“What were some of your day afters?” asked Matthew R. Kay, author of Not Light, But Fire: How to Lead Meaningful Race Conversations in the Classroom, at the beginning of ILA’s free digital event on Tuesday, January 12, 2021.

Kay’s session, “‘What Will We Say to Them Tomorrow?’: Tackling Tough Conversations in the Classroom” is available on demand for free on ILA’s Facebook page and YouTube channel.

Answers from the nearly 1,000 educators participating in Tuesday’s webinar came pouring in: Columbine. 9/11. Sandy Hook. The Boston Marathon bombing. The deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.

In the days after the violent insurrection that occurred in Washington, D.C. on January 6, 2021, educators grappled with how to address the attack in their classrooms—or if they even should. Students ask questions, of course. How would educators answer them?

Kay took to Twitter the day after, giving advice and reminding fellow educators that students need engagement and substance, not quick fixes.

Those looking for with additional resources from Kay may be interested in the following:

• Not Light, But Fire: How to Lead Meaningful Race Conversations in the Classroom (Stenhouse, 2018)
• Four-part digital series with Stenhouse.
• “Confronting Inequity / A United Front on Equity” (Educational Leadership)
• “How Educators Can Help Students Resist Reactionary Propaganda on Social Media” (ASCD blog).

Follow Kay on Twitter, where he regularly shares valuable resources from others.