AUBURN — Molly Carmichael’s lesson for second-graders at Park Avenue Elementary School on Thursday was as much about bad information as it was about good information.
“There is a lot of information out there and we want to make sure the information we are learning is accurate,” the first-year teacher told her students. “So, let’s research it together.”
Just before recess, she dimmed the lights and displayed a picture on the wall from Ukraine. The 7- and 8-year-olds knew instantly where it was because of the blue and yellow flag.
“They know a lot more than we think they know,” Carmichael said.
The lesson was the second one for them about the war between Russia and Ukraine.
“When something big and scary happens, we need to think about it more than once,” Carmichael said.
On Tuesday, students made sunflowers from construction paper and talked about what Ukraine’s national flower represents.
“Kindness,” Esdras Bikandou said.
“Hope,” added Lilly Gumprecht.
Carter Young wrote “happy” and love” on the sunflower he made.
“Because of the war, we made sunflowers to show that we want to help,” Vada Kanzler said.
“Helpers” was the topic of Thursday’s lesson.
“Whenever there is a scary situation, there are people helping,” Carmichael told students.
The second-graders decided they wanted to help and voted to make a donation to the United Nations Children’s Fund. Carmichael provided the money, which will be sent to UNICEF to assist Ukrainian children.
“It’s sad,” Bikandou said. “It reminds me of all the fighting in Africa.”
In this day and age of social media, children are seeing images of war, Carmichael said.
“I heard about it on Tik Tok,” one student said.
Are children as young as 7 or 8 using the video-focused social media app?
“Apparently so,” Carmichael said. “I think many of them have older siblings and that is how they are exposed to it.”
“I think kids are seeing all of this,” she said. “It will be less traumatic if they have someone to process it with. Don’t keep it inside. Let’s talk about it.”
That’s the idea of the lessons about war.
“My philosophy is to answer their questions honestly in an age-appropriate way,” Carmichael said. “The conversation is led by the children. I am very impressed. You ask a question and they give you a grown-up answer.”
“Is the fighting between Russia and the Ukraine being handled like adults,” Carmichael asked her students.
“No. Like little silly children,” Gumprecht said.
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