IRL, I teach in a high school in Montrouge where one of yesterday’s terrorists attacked took place.
Everyone was still in shock with happened on Wednesday. I spoke with my older classes. We had a debate about freedom of speech, the press and of course Charlie Hebdo. I was pleased to hear that they thought muslim didn’t rhyme with terrorist. Many of my students are actually Muslims despite the fact that I work in a Catholic high school. I do like the fact that tolerance is one of the key values of my workplace.
My little students in 7th grade were so terrified with what happened in Montrouge yesterday that I had to find a way to dissolve their anxiety. They asked me: “Are you scared, Miss?” and I said a kind “no”. They felt a little bit better. The only way I could soothe them down was to give them the task to write a fairy tale in English, in groups. They lost themselves in the writing and stop being afraid.
This worked better than any speech I could make. Their anguish became dragons that could be slain by magic swords. I wanted them to work in groups because quite a few of my students have Islam as a religion. It is important to stay united in tolerance.
Being a teacher/writer, I firmly believe words can change the world. It’s true; you can fight with words
The Brighter Life 