These cspan Video Library in the classroom. Lets welcome this years fellows. And sunshine cavalluzzi. Both of you, welcome to the teacher fellowship program. How do you engage High School Students in government . It is definitely a challenge, because our political discourse places so much emphasis on stem. They dont always come in with knowledge on why humanities is important. Like anything else, it starts with relevance. Why does this matter to you . We have to contextualize the science and engineering. Thats where resources like the cspan library are incredibly important. E can see in real time how these things are playing out and why they matter. Lesson is beginning something along the lines of this might be the only government class you ever take. You will be a voter forever. I need to give you tools that will help you for the rest of your life in those pursuits. It is helpful to do that if you know not just was happening now, but why it is happening and what has come before. Steve we know twitter and socialedia, the Attention Span of the nation can be small. What are some of your secrets . As a history component, this is a chance for them to learn about their story. Peopletory comes with who came long beore them, who shaped the way the world around them operates. They start to realize this doesnt just start with me, but what i contribute and where im coming from is all part of the bigger story. That way, allowing them to take in other peoples opinions, the perspectives of others through social media, and also through video, gives them a chance to think, this is how i see the world, but why do i see the world this way . How can i expand that i taking in other peoples perspectives . Steve you get students at the high school level, so let me follow up. Do you sensetudents come to high school with a basic understanding of government and documents that shaped america . Sushine i think some of them do. But if you dont know why it is important, you donalways pay attention. They have a sense ey do live in an extraordinary country, but is my responsibility to help them understand why it is so extraordinary, what does it mean to say we are free . I think some kids have a fundamental understanding, and other kids have a narrow one. It is my job to meet them wherever they are and push them. Steve what is your sense . A lot of times, students are picking up what they hear, and have a lot of assumptions. Our job is to help them work through their assumptions, challenge them, push back when necessary, but also create a eighth when they connect knowledge and admit its ok if they dont know something, and that is ok, a good starting place to acknowledge, maybe i have limitations, and that is a forward. Ay to move if you give them opportunities and resources and Critical Thinking skills to take in things like government, but even some of the larger issues at hand in the world around them. Sushine back to the point about twitter, if you try to tell a story when hundred 40 characters, its not a long story. When we talk about the declaration of independence, they all know about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I argue the next sentence is really deep revolution. Its talking about, why does this all matter . Not just a sound eye, not just 140 characters, but what does it all mean and how does it fit . Steve lets talk about the last year. One of the most polarizing elections, and certainly one of the most consequential in american history, where you saw the popular vote going to the democrat and the Electoral College vote going to the republicans. Donald trump became the 45th president. How do you teach that . William four years ago, i pitched to my supervisors, it would be great if we had a class that we uld engage the president ial election completely. A lot of times in history classes, you have a curriculum, you have to get through time frames and keep moving. We take the opportunity to engage the election, but often times it has to fit into some of these other issues. Was given thei opportunity to teach and elected solely based on the election. It gave students a chance to really wanted to learn, students who were eligible to vote for the first time, a chance to really process through how they onnk, and where they stand some of the issues and how they understand the history of this presidency and the media. We had a great opportunity. Its the end of the day, so theres all that energy, and they engaged well. I got a firsthand look at being able to see how a 16 or 17yearold is taking in all of this. Steve and in realtime with no shortage of news. [laughter] william a lot of times, whatever would have been that day, i would have to scrap my plan, because this just came out. It challenged me as a teacher to say, all right, i need to be in tolexible and clued what is going on around me. It was a challenge for sure, but they were excellent. And sunshine cavalluzzi, also a lesson on the Electoral College. Sushine absolutely. My first semester teaching with the fall of 2000. It was an interesting contrast with the emotions were heightened on both sides similarly, but its interesting with the timing. We were taught about the Electoral College, what are the arguments against it . Its a very timely example. When you talk about why government is relevant, this is why. Some of the moment you helped us identify the other teachers can use, all of it available on our cspan video and library. The inauguration of donald trump from january 20 of this year from the west front of the u. S. Capital. Trunp what truly matters is not which party can control the government, but whether our government is controlled by the people. January 20, 2017, will be remembered as the day the people became the rulers of this nation again. The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer. Everyone is listening to you now. You came by the tens of to ome part of a historic tens of millions to become part of a Historic Movement the likes of which the world has never seen before. At the center of this movement is a crucial conviction that a nation exists to serve its