Two Massachusetts students taking action from home during COVID-19.
With school buildings closed and most of us stuck inside our homes, we might feel like victims of fate, unable to control our lives. Yet, it turns out that having a sense we can make a difference may be one key to getting through these difficult times. Writing in The New York Times, Tara Parker-Pope explains, “Much of the scientific research on resilience — which is our ability to bounce back from adversity — has shown that having a sense of purpose, and giving support to others, has a significant impact on our well-being.”
As educators, we recognize the importance of helping students develop a feeling of agency, but how can we do that without being able to gather in person? To help answer that question, the Massachusetts Civic Learning Coalition (MCLC) reached out to educators in our network to learn about ways that their students are staying engaged and making a difference in quarantine.
The following is an interview conducted by two MCLC members, Adam Strom, the Director of Re-Imagining Migration and Jessica Lander, a Massachusetts-based educator, with her students Safiya and Carla.
Adam: Hi, Jessica, Safiya, and Carla. How are you holding up?
Safiya: Hi Adam, I’m doing ok. Trying to finish all my homework and family responsibilities on time.
Carla: Hi Adam, I’m holding up. Just taking things as they come each day.
Ms. Lander: Hey Adam, good to hear from you. Trying to stay connected to friends and family, and working to support my community and students from afar.
Adam: I loved learning about your project aimed at encouraging people to fill out the census. How did the project come about?
Carla: Ms. Lander reached out to us a few weeks ago. She was worried about how our communities would be undercounted because of the COVID-19 crisis and the lack of knowledge on how important the census is. She asked us to join her… and of course we said yes!!
Ms. Lander: As Carla said, when the stay-at-home order went into effect, I was really worried about the upcoming census. Even in a normal year many communities are undercounted, leading to underfunding and underrepresentation. COVID-19 will likely result in a more inaccurate count, as census workers are unable to go door to door. As a history and civics teacher, I work with Generation Citizen to teach my high school students action civics. I know former students like Carla and Safiya are deeply engaged in civics work at the state and the national level, and as young immigrants they are powerful connectors in their communities. They can reach families in a way that politicians and organizations might be unable too. I reached out to them to see if they wanted to collaborate and pilot a census campaign in Lowell. Then together we reached out to friends at Generation Citizen Massachusetts for help creating our census infographics.
Adam: Why the census? There are a lot of issues that you could have chosen to work on. Why did the census matter to you?
Safiya: For me, it matters a lot to have my family and the Iraqi community be counted.
Carla: The census is a hard topic to talk about especially in my family. I come from the Dominican Republic, where the census is not very accurate. My family does not trust the census process or the people who come and knock on your door. I know some immigrant families in my community in particular might think the census is something they shouldn’t do or can’t do.
Ms. Lander: COVID-19 and school closures have been tremendously stressful and difficult for young people, as for everyone. As a teacher, I thought this could be a powerful way for young people to have an impact and make connections in a time where so much is out of their control. Many of our students have access to phones and that is all you need to be part of this campaign. For fellow teachers I thought this could be a powerful mini real time civics lesson to engage their students with.
Adam: What was your process in creating the campaign -recognizing that you all were working apart? Who was your target audience? Given that you couldn’t go door-to-door, how did you hope to bring others along?
Ms. Lander: This was a true collaboration between four of us: Carla, Safiya, me, and the incredible Carra Fraker, Program Manager at Generation Citizen Massachusetts. I spearheaded gathering the content, Carra brought her amazing design sense in turning words into engaging and shareable infographics, and then Carla and Safiya have been spearheading sending the campaign into the community.
Safiya: As Ms. Lander said, Carla and I have been working on spreading the word, and since this is the first year that we are filling out the census online it was much easier to get people to fill out their census. We posted on social media, translated text messages in Spanish and Arabic, and sent them to our communities, friends, and families. That's how we have been able to do it.
Adam: How have you spread the word? What can other educators and students do to get involved?
Safiya: I only needed social media and WhatsApp. With the help of my mom, I was able to send text messages in WhatsApp, translated into Arabic to my Iraqi community here in Lowell. Many of them don't speak English and they didn’t trust the census because they thought it was a scam. I’m working to ensure they are counted!
Carla: Spreading the word is super easy and everyone can do it. In my case I made an info video talking about the importance of the census and how to fill it in, recording it both in English and Spanish. I’ve been sharing it on social media because I know it is the fastest way to spread the word amongst my friends.
Ms. Lander: The campaign’s goal was to be easy to use and share. For young people we hope they share our infographics. Text them to friends and family. Ask them if they have filled in the census. If they haven’t, remind them until they do. Set a goal: can you get five friends to fill in the census? Can you get five friends to ask five more friends? For teachers, we think this is a great mini civics lesson. Given distant learning challenges, this campaign is timely, manageable, and engaging. Excitingly, teachers already are incorporating our infographics into civics lessons. We hope more will. This is really civics in action!
Adam: What advice would you give to other young people, or the adults in their lives, to help them take action from home?
Safiya: One piece of advice that I can give to people my age, is that our community needs us more than ever before. If we are able to take a small action from our homes to support our family and other families, what are we waiting for?
Carla: Find something that you are passionate about and find others that share that same passion. We just need someone that shares the same passion to start a movement or a great cause.
Adam: Thank you for doing what you are doing and the inspiration in these challenging times. Keep up the good work.
View the infographics created by created by Ms. Lander, Carla, Safiya and Carra below and share them on social media:
The MCLC has created a set of resources to help educators, students, and families through this current crisis. Now is the time for us to make sure that young people will have the opportunity to ask questions, voice their concerns, and know they have our support. We can do this by providing them with trusted information and meaningful opportunities to learn.