I really hope students don't discuss the Paria attack at school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: We opted not to tell our kids because our son is anxious already and if we tell our daughter, she will tell him. We don't watch the news in front of them. I will probably share a simplified version tomorrow morning in case someone brings it up and just focus on all the things in place to keep them safe. I hope if some kids start discussing the details, it will be redirected or if they are traumatized they will get some time with the counselor.

You need to brace yourself for the future. On the scale of world tragedies, this is not one of the major ones.

I disagree that this is not a major one.
This attack may not have killed an maimed as many as others, but it is major.
It is changing the course of how the US and other countries are dealing with ISIS.
I also believe this is something that parents should discuss with their children, even young children.
We cannot shelter them from bad things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I teach SS to seventh graders in MCPS. The other WS 7 teacher and I spent a couple hours at Starbucks this weekend planning a mini-lesson on the attacks in Paris, Kenya, and Beirut. The main focus is how terrorism relates to the 10 characteristics of culture (from the MCPS curriculum), but obviously we know that students hunger for facts and a framework for these current events. We consulted the Resource Counselor and her guidelines were no graphic photos or descriptions, no religious stereotyping, and no more than 20 minutes. We have Media Center passes for any student who doesn't want to participate in the discussion. They can work on their medieval African culture research project instead. I doubt many will opt out. Most 12 year olds realize on some level that this is the world they are inheriting and they want to understand it.

Some reason you left out the Russian airplane?

Obviously, we both hate Russians.

Our focus in human geography this week is on cities, PP. Go have a cup of coffee.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: We opted not to tell our kids because our son is anxious already and if we tell our daughter, she will tell him. We don't watch the news in front of them. I will probably share a simplified version tomorrow morning in case someone brings it up and just focus on all the things in place to keep them safe. I hope if some kids start discussing the details, it will be redirected or if they are traumatized they will get some time with the counselor.

One of the hardest things I've ever had to talk to my own kids about was Sandy Hook. That was absolutely horrific on so many levels and since that happened in a school I was so afraid that talking about it and then sending them off to school would be really scary. Long story short, I did talk to my kids and I explained what happened and how sad it was - I was crying. I let them ask questions and when they went back to school the other kids were absolutely talking about it so I was glad that we had talked about it at home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: We opted not to tell our kids because our son is anxious already and if we tell our daughter, she will tell him. We don't watch the news in front of them. I will probably share a simplified version tomorrow morning in case someone brings it up and just focus on all the things in place to keep them safe. I hope if some kids start discussing the details, it will be redirected or if they are traumatized they will get some time with the counselor.

You need to brace yourself for the future. On the scale of world tragedies, this is not one of the major ones.

Hopefully, you're correct. If this turns into France's equivalent of 9/11 with all that followed, it will turn out to be major.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I teach SS to seventh graders in MCPS. The other WS 7 teacher and I spent a couple hours at Starbucks this weekend planning a mini-lesson on the attacks in Paris, Kenya, and Beirut. The main focus is how terrorism relates to the 10 characteristics of culture (from the MCPS curriculum), but obviously we know that students hunger for facts and a framework for these current events. We consulted the Resource Counselor and her guidelines were no graphic photos or descriptions, no religious stereotyping, and no more than 20 minutes. We have Media Center passes for any student who doesn't want to participate in the discussion. They can work on their medieval African culture research project instead. I doubt many will opt out. Most 12 year olds realize on some level that this is the world they are inheriting and they want to understand it.

Some reason you left out the Russian airplane?

Obviously, we both hate Russians.

Our focus in human geography this week is on cities, PP. Go have a cup of coffee.

Paris, Garissa, Beirut. (Or Paris, Nairobi, Beirut, if you're talking about the 2013 attack on the mall in Nairobi.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I teach SS to seventh graders in MCPS. The other WS 7 teacher and I spent a couple hours at Starbucks this weekend planning a mini-lesson on the attacks in Paris, Kenya, and Beirut. The main focus is how terrorism relates to the 10 characteristics of culture (from the MCPS curriculum), but obviously we know that students hunger for facts and a framework for these current events. We consulted the Resource Counselor and her guidelines were no graphic photos or descriptions, no religious stereotyping, and no more than 20 minutes. We have Media Center passes for any student who doesn't want to participate in the discussion. They can work on their medieval African culture research project instead. I doubt many will opt out. Most 12 year olds realize on some level that this is the world they are inheriting and they want to understand it.