citizens. Americans want Great Schools for their children, safe neighborhoods for their families, and good jobs for themselves. Just and reasonable demands of righteous people and a righteous public. But for too many of our citizens, a different reality exists. Mothers and children trapped in poverty in our inner cities. Scattered factories like tombstones across the landscape of our nation. And an Education System flush with cash but which leaves our young and beautiful students deprived of all knowledge. And the crime, and the gangs, and the drugs that have stolen too many lives and robbed our country of so much unrealized potential. Stopsmerican carnage ght here and stops right now. [applause] january 20, the inauguration of donald trump, kamps incamp bill the classroom. How did this play out . William i offered it in my classroom during realtime. It was at lunch, so students were not in class, that i made sure that students who wanted to come by and watch, could. There was mixed reaction. Some certainly embraced some of the populist language of it. Others felt like there was exaggeration. For the most part, students didnt feel clued in. They were watching and and processing it. For me, it was interesting that a group in my fifth period class, a lead up to the socratic seminar for the rest of the class, at the end of the school year brought this back as a subject of populism. What is the grand narrative of presidency using populist narrative and how that plays out in the inauguration, as well as the other Campaign Rhetoric . As them, it is interesting, much as there were some differences in how they interpreted the day, they certainly were able to see it in a larger historical context, which is what we are looking for. Steve and the context of your courses on government. We have had polarizing times in america. Before world war ii, and isolation movement, watergate, the impeachment of bill clinton. Had to you deal with the current Political Climate in context to what we have seen in the 20th century . Sushine i think explaining to studen that what is different now is the ease of communication, and the fact that news travels so fast and broadly, that it feels like everything is happening everywhere and to you. And also a wide array of news sources, that you can choose to only hear things you agree with already. Thats what makes it different, but these are not new times. America has always been stronger than the challenges we face. For the kids feeling unsettled or left out or frustrated that theres no reason to be pessimistic, there is a reason to be optimistic. They are better at channeling the modern tools available than anyone at any time in history, so they have the capacity to create change, and they should impractical, and it is critical that they talk to other people and expand outside their own confirmation buys narrative to hear other stories, and that they can listen to Something Like the inauguration dispassionately. Maybe listen to it twice, one one otherotion, and me. Its not a new discussion. Most teachers would probably say we have been talking about checking sources and making sure you find reliable information along the way. As funny as it sounds, it is actually helpful for us as teachers that this is now a National Dialogue and the word is thrown around, because now students are more hyperaware. I want to make sure im doing things accurately. Anyway, it has given legitimacy to something that i think we have been saying all along, which is you have to make sure that what you say is supported by the rightfax. You cant just go in and make something in on something up on a paper. In some ways, it is nice there is a National Conversation about this, and it has allowed us to say, look how this is playing out around you. We are not just making it up. Steve i kw as part of your july fellowship, you got the chance to go to the white house and hear from jim acosta and others in the White House Briefing room. This is during president trumps first news conference. Arent you concerned that you are undermining peoples faith in the first amendment, freedom of the press when you call stories you dont like fake news . Why not just say its a story i dont like . Heres the thing. I understand that you are saying. Youre right, except i know when i should get good and when i should get that. Sometimes i will say, wow, thats good to be a great story, and i will get killed. I know it is good. I know what is bad. When they change it and make it really bad, something that should be positive, sometimes something that should be positive, they will make ok, or even negative. Im there. I know what was said. I know who is saying it. Im there. It is important i want to see on his press. I started off today by saying it is so important to the public to get honest press. The public doesnt believe you people anymore. Maybe i had something to do with that, i dont know. But they dont believe you. If you were straight and really i would hearit is, biggest booster, your biggest fan in the world, including bad stories about me. But as an example, you are cnn, it is story after story afte story that is bad. I won. I won. The other thing, chaos. This is zero chaos. This is a finetuned machine. Half of this job is putting outlined by the president about the president. I said yesterday, this whole russia scam you are building so you dont talk about the real subject which is illegal leaks, but i watched him yesterday working so hard to try and get that story proper. Im saying here is my chief of staff, a really good guy, did a phenomenal job, we won the election, we got some senators, all over the country, hes done a great job. I said to myself, and somebody, take a look at reince priebus, hes working so hard putting out fires that are fake fires. They are fake. They are not true. Steve i was in february from the white house. And teachk at that students, what is your take away . Sushine one of the things that will have a privilege in teaching students is that i did have the opportunity to go to the white house. I can tell students there, and jim acosta popped in