Name: ‘Excitement’ as Alabama classrooms watch Biden inauguration
Brand: al.com
SKU: al-com-432
Availability: OnlineOnly

critic

‘Excitement’ as Alabama classrooms watch Biden inauguration

preview

NEW!1,416sharesAs Vice President Kamala Harris was sworn into office Wednesday, Madison Goodwin saw one of her students, watching from the floor of the classroom, raise her own hand along with Harris.“When the vice president was being sworn in, it was like you could hear a pin drop, which never happens in my classroom,” Goodwin, a first-grade teacher at i3 Academy, a charter school in Birmingham, said, laughing. “I’m really excited that they get this, that it will be the norm for them in the future.”Alabama teachers had varying approaches to the inaugurations of Harris and President Joe Biden.Some said they didn’t intend to cover the event, fearing complaints from parents or administrators if they strayed into political topics.Others lead discussions about the election and inauguration every four years, regardless of who is elected, and planned to simply explain the process of American elections. And others said they made a special point to discuss this year’s inauguration of Harris as the nation’s first Black, South Asian and female vice president.“There was excitement, seeing Kamala and Michelle [Obama],” said Constance Blaylock, a second-grade teacher at i3.Blaylock’s class held a mock campaign, election, Electoral College vote count and inauguration in the fall, which she said helped students understand the American elections process and preview the events they watched on screen Wednesday.“That helped give them things to connect to,” she said. “They were like, ‘Oh, I had to give a speech, too.’”The realities of remote instruction, where not all teachers are in a physical or virtual space with their class at one time, made group activities hard for some educators.Valerie Dasinger, a first-grade teacher for Dothan City Schools, created a PowerPoint slide to discuss the history of past inaugurations with her young students instead of watching a livestream together.They had already discussed the election process and colored in Electoral College maps, and Dasinger said she expected Wednesday’s events would wrap up a series of lessons focused on civics.We are cultivating the next generation of socially-conscious leaders by exposing them to historical moments such as...Posted by on&nbsp;Ben Lanier, a middle school teacher at Grace Lutheran School in Huntsville, said his students also were excited to witness Harris take the oath of office.He said he took the opportunity to discuss other events related to the election, including vote counting, elections processes and how to identify and vet reliable news sources.His students and their families have a range of political backgrounds. Students have varying feelings about the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, he said, which they watched footage of during class, but they were all worried and concerned.“I emphasized the importance of such feelings and why it’s important to have a civil discussion about it,” Lanier said.Teachers mentioned drawing on past experiences handling difficult national events while they tried to guide student discussions. Lanier, who was a student himself during the 9/11 attacks, said he remembers watching events unfold in real-time on television from his classroom.“Similarly, I want my students to watch today’s experience unfold live,” he said. “Good or bad, it’s important that people be informed and witness history in this way.”Goodwin said she hopes to revisit her lessons during the next inauguration.“I would like to do it again,” she said. “And you never know what they’ll find interesting. We pulled out a map, because it was sprinkling there on the camera but sunny here, and I pulled out the map to show where Washington, D.C., was in comparison to us. And I was telling them, we’re far away in Alabama, but this is something that’s happening for the whole country.”Are you a parent or educator hoping to discuss political events with a child, but not sure where to start? Here are some recommendations from experts and other educators:Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission.

NEW!1,416sharesAs Vice President Kamala Harris was sworn into office Wednesday, Madison Goodwin saw one of her students, watching from the floor of the classroom, raise her own hand along with Harris.“When the vice president was being sworn in, it was like you could hear a pin drop, which never happens in my classroom,” Goodwin, a first-grade teacher at i3 Academy, a charter school in Birmingham, said, laughing. “I’m really excited that they get this, that it will be the norm for them in the future.”Alabama teachers had varying approaches to the inaugurations of Harris and President Joe...

‘Excitement’ as Alabama classrooms watch Biden inauguration

No article scores yet.

CRITIC REVIEWS

PUBLIC REVIEWS