Introduction
In the classroom, educators are often looking to create spaces for discussion and learning about unfolding current events, like the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, October 7th and the subsequent Hamas-Israel War. Learning about any current events risks harmful incidents among students. However, there is also an opportunity for a meaningful and nuanced learning experience that may still cause discomfort or emotional reactions, but can create new pathways for connection and understanding among students.
Where do I start?
Start your process by having an open-ended conversation with your student. Ask them to share what is happening or is planned at their school and how they feel about it. Invite your student to share how they’re feeling and how they would like to be supported. Be mindful that you and your student may have different perspectives. Refer to Conversations that Matter: Understanding and Discussing Antisemitism with Young People for additional guidance.
Initiate communication with the educator; teachers and staff in the classroom have the greatest capacity to influence what happens in the classroom, and building and maintaining a cooperative relationship with teachers is the most effective way to ensure your student’s safety in the classroom is prioritized. Refer to the chart below for support, and share resources like Decode & Disrupt: A Toolkit to Recognizing and Combating Problematic Messages, or ADL’s K-12 Education Assistant: Ora.
If the issue is not resolved following direct communication with the educator, reach out to school administration and then, if needed, district-level administration. If necessary, file a report with ADL at www.adl.org/report-incident.
How Can I Advocate to Address Incidents That May or Have Occurred?
Partnership between parents and educators is an essential component of young people receiving an effective and inclusive educational experience. The following chart provides suggested language to communicate your concerns to teachers, staff and administrators in a productive way. Use this language along with sharing the Educator Toolkit to support a more effective learning experience or repair harm following a problematic lesson. The suggested language below can provide support in raising the important concerns about inclusion and proposes solutions for the classroom that transcend individual positions on current events.
| I’m concerned about... | Share with and ask educators... |
|---|---|
Tokenization, Exclusion & Other Biased Behaviors Example:
| “When Israel is in the headlines, antisemitic incidents spike because many people consciously or unconsciously generalize about Jewish people and our views on Israel or Zionism. What classroom guidelines or agreements are in place to proactively and reactively address name-calling and other biased behaviors? What learning has the class already done to ensure that my student and other Jewish students won’t be singled out in the discussion?” |
Oversimplification Example:
| “Learning is most effective when it is in context and incremental. When learning about Israelis and Palestinians, there is a lengthy history of many different peoples living in the region, and many different powers governing the area across several thousand years. It’s very common for learners to make direct comparisons when talking about Israel, but doing so causes confusion and harm. How much time is being devoted to building background knowledge about the history of the region and its people? From what sources? Are multiple perspectives being shared? How much new information is being introduced in a single lesson?” |
Misinformation + Disinformation Example:
| "It’s very common when war or violence is taking place for misinformation and disinformation to be rampant. Misinformation and disinformation about Israel can lead to an unsafe climate for Jewish people, including my student. What curriculum development and preparation are being done to ensure that instructional materials contain accurate information and misinformation or disinformation shared in class is corrected?” |
Stereotypes + Dehumanization Example:
| “When violence is in the news or in the curriculum, it’s very common for people to use strong language to describe the individuals or groups involved. Consciously or unconsciously, people may use stereotypes about Jews when talking about Zionism and Israel. To what extent have students previously explored common antisemitic stereotypes and how they show up today? What proactive and reactive plans are in place to address stereotypes and dehumanizing language if it comes up during the lesson? What background information or knowledge do they and/or students have about Zionism and the diverse views it represents?” |
Scapegoating Example:
| “Scapegoating of Jewish individuals and communities is a very common form of bias that is often activated in conversations about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Debates about the legitimacy of Israel’s existence or demonization of Israelis create an unsafe climate for Jewish students and interrupt opportunities for critical thinking for all students. What instructional practices are used to ensure that students are considering multiple perspectives and drawing their own conclusions? What are the learning goals around critical thinking, examining multiple perspectives and using deductive reasoning?” |
Things to Keep in Mind
- No amount of advocacy or reporting can guarantee that your student will not experience discomfort or even mistreatment at school. Maintain open communication with your child about their experiences at school and listen closely to their perspective on addressing past or potential incidents. Support your student in identifying steps to take if something happens at school, including managing discomfort in peer interactions, removing themselves from unsafe situations, documenting and reporting any incidents and seeking support from trusted adults.
- Consider resources like: Conversations that Matter: Understanding and Discussing Antisemitism with Young People or Antisemitism Today to help navigate the conversation with young people.
- If a problematic or even harmful lesson has already taken place, teachers, staff and administrators still have an opportunity to repair harm in the classroom or school. Use specific examples by referring to materials used in the lesson and reports from your student about what took place to document and share your concerns with school stakeholders.
- For more on navigating conversations about curriculum or content, consider a resource like Decode & Disrupt.