to say hi, and it was a copy of, and he was still doing his job. These are not just soundbites. These are real people working really hard to do aob, and there is a difference between what makes headlines and what is actually the story and we need to, as responsible consumers, separate the news. Lets separate the impulse to just label something in a way that is critical or convenient from what actually being told quick or convenient from what is actually being told. Everyone in the middle is really trying their best on telling the story, and it might disagree, but they are working hard. I remember how jon stewart used to call his show fake news and me, is how it means to on the comedy channel. We will talk about how that can be applied to news on cnn or any other broadcast television. Of socialou brought media earlier, this is one of the limitations. It takes very complex issues and brings it down to 140 characters. You cant really cover the complexity of this. These are human beings working hours and hours to make sure they are communicating something they feel strongly about what they feel like they have factual support. Whether that is people in the administration or in the media, i think we forget that humanity side a forget there is complexity to their stories and their worldviews. We fall into these traps of just lacking weight all the time black and white all the time. Sushine in my class, we always discuss what is our responsibility as consumers contributing to this, that we expect news in realtime . We expect the journalist to, as this is happening, to tweet or put up a new story virtually as it is happening, and virtually never make mistakes. Are we holding them to unfair standards . Ever make a mistake, dont ever contradict yourself, dont ever change your mind as you get more information are we holding these people to a standard they cant reach . And 10 contributing to that, are we complicit, and can we be more responsible as consumers . Ste lets talk about the polarization in this country, and a moment that took place on the senate floor, with senator Elizabeth Warren of massachusetts, and this exchange with the Senate Republican leader Mitch Mcconnell on the nomination of Jeff Sessions to be the u. S. Attorney general. Senator warren in 2013, senator votednts sessions against reauthorizing the aolence against women act, bill that expanded protections and Services Provided to victims of Sexual Assault and domestic violence. There is a piece from the bedford minuteman that really tells the story of how Sexual Violence impacts massachusetts. This is what it said. Daughters,others, sters, fathers, sons, and brothers, mr. President. The senator has impugned the motives and content conduct of our colleague. Senator warren said senator sessions has used the often power of his office to chill the free exercise of the vote by black citizens. I called the senator to order under the provision to rule. Senator warren mr. President . Surprised that the words of cormedix got king are not suitable for debate in the united correct test scott king are not suitable for debate in the u. S. Senate. I asked to continue my remarks. Is their objections . Senator mcconnell i object. Objection is heard. The nator will take her seat. Warren i appeal the ruling of the chair. I request a quorum. Senator warren was given a lengthy speech. She had it. Appeared she had to violate the rule. She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted. Steve really an incredible moment where politics and process and social media came into play. Sushine absolutely. One of the things bill and i did this summer was to create content to include the cspan teacher website, and this was one of the moments i chose for 19. 2,sons on senate rule which is something i can assure you that in 17 years, my students have never been interested in, until now. Now we have an awareness i have never seen as a teacher in the intricacies of the process among the public as a whole, and it trickles down into the classroom. Remember how i talked about the senate rules and you all kind of mentally snoozed because you didnt think it was important lets put it in this . Context. You saw nevertheless she persisted. What does that mean . What are the underlying questions . Steve and of course, senator Mitch Mcconnell is a master of the senate rules. William yes, and certainly whe there is a dynamic when you got gears o large the figures in their party, and there is a rubber tail on using the rules as well as the media around it, you will have an inevitable story. Thats what i like sometimes , eveneven the hashtag though it is simple, it is a good place to start a dialogue. Students that i never thought would watch an event on capitol hill were coming in the next day and asking to talk about it. I want to know it happened, can you help me understand . They even acknowledge they dont know much, can we dial through this . Highly appreciate that. Steve we always remember where. E were on september 11, 2001 your students were either not born or they were in intent. How do you teach post9 11 politics a Security Issues in this generation . Sushine its very difficult. Time. Teaching in this i had students that did experience this with me. I used video. I go to the archives. I goo news clips and show it. Then we talk and say, imagine what it would feel like to watch this live and not now. I have personal stories from my students that day that i share to help contextualize it. It is difficult, because they , meeting someone at the gate, do we love each other enough to meet someone at the gate or remember or weight at curbside . So this is definitely a security,about International Threats in the divide of before and after. Steve part of that came with the president s first overseas trip to saudi arabia. President trump every time a terrorist falsely invokes the name of god, it should be an insult to every person of faith. Terrorists do not worship god. They worship death. If we do not act against this organized terror, then we know what will happen and what will the end result. The devastation of life wi