Kids Need Space to Speak Their Minds—Especially in a Pandemic

Vincent Hale spoke with Sojourners about students’ response to the pandemic and the national reckoning with racism.

“I TEACH MUSIC and theater, so it was a little difficult to teach via an online platform. I started an initiative called ‘Worship Wednesdays,’ and I took over our school’s Instagram Live page. We started with vocal warmups and a song where the kids could move around—I choreographed the dances myself. Then I went through another two or three songs. We set it up so kids can request to appear on the screen with you, so I’d have some of them come and sing that way.

What I noticed is that students were seeking engagement with each other. The Instagram Live thing was cool because they got to interact. They couldn’t see each other’s faces but they could engage in a chat. Growing up is all about interacting with your peers, and so they had been missing out on that opportunity.

[Regarding the pandemic, police violence, and racism] We need to give kids a bit more benefit of the doubt because they’re seeing these things and they have thoughts and feelings about them. What I want to be able to do is to offer practices that allow space for them to speak their minds. It shows them that their thoughts and feeling are valuable, but it also gives them the opportunity to learn from each other.

That’s one of the great things about the arts: It’s a way for students to relieve those feelings and emotions. You can sing a song when you don’t have the words yourself.

I want to instill in my students a level of confidence to know that they are enough in themselves. We are made in the image and likeness of God, and when God looks at us, God says we are good.”