Over the past few years, many of us have become adept at handling challenging conversations when the news – whether local, national, or international – impacts our students emotionally and intellectually. Recent challenges to academic freedom in Alabama and Texas, however, might give educators pause when considering whether or not to address current events in a class that doesn’t explicitly deal with current events.

Many educators, researchers, and authors would argue that setting aside some time for students to discuss current events might take a few minutes out of the class time but will ultimately make your students more effective learners. As Cia Verschelden reminded us in her keynote and book Bandwidth Recovery, students only have so much mental bandwidth available when they enter our classrooms:

“many students routinely have to ‘spend’ some of their bandwidth on working to make money as well as worrying about not having enough … Now, think about what happens if those poor students are also Black; Hispanic; Native American; Asian; or gay, lesbian, or transgender… ‘[S]carcity robs mental bandwidth’ … This is, in essence, another kind of scarcity” (Verschelden, 2017, p. 27-28).

By creating space in the classroom for students to talk out some of their concerns about current events, we’re freeing up some of the bandwidth that can then be directed toward the teaching and learning that follow. That’s the why of addressing difficult topics in class, but what about the how? For that, I suggest taking a look at “How to Talk with Your Students About Crises” by Ella F. Washington, Alison Hall Birch, and Erika V. Hall. Written in the wake of the US Capitol takeover, the authors provide a template with six considerations:

  • Create space
  • Acknowledge
  • Affirm
  • Offer support
  • Reinforce values
  • Highlight resources

In addition to discussion of these strategies, the article includes sample statements to help guide and prepare you.

References:

Verschelden, Cia. Bandwidth Recovery: Helping Students Reclaim Cognitive Resources Lost to Poverty, Racism, and Social Marginalization, Stylus Publishing, LLC, 2017.