Some reason you left out the Russian airplane?

Obviously, we both hate Russians.

Our focus in human geography this week is on cities, PP. Go have a cup of coffee.

When your students ask questions, do you answer with the same condescension?

Your focus is on "human geography" and you don't see how international plane travel is germane?

Also, why on Earth would kids study medieval African culture? Is that actually in the MCPS curriculum? Is that like Virginia making second graders study ancient Mali?

[Anonymous]

I don't have the luxury of not telling my kids. Their father is Muslim and they have the most horrible things said to them at school. Most of the time kids repeat things that their parents have said at home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't have the luxury of not telling my kids. Their father is Muslim and they have the most horrible things said to them at school. Most of the time kids repeat things that their parents have said at home.

That is awful. So sorry you have to go through that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

When your students ask questions, do you answer with the same condescension?

Your focus is on "human geography" and you don't see how international plane travel is germane?

Also, why on Earth would kids study medieval African culture? Is that actually in the MCPS curriculum? Is that like Virginia making second graders study ancient Mali?

Why on earth wouldn't kids study medieval African culture? The class is "world studies", and medieval African culture is part of the human experience. It's even part of the European human experience, given trade between Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and sub-Saharan Africa.

(I'm not the PP who is the teacher.)

The MCPS 7th grade world studies curriculum is:

Unit 1: "Foundations of Modern Political Systems" (medieval Europe)
Unit 2: "The Influence of Culture in Africa" (medieval Africa)
Unit 3: "Geography Shapes Latin America" (medieval Latin America (Incas and Aztecs)
Unit 4: "The Impact of Economics: One World Past & Present" (world trade after 1450)

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/socialstudies/middle/grade7/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't have the luxury of not telling my kids. Their father is Muslim and they have the most horrible things said to them at school. Most of the time kids repeat things that their parents have said at home.

That is awful. So sorry you have to go through that.

I'm sorry too, PP.

[Anonymous]

We went to a private school open house yesterday and the eighth-grade American government teacher said that they would be discussing the Paris attacks in class today.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: We opted not to tell our kids because our son is anxious already and if we tell our daughter, she will tell him. We don't watch the news in front of them. I will probably share a simplified version tomorrow morning in case someone brings it up and just focus on all the things in place to keep them safe. I hope if some kids start discussing the details, it will be redirected or if they are traumatized they will get some time with the counselor.

You need to brace yourself for the future. On the scale of world tragedies, this is not one of the major ones.

I disagree that this is not a major one.
This attack may not have killed an maimed as many as others, but it is major.
It is changing the course of how the US and other countries are dealing with ISIS.
I also believe this is something that parents should discuss with their children, even young children.
We cannot shelter them from bad things.

London, Madrid, Finland have faded from the US conciousness, this will too.

[Anonymous]

Do you think first graders will talk about it? my husband is also Muslim, our children identify as Muslim, so I am a bit worried about this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: We opted not to tell our kids because our son is anxious already and if we tell our daughter, she will tell him. We don't watch the news in front of them. I will probably share a simplified version tomorrow morning in case someone brings it up and just focus on all the things in place to keep them safe. I hope if some kids start discussing the details, it will be redirected or if they are traumatized they will get some time with the counselor.

How would you react to a local sniper threat? Say this fall your kindegartener's pumpkin patch field trip was canceled as a result, three or four weeks of their first soccer or t- ball season was canceled and all outdoor recess cancelled. What would you have done?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I teach SS to seventh graders in MCPS. The other WS 7 teacher and I spent a couple hours at Starbucks this weekend planning a mini-lesson on the attacks in Paris, Kenya, and Beirut. The main focus is how terrorism relates to the 10 characteristics of culture (from the MCPS curriculum), but obviously we know that students hunger for facts and a framework for these current events. We consulted the Resource Counselor and her guidelines were no graphic photos or descriptions, no religious stereotyping, and no more than 20 minutes. We have Media Center passes for any student who doesn't want to participate in the discussion. They can work on their medieval African culture research project instead. I doubt many will opt out. Most 12 year olds realize on some level that this is the world they are inheriting and they want to understand it.

I hope you'll also include the almost daily attacks in Iraq & Syria & that far, far more Muslims and others living in the Middle East have been victims of ISIS. It would be interesting to raise the question of why the western media doesn't cover those sories.