Get ready to add Civics to STEM because, without the former, the latter will not matter. The J6 hearings are revealing ugly truths about the January 6, 2021, attack on our nation’s Capitol. As educators, we must teach about the events surrounding the J6 attack. As business leaders, we have to lead a polarized workforce. All of us must have the moral courage to stand firmly behind our nation’s laws that form the foundation of our democracy.

Most of the motivations and root causes that led to the J6 attack can be countered with one tool: a good education. Consider how your school or organization can repair these broken elements in our society. 

The solution for k-12 classrooms is both straightforward and complex. Our teachers have the skills and the resources in their toolbox to knock down all three of these insurrection building blocks. However, school and district leaders must make the classroom a safe place for teachers to teach objective truths. If there are two hundred school districts in your state, then there should be two hundred district superintendents standing up to legislators who don’t want teachers to say “gay” or who want to replace the term “slavery” with “involuntary relocation” or who support the Big Lie that the election was stolen. School leaders must use their voices and clout to protest insidious laws and policies rooted in bigotry and racism.

Preparing students for higher education or the workforce is not enough. We must equip our students with the knowledge, critical thinking skills, and moral courage to dismantle false narratives, protect minorities, and prioritize the well-being of our democracy. We were using Superman PSAs to do this as far back as 1949:

In Juneteenth - A Time to Learn Honor and Celebrate, we highlighted how higher education is a vanguard for civil rights and how those institutions produce our future civic leaders. Higher education, with its incredible resources, must play a role in protecting our democracy. In classrooms, teach-ins, symposiums, and collective campus discussions, our college students must tackle the most important topics of our time: racism, equal rights, reproductive rights, injustices, the Second Amendment, and now insurrectionists’ attacks on our Capitol. We need upfront talk about free and fair elections, what living in a democracy means, how we peacefully transfer power, and how insurrectionists threaten all of that. 

Our corporate leadership can’t afford a crisis of conscience. They were largely outraged on January 6, 2021. Now they are largely quiet. Silenced by fears of being labeled “woke.” Do not take for granted that the democracy that allowed your business to prosper is a for-sure thing. Join 1949 Superman in speaking objective truths and protecting our democracy. 

Here are five tools to help your team dismantle the insurrection building blocks. 

How to Teach the U.S. Capitol Attack

This article from EdWeek provides dozens of resources to get teachers started in the classroom.

Teaching on the Days After

This presentation details how to address traumatic events in the classroom. 

How to Spot Misinformation Online

This free course from Poynter teaches simple digital literacy skills to outsmart algorithms, detect falsehoods, and make decisions based on factual information. Designed for seniors, good for everyone.

J6 Visualizations

Fast Company gives us simple visualization to help make sense of the Capitol insurrection. 

Managing A Polarized Workforce

Drawing from work conducted with scholars of psychology, sociology, and management, Harvard’s Business Review dispels three myths about polarized groups. HBR then shows how leaders can both foster passionate debate and preserve collaboration and trust.

A special thanks to Dell Technologies. On the first anniversary of the J6 attack, the tech giant openly criticized Texas lawmakers and their legislation that restricts voting rights. Dell accused lawmakers of trying to muzzle citizens’ voices.

We would love to see more schools like Grant-Beacon Middle School in Denver, Colorado. The middle school features character development and critical thinking as key pillars. Students are tasked to commit to behaviors that reflect leadership, perseverance, integrity, curiosity, and kindness. Lessons lead students to discover the importance of utilizing factual information to develop a solid argument, draw a thoughtful conclusion, or resolve a complex issue.

Bennington College did it right. The college’s Center for the Advancement of Public Action hosted the January 6 Project, a six-week campuswide series that examined the historical, cultural, and political events that led to the attack on J6. Forums featured campus leaders, national scholars, members of Congress, state senators, and high school teachers. A pop-up course offered Bennington students a chance to work with educators and policymakers to develop tool kits and curricula for K-12 teachers teaching their own students about January 6.

Did your organization have a similar initiative? We would love to hear about it. Would you like to host one yourself? Let us help you plan for it.

We want to thank our network for their tireless work in the fight for equal rights, social justice, sensible gun laws, reproductive rights, and a healthy democracy. The future of learning and work depends on those efforts. Our work is not done. Our finest hour awaits us. 

Want to share Setser Group on social media?

How will the J6 committee’s findings impact our classrooms and workplaces? Learn more at https://www.setsergroup.com/connect

#J6 #January6 #Democracy #Insurrection #FutureOfWork #FutureOfLearning #SetserGroup #SetserNation