A day of action

There was a school walk-out in Providence today, as part of a national day of resistance protesting recent actions by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

 

Gordon was well-represented at the walk-out and the rally at the State House that followed.
 

Back at Gordon, the weekly Middle School meeting was given over to the rally and the headlines that inspired it.
 

Some students had been immersed in news surrounding violence in Minneapolis. Others had only heard bits and pieces.
 

This was a chance to make sure every Middle Schooler was working with the same basic information about the history that is being made this month.
 

Gordon's mission includes teaching children to use their voices: in conversation, in debate, in poetry, in song, in journalism and persuasive essays, in comic strips and in television interviews.
 

Protests are an important way to use one's voice.
 

At today's meeting, students saw a video of a recent alum who helped organize the walkout at a local high school.
 

They paused for a moment of silence at 2pm, when the State House rally was scheduled to begin.
 

Then, they got a mini-lesson that was one part activism and one part emotional regulation.
 

Their teachers had prepared three workshops in “the things you can do whenever you feel mad and want to take action."
 

Students went off to create protest signs, protest songs, and letters to government leaders.
 

If these lessons all sound familiar, it was only a week ago that these students spent the day talking about resilience, resistance, bearing witness and caring for one another.
 

It takes sustained work to create a beloved community.

 

Gordon is working on it every day.