By Anna Ginelli and Sophia Laraki
In response to the recent insurgence at Capitol Hill, the Great Valley High School Social Studies Department created an open discussion environment to help students better understand this historical event.
What happened...
After a tumultuous 2020 election season, President Donald Trump and his supporters struggled with grappling his loss in the presidential election. Trump had repeatedly tweeted that the election was “rigged,” and he wanted his supporters to counteract Congress on the approval of the Electoral College results that confirmed that Mr. Joe Biden had won.
On January 6, Trump held a “Save America” rally at Ellipse Park at noon in an effort to “stop the steal” of the election.
“We’re going to walk down to the Capitol, and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators, and congressmen and women," Trump said. "We’re probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them because you’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength, and you have to be strong."
Trump expressed his appreciation of all those who turned out to support him.
After the president left the rally and returned to the White House, Trump supporters marched down Pennsylvania Avenue to the Capitol building. Once, there, the crowd became riotous and stormed into the Capitol where Congress was about to certify the election results and name Joe Biden as the newly elected president.
Belligerent supporters pushed through barricades, hit police officers with metal bars, sprayed tear gas, climbed the Capitol walls and eventually smashed a window with a flagpole.
Complete pandemonium broke out, and congressmen and women were told to duck behind chairs, put on gas masks, and flee the building to protect themselves from the rioters who had now entered the building.
Protestor Kevin Seefried entered the Capitol holding a Confederate flag. This was the first time the Confederate flag was the building. Seefried has since been arrested.
Once inside, rioters stole from offices of the congress and destroyed property within.
One aspect of the riots that especially concerned Americans was how President Trump seemed to condone the rioters’ behavior. He gave a statement during the protests saying, “We love you, you are very special.” His comments alarmed many officials on both sides of the political spectrum.
In addition to the damage to the Capitol and the unrest among the crowd, the riot devastatingly took the lives of five individuals. Brian Sicknick, a police officer that was “physically engaging with protestors” to control the crowd, was struck in the head with a fire extinguisher by a protestor and later died.
Additionally, Ashli Babbitt, an Air Force veteran, was shot and killed by a Capitol police officer when attempting enter the congressional chamber.
The other victims--Kevin Greeson, Rosanne Boyland, and Benjamin Phillips--suffered heart failure that went untreated in the commotion of the riots, leading to their deaths.
Many people, both police and protestors, faced consequences for the events that occurred at Capitol Hill. Lieutenant Tarik Khalid Johnson, a Capitol police officer, was seen in a video wearing a baseball cap donning “Make America Great Again,” despite being a registered Democrat and voting for Joe Biden.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Johnson claimed he used the cap as a ruse to rescue trapped police officers. One witness said that his actions enabled a set of doors to the Capitol to be closed, thereby shutting off at least one entry point. Currently, he is suspended until further investigation.
After the riots, police discovered two pipe bombs outside of the Republican and Democratic headquarters near the Capitol. The FBI has upped the reward for the culprit from $50,000 to $75,000.
Once all the protestors and rioters were removed and the area properly contained by police, Congress reconvened and completed the work that they had started. By 8:30, the record of the new president was officially passed and enshrined.
As the FBI continues to search for perpetrators of the crimes committed at the US Capitol, the nation continues to heal from the terrible events that occurred on January 6, 2021.
The next day...
The public consensus was that the riot was not a protest gone wrong – it was an attack on our democracy and an act of domestic terrorism.
The day after the riot, January 7, was an emotional day for the entire country. Many people on social media and in real life vocalized feelings of disgust, fear, and sadness as more horrifying information about the riot and its aftermath came to light.
Recognizing that most high school students were following the event, Social Studies Department Chairperson, Mr. Don Morabito, felt that it was important to give them the opportunity to process the events.
“As was the case in other ‘interesting times’ in our past, the events of the day have made it incumbent upon teachers to help our students process what they have seen and heard,” wrote Mr. Morabito in a letter to his colleagues. “This is exponentially true in a Social Media dominated world. I spoke with Dr. Capetola, and we feel our Social Studies Classes should be the vehicle to enable this processing.”
Mr. Morabito spoke during the morning announcements to acknowledge the riot and asked all social studies teachers to step away from the curriculum and take time to answer questions and hear reactions from students and offer advice or knowledge to provide understanding, further contemplation or questioning.
Mr. Morabito and high school Principal Dr. Capetola were not alone in recognizing the importance of taking a day to talk about such a monumental event in order to listen, learn, and empathize.
Other social studies teachers shared how they modified their plans for the day.
“This was an unprecedented event in our lifetime. We felt it important to give students time to process what they saw and ask questions,” said Mr. Kyle Hess, US history teacher. “Additionally, I think it important for students to express their thoughts while also considering the perspectives of their peers.”
Mr. Gerry McGrath, who teaches US Government at varying levels, clearly saw the day’s events as a teachable moment.
“We have always discussed cataclysmic events impacting the nation, from mass shootings, the pandemic of course, and climate change,” said Mr. McGrath. “This particular event was on par with 9/11, only it was domestic terrorists seeking to decapitate our leadership, not foreign.”
Mr. McGrath expressed how we are all already living in unprecedented times that will be remembered. And when students are older, perhaps they will be asked what it was like.
“You will all tell your children and grandchildren about this time and that day in particular. When they ask what it was like, it seems right and respectful of the gravity of the situation that you not have to say ‘Well, we just had class as though it was a normal day’,” said Mr. McGrath. “You deserved to be able to discuss, share, and listen.’’
In the letter that Mr. Morabito sent the social studies teachers, he included an acronym called the “PEARLS” of Wisdom by two child psychologists, Drs. Laurie and Fred Zelinger, to help them introduce the sensitive topic.
P – Prepare
E – Explain
A – Answer
R – Reassure
L – Listen
S – Safeguard
Mr. Hess began by asking students to tell him what they saw.
“We, as a department, thought it important not to take the time to explain what the students saw,” said Mr. Hess. “We needed to hear from students and allow them to process what they saw – to draw their own informed conclusions.”
Mr. McGrath began with asking questions as well, but many students were not comfortable speaking up. He decided to take a different approach.
“I did a run-through of events as they had been reported,” said Mr. McGrath. “That elicited a few questions and comments.”
The conversation eventually veered towards the topic of equality for Mr. Hess’s classes. Students compared the response to the Capitol riots with the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020.
Mr. McGrath’s students expressed feelings of anger, disgust, and some anxiety over how far the riot escalated. “The main take away was that hopefully that was the worst day the nation will ever experience in their lifetimes,” said Mr. McGrath.
Mr. McGrath also conducted an informal poll of his students to express their opinion as to whether they would seek an immediate removal of the President or not.
Overall, the teachers felt that the day’s conversations were productive and that students demonstrated their interest and concern about the issues challenging their country.
“Over the past few years, Great Valley students have become much more aware of equality issues surrounding race, gender, mental health, etc. I continue to be impressed with this level of awareness and engagement,” said Mr. Hess. “I am not sure that every generation is as engaged in these types of issues when they are young. Yet the current generation seems to be consistently curious and active. This bodes well for our nation’s future.”