One lingering question I have from class last night is how to teach hard history to primary students. Most of the suggestions we had centered around the students diving into the information themselves from credible sources, but how do you give kindergarteners and first graders who are just learning to read valuable information that they can still understand? By picking things for them to read myself does that take away from those sources because the students did not have the skills yet to pick for themselves? Bringing in an expert to discuss the topic is a way around that, but as someone who has no expertise or experience in some of these areas, how do I know the expert I bring in is giving my students the most recent and truthful information? New information is being brought to light all the time and many people claim to be experts but have not kept up with the newest information.
After reflecting through class last night I think the best way to handle hard questions like this is to have an open line of communication between the teacher, the parents, and the students. That way their can be discussions on all sides to generate ideas for how to answer hard questions. Even if the teacher doesn’t agree with the parents ideas on how to answer something, the parents were still made aware and given a voice in their child’s classroom, making them less likely to be angry over something you tell the students. Utlizing your teaching team and running everything through your administration is another great way to bounce ideas back and forth to put the most effort into not saying something offensive without meaning to.