TEMPLE, Texas — As the world watched rioters rush the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Temple Independent School District Superintendent Dr. Bobby Ott took it all in, appalled at what he saw play out in front of him.
"What I saw yesterday was not freedom of expression. What I saw yesterday was not democracy or leadership," he told 6 News. "What I saw yesterday was violence and harm to others."
Ott said the definition of leadership, in his mind, is someone who listens and understands how to work out disagreements without disrespecting or harming others.
Ott sent an e-mail to staff Wednesday that was later posted to the district's Facebook page that told teachers, "Many of you carry the additional burden of having to immediately address today's events in your classrooms tomorrow."
He told teachers, "A value we must never forget is that we are all American. Our children are watching and we much model the future we desire them to deliver."
During a Zoom call, Ott said, "I believe we have an obligation to model what is appropriate and what our students can see out of a good and bright future. They are going to be a part of taking us there and shaping that future and they need to understand that is not the way to work out dispute."
Kaleigh Verett, who teaches French and Theory of Knowledge at Temple High School, said her approach has been to encourage students to look at all the facts for both sides while also helping students enable their voice in the community.
"It's a teaching moment in that way by making sure that students know how to engage with these topics while being respectful. We have to understand and hear out all opposing viewpoints in a way that doesn't shut anyone down and is not disrespectful in any way," Verett said.
Verett, who teaches mainly seniors at the high school, said it's important to be a neutral party as an educator. Because of that, she asked a lot of questions and for different perspectives.
"There are a lot of students who are still trying to understand what's happened," she said. "Sometimes it's very overwhelming, especially when you're in high school when you're presented with hundreds of different articles that all say varying things."
Verett said she's had some students inquire about what their next step can be because they don't want to be helpless and want to have a voice in the future.
"My approach has been to look at the information from a variety of sources so they can find out what happened and why this happened, including motivation," she said.
Verett acknowledged that in every class she had Thursday, there have been conversations about what happened on Wednesday, something Ott said he knew would happen. He said it's part of the role of being a teacher.
"Societal issues don't remain outside the schools and students are very inquisitive and they will, many times, bring up situations that they see on television or hear about and while they're trying to process those things, they will ask teachers questions," he said.
As teachers continue to navigate and prepare themselves for discussions about what happened, Verett was clear on how to she will go about it from start to finish.
"In my class we talk about personal truth versus societal truth and differentiating between the two, I think my role is not to influence my students personal truth in a way," she said.
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