place to let out their frustrations and attempt to find healing.
At EastSide Charter School, students, parents and teachers gathered virtually Monday afternoon.
“How are you feeling?” Tatiana Podalko Alleyne, executive director of the nonprofit TeenSHARP advocacy group, asked.
A flood of students typed their answer into the Zoom chat:
Devastated and upset.
Angry and tired.
Liberated and wanting to see change.
I don’t know how to feel.
One by one, they shared their thoughts of the weekend, recounting moments that they experienced racism in and out of school.
“What did we do to deserve this?” one black teen tearfully asked her fellow students.
Helping children and teens process the harsh realities of police brutality in America means offering a safe space and a listening ear, teachers said, especially since interactions are limited to Zoom conferences and phone calls. Students need to feel validated and heard, Eller said.
“That’s what’s happening right now, the voices of the unheard aren’t being heard. That has to change,” Eller said. “Just being there for younger kids and showing them that their voices do matter and that we’re here for them, I think is most critical right now.”
When Kim De Jongh asked her Forest Oak Elementary students if they knew about the Black Lives Matter movement, she was surprised to hear the level of detail the students had taken in.
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They knew how Floyd had died, with a white officer’s knee pressed into his neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. They knew about the protests. And that police in Seattle had maced a 9-year-old girl.
What followed was a conversation about empathy, celebrating differences, and treating everyone with love, regardless of what they look like.
“I knew as an educator, this is how I can do something to impact my community,” DeJongh said. “I want to make sure that the community I live and serve in is able to make the best decisions that they can. We can only do that through education.”
Some adults assume students are “obsessed with their phones and sneakers,” said Julia Overly, who teaches English at Concord High School.
But in reality, students are passionate, and hungry for information – information they typically get from social media.
In the past week, Overly has fielded about two dozen calls from past and current students. While students in this year’s senior class are done with school, they’re still turning to her with questions, asking what they can read and watch to be better informed about race relations in America.
Her biggest concern is the inaccurate information they see online.
“There are a lot of other pictures of people sweeping up the mess together. I’ve been trying to steer them toward those images,” Overly said. “All they see is rubber bullets and awful scenes at like two in the morning on their phones. They’re viewing this through social media.”
Teachers would be better able to combat misinformation if students were in the classroom, Overly said. Just as buildings were closing in March, her literature classes were just beginning to discuss historic change through protest.
“Truly, we do not teach U.S. racial history in our schools like we should. There’s very little background about why the tension exists in our country right now,” Overly said. “I would love to be in the classroom right now. History teachers would love to be filling in the blanks and connecting the dots. I don’t have any answers for you, but let me help you understand how we’ve gotten here.”
Since Saturday, Eller has walked downtown with members of her class’s Kindness Club, passing out water to people cleaning up after protests. It’s one way she can show them they have the ability to make change.
“Silence is definitely complicity. We have a responsibility as educators to speak up and advocate for our students and the communities we teach in,” Eller said. “Our kids don’t deserve to grow up in a world where you’re treated differently because of the color of your skin.”
Some of her students have already asked for their own copy of “Something Happened in Our Town,” but the book is sold out. Eller plans to share her copy with other teachers.
“Why are you mad?” a black boy asks his father in the book.
“I’m mad because we’re still treated poorly sometimes,” he replies. “But I can use my anger to make things better.”
Natalia Alamdari covers education for The News Journal. You can reach her at (302) 324-2312 or nalamdari@delawareonline.com.
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Delaware teachers help students process the death and aftermath that's shaken the country - The News Journal
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