Teaching about January 6th's Violence in the Capitol
Thursday January 07, 2021Yesterday's violence at the US Capitol calls on all of us to engage our students in deeply challenging conversations about white supremacy, antisemitism, and other hateful beliefs that we saw on display.
Survivor testimony in IWitness offers key, timeless insights about standing up to hate, and about building a respectful future. It can also ground us in the sacred vitality of democracy: we encourage you to listen to this testimony clip from Tom Lantos, the only Holocaust survivor who served in the United States Congress.
Below is a suite of testimony-based activities that can support educators of all grade levels in supporting their students, as we all face these realities together.
We continue our work to foster understanding, respect and empathy-and we remain hopeful.
Students recognize manifestations of respectful behaviors in survivor testimony and their own experiences.
Through testimony, students explore the personal impacts of hate, and how hate can be countered.
Students reflect on how they can practice intellectual courage in their own lives, guided by testimony.
Drawing evidence from primary sources, students examine the impact of civil and uncivil discourse in co-curricular spaces.