The 8th-grade class recently finished reading the novel All American Boys. The story is told by two narrators, Rashad and Quinn, whose lives are forever changed by an act of police brutality.
The 8th graders were split into two groups to create character posters of each of the narrators, including a drawing of the character, a list of adjectives/phrases that describe the character, descriptions of how the character changes in the story, and relevant quotes from the character. The students reviewed their own annotations and quotes they had selected and analyzed throughout their reading of the novel, then discussed and decided what to include on their character poster.
The 8th graders explored some of the issues addressed in the novel from the police perspective when they met with Moraga Police Chief Jon King. Saklan parent Gary Hill arranged this meeting for the class and participated in the discussion.
Before the meeting, the 8th-grade students answered some questions about the Moraga Police Department website. They then prepared their own questions to ask the police chief, including:
- What is your favorite/best part of your job?
- What is the hardest part of your job?
- What do you want to achieve as a police officer?
- What is an average day like?
- As a citizen, how do you think I can support my local police department?
- What measures or training are in place to help prevent bias from impacting the work of members of the Moraga police force?
Meanwhile, Gary and Chief King prepared for the meeting by reading All American Boys.
Police Chief King shared his view that the police should be accessible and helpful partners in the community instead of playing the role of an intimidating presence wearing a uniform and driving around in a police car with closed windows. He explained that he wore his polo shirt instead of his full uniform so that he could be more approachable and send a friendlier message to the Saklan students.
In addition to sharing some of his own stories about the Moraga police department’s policies for fighting crime and addressing citizen complaints about police misconduct, Chief King explained how the conduct of some police officers like Paul in the novel results from a mix of knowledge and emotions. He spoke strongly about the contrast between officers’ behavior, like the fictional Paul, and the training his officers receive in Moraga. Chief King also shared the shocked and saddened reactions among the entire Moraga police force when they watched the news about the murder of George Floyd in 2020.
Gary shared his own stories about his encounters with the police. He encouraged the students to stand up to racial injustice with courage and compassion.
We extend our heartfelt thanks to Chief King and Gary Hill for sharing their time, wisdom, and personal stories with our 8th-grade class!
#SaklanCompassion #SaklanCourage
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