Ferguson in Class

Watching the Grand Jury decision on Monday, I knew that class would be focused on Ferguson Tuesday.  I had worked with my students earlier in the year about stereotypes and how young people, specifically young black students can be viewed by others.  We had not talked about the specific events of Ferguson, Mike Brown, race or justice.  All things I wanted to bring into my classroom Tuesday.

"Where to start?  I teach nine year olds.  Fourth graders."  These were my thought following the announcement of the grand jury decision to not charge Darren Wilson.

My students!

  I went directly to a resource shared on Twitter under the hashtag #FergusonSyllabus.  This is a resource teachers have been contributing to since the events this summer when Michael Brown was killed.  First, I didn't know how much my students knew about the events, I started with a NewsELA article and talked through some ideas around race, grand juries, and the focus on race in these events.  I allowed my students to journal about feelings, questions, reactions and reflections.  I used parts of the Facing History Michael Brown lesson to have students determine the meaning of stereotype, prejudice, justice, repair, fairness, peace, and community.  We discussed some of the questions from the lesson and some of the bigger ideas connected to the definition of the words above.  We then listened to J. Cole's Be Free, and the Sam Cooke 1963 song, Change is Going to Come.

First, we re-established our classroom norms of this is a safe space, ideas and opinions are respected even if we disagree, sharing ideas is a choice and some may choose not to share.  I also had the honest conversation about the challenges of discussing these topics and issues.  It's hard, challenging and people of all ages and backgrounds struggle to discussion it, express themselves and engage in it.  Yet, it is necessary to discuss to create change and develop understanding of the issues.

After the work, students shared on Todays Meet ideas, feelings and understandings.  Here are some of their ideas I shared on #FergusoninClass.  If you haven't checked out the hashtag on Twitter, do, as many students are sharing their ideas.


"I feel sad because we don't have a lot of peace."

"I'm afraid of the people dying in our community."

"I think it's important to talk about this because when you just keep all the things in your head that creates stress."

"It's hurting me and others."

"I think that people should speak up and show love to different races."

"You need to give people justice.When someone says stop that mean stop because people are hurting people."

I am so proud of their work, their engagement with tough topics and their work to make their community a better place.