Transitions of Power: Inauguration Day
The 2020 election season and the surrounding events that unfolded will draw the curiosity of historians and the public for years to come, and the emotional toll it is taking on our country could not be more profound. Students will need guidance and support to help them understand the election results, how the electoral process and inauguration day ceremony work and how we can work to unite as a country after a tumultuous election season. AFT’s Share My Lesson is working with partners to create and curate timely content for our community to discuss the complexities and delicate nature of the evolving situation.
In this collection, you will find resources for teaching about the inauguration, news lessons surrounding the 2020 election, ways to help students engage in civil discourse, ideas for student civic engagement, strategies for discussing controversial issues in the classroom and more resources about the foundations of democracy and government. Find resources like:
- Learning to Speak Across Political Divides: Using PURPLE in the Classroom
- The Election Is Over … Now What? Activity
- Teaching What Unites Us: The Values of Democracy
What You Say Matters
Ever get that unsettling feeling after you have said something that didn’t sit right with your audience? Or experienced a time when you just said something and received a strong reaction that you didn’t intend?
Enter microagressions. A microaggression is an intentional or unintentional comment or action, usually slight or subtle, that conveys negativity towards a marginalized person, group, or culture. The term ‘microaggression’ includes ‘micro’ to make it clear that these instances, as individual events, are not severe but that the repeated impact is exponentially cumulative and deeply damaging. It’s no secret that there is a lot going on in our world right now and the last thing we want to do is cause further trauma or harm. Let’s get clear on microaggressions and how we can work toward improvement. Here is a great article to support inclusive communications in your classroom from the Teaching Channel entitled “What You Say Matters.”
