As Russia wages war with Ukraine — and millions of Ukrainians become refugees in neighboring nations that fear they could be attacked next — schooling across the European continent has continued on.
In this lesson, students choose between three recent articles that look at “a war so close to home” from the points of view of teachers, students and parents in Poland, Germany, Denmark, England and other European countries. After the class jigsaws to discuss what they have learned, they reconvene to discuss the importance of education in society in general, even — or perhaps especially — during wartime.
Then, in an extensive Going Further section, we have rounded up many contributions from teachers in the United States across subjects and levels who describe ways they are helping their students understand this conflict and its roots and effects.
Warm-Up
A recent Times article shared the story of Inna Pasichnyk, 29, who escaped with her 11-year-old son, Volodymyr, to the Czech Republic from their home in the Donetsk region of Ukraine:
Invite your students to reflect on this passage and the following questions by writing in a journal or discussing with their classmates in small groups:
Do Volodymyr’s actions surprise you? Why do you think The Times might have included this specific detail of this family’s story? What do you think it says about the power and importance of education, and the role it plays in young people’s lives, even amidst an ongoing war?
What purpose do you think schools can serve in a time like this, whether for students in Ukraine who are directly affected by the war, for those in Europe who are feeling the shock waves of it, or even for those far away, like students in the United States?
Have your own teachers discussed the war in Ukraine in your classes? Would you like them to? If so, what do you want to know more about?
Now, students will participate in a jigsaw activity. Below are three articles about three different student populations that have been affected by the war in Ukraine. Assign each student, or have them choose, one of the articles to become an “expert” in. Make sure there are about an even number of students reading each article.
The article “Pencil Cases and Air-Raid Sirens: School at War for Ukraine’s Children” includes two significant details about education during war: First, that attacks on schools and other education facilities are, according to Save the Children, “a grave violation against children and can constitute a war crime”; second, that in some Ukrainian cities now occupied by Russian forces, Russian authorities have pushed for schools to overhaul their Ukrainian curriculums and instead teach in line with Russian schools. Ukrainian educators have fought back.
What do these two details reveal about the importance of education in a society? Why, in addition to the loss of life, might destroying schools be so devastating to a country as to be considered a war crime? Why might Russian forces want to control the curriculum of Ukrainian schools, and why might Ukrainian educators oppose that move?
Going Further: Ideas From Teachers
Many teachers answered our call in mid-March to tell us how they were addressing the war in their classrooms. Here are some responses that show the many ways, large and small, that educators have sought to help their students understand the conflict and its roots, the plight of the Ukrainian people, the role of the United States and more. They have been edited for length and clarity.
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