Tue, September 10, 2024

Back to School with Olympic Spirit and Civic Engagement

By Jen Mitchell, Head of School, Village Community School

After rallying around our country’s highest-achieving athletes in the Summer Olympics, we turn to the home stretch of a historic presidential election in timing with our welcome back to school. The confluence of these major events has created a moment in which many children become aware for the first time of their country’s role on the world stage and of their own role within the country. This burgeoning awareness presents a unique opportunity for us as parents and educators to ignite a passion for civic engagement among our students.

The Power of Participation

The Olympics are a striking demonstration of the power of individual performance within a team setting. A country’s success in the Olympics depends on the success of dozens of teams, and each of those teams depends on the success of its individual competitors, many of whom have spent years competing against each other before earning a spot on their Olympic team. This is a powerful illustration of how the impact of our achievements is elevated in cooperation with those who share our broader goals, just as in civic life. It is important to ask our students to identify and leverage their own unique skill sets to strengthen and improve their communities in cooperation with their friends, families, and neighbors.

The Importance of Staying Informed

For many younger students, the Summer Olympics may have been the first time they were captivated by world events unfolding in real-time. What did they learn about the teams, countries, and athletes they witnessed? What can they learn by dedicating that same attention to the unfolding presidential election? Encourage your students to learn about the candidates, their platforms, and their parties. By fostering a personal connection to the political landscape, we equip our students to become discerning, critical thinkers who can decode political rhetoric and make informed political decisions.

Respecting Different Opinions

When discussing the victories and disappointments of the Olympics, remind students of the camaraderie and respect shared between competitors. Focus on images of athletes from different countries sharing a stage to celebrate their medals, and take a moment to appreciate the hugs, handshakes, and cheers offered between competing teams. Point both to examples of humility and gratitude as victors accepted their accolades, and to moments when defeat was met with encouragement and unconditional care from athletes’ families, opponents, and even anonymous spectators. As trusted adults in our students’ lives, it’s our job to infuse any political discourse with the same spirit of mutual respect and good faith. Encourage students to actively listen to their classmates and articulate their disagreements respectfully. Our civic duty is not to win arguments but to learn to dialogue across difference and ultimately improve the society in which we live together.

Responsibility and Dedication

The Summer Olympics are held over two weeks, but Olympic athletes spend years preparing for those two weeks, many dedicating their lives to perfecting their skillset. No one practice or training session prepares an athlete for the Olympics; it is the years of preparation and collaborative support from entire teams of coaches, trainers, teammates, and families that readies a single athlete for competition. Just as Olympic athletes spend years accumulating experience and support before entering the global arena, political candidates often have long histories of civic engagement that have led to their candidacy. Remind students that it is not a single election or knowledge of one particular candidate or policy or program that makes a good citizen. Good citizens are those who dedicate themselves to staying informed and maintaining a sense of responsibility toward lifetime civic engagement.

The Olympic games are a powerful showcase of perseverance, teamwork, skill, dedication – values we strive to instill in our students. We now have an opportunity to leverage that inspiration to encourage our students to become active participants in their households, schools, cities, and the world at large. Let’s take this moment to inspire a new generation of active and engaged citizens.

Jen Mitchell is the Head of School at Village Community School, an independent, non-profit, K-8 school in Greenwich Village, New York City.