By Ryan Song, Middle School Principal

It was Wednesday evening and the Capitol Building had been breached. How would a Middle School principal approach the situation? It was a question I found myself pondering as I oscillated through different media. 

I often play through these thought experiments, as I believe that personal philosophies need to be put into the forge to see if they can take the heat. Sometimes they can, and sometimes they can’t—this is how we hone our philosophies.  

For those new to this concept, a thought experiment is a way of intellectually exploring the consequences of a proposed principle or philosophy as you play through certain events in your head. And, it is usually performed when the actual experiment would be impractical or impossible. One of the more famous thought experiments that comes to mind involves quantum mechanics and Schrödinger's cat (a hypothetical cat must be considered simultaneously both alive and dead as a result of a random event that may or may have not occurred). This experiment brings to light a paradox allowing particles to exist in multiple quantum states at the same time. I encourage you to look it up if you are not familiar. 

Let’s start with what do my “principal eyes” see? I see a lot of people in pain. 

People are hurting. People believe they are being wronged. Things they care about are being threatened. These feelings brought people to the Capitol Building and to the streets of so many cities around the country this past summer. Though motivated to protest for different reasons, it was the combination of the pain from fresh wounds and old scars that served as the gravity for their gathering.  

As a leader in a community of children, it should come as no surprise that I deeply care for youth and humanity at large in, perhaps, an almost idealistic way. It is my hope that when we see someone in pain, we pause. We need to be in touch with our humanity, especially as we build and model our empathy lens for our students. Another human’s pain should evoke our empathy. Before any meaningful dialogue can happen, we must acknowledge each other’s injuries, emotional and physical, which is something I learned from Dr. Donna Hicks.

Dr. Donna Hicks is a professor at Harvard specializing in International Affairs. I met her a couple of years ago and had the opportunity to discuss her theories on human dignity. With nearly twenty years working as an international conflict resolution specialist, she has had a seat at the table as opposing parties worked through the political issues that divided their communities. She has spent time in the Middle East, Columbia, Sri Lanka, and Cuba, to name a few. She recognized that it was not a lack of intellectual currency at the negotiating tables that prevented progress. Deep wounds were derailing the conversations; she referred to them as dignity violations. Only until these wounds were exposed and acknowledged would healing begin, and productive negotiations be allowed to proceed.  

What I have learned from Dr. Hicks leads me to believe that the first step is not diving into civil discourse, establishing middle ground, or fact checking personal truths. The first step is addressing the wounds. In fact, initially, it is common that, like Schrödinger’s cat, we need to enter the situation as though the opposing sets of truths are true at the same time. Yes, being comfortable with quantum theory and its principles has its benefits as a middle school principal (more often than you’d think). Others might call this giving each other the benefit of the doubt, but it is an essential part of beginning the restorative process.

Generally, this would be the path, but unfortunately over the last few months, multiple protests have turned violent. Obviously, this is not a pathway we would condone in the RCDS Middle School or any school. In fact, our pathway reflects the lessons we learn from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who we will honor this Friday during assembly as a middle school community and on Monday as a nation. Dr. King once stated that “non-violence was the morally excellent way to deal with the problem of racial injustice.” Although his work is largely known for addressing racial injustice, in many ways he laid a blueprint for collectively negotiating and confronting hatred across a broad spectrum, which includes the anti-semitism and other white supremacy elements brazenly present by some at the Capitol riots.

So, back to the original question. What would I do? My first attention would go to establishing order, and then, following the guidance of Dr. Hicks, to begin healing and restoring people’s dignity before engaging in civil discourse regarding the matters at hand. What would the outcome be? Would it prove successful? These are tough questions to answer. The answers reside within the individuals. Are they ready to be vulnerable and engage in healing and then participate in civil discourse? This is why our work at schools is so important, not only for our ability to build intellectual capacity or to solve increasingly complex problems, but also for our development of the norms and habits of civil discourse: respect, open-mindedness, and empathy.  

We know that the ideal way to address these violent protests is to prevent them from happening in the first place. During this upcoming long weekend, please take the time to discuss Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his belief that “non-violence was the morally excellent way” to deal with injustice. We only have a handful of federal holidays in this country, but this is one where we are not necessarily focused on celebrating the past, but the course that was set forth to make this world a better place.