Reflecting and responding to yesterday’s events in Washington, D.C.

Many of you know that I am the proud grandson of American immigrants from Sweden and Norway. My grandparents came here in search of opportunities not available to them in their homeland. My doctoral dissertation explored how educational institutions were the vehicle for immigrants to figure out what made them Americans -- while at the same time preserving the best of their homeland identity. The United States has been very patient with my family’s immigration history as we’ve sorted this out. I can truly say that I love my country. I think my family history has helped make me a true American patriot.

Which is why I am disgusted and angry about the display of violence in our nation yesterday. I am ashamed by the political rhetoric that has triggered what looks to me like un-American behavior in our nation’s capital. I am sad and heartbroken that your children, our beloved PBS students, are faced with yet another set of really difficult questions at an already complex and stressful time. Questions like:

• Why did this happen?
• How could this happen and was it preventable?
• Are people who look like me or share my beliefs going to be safe?
• Will people who look like me or share my beliefs have a voice when we get old enough to vote?
• Will there be riots and violence near my home?
• Are American elections rigged?

My friends: It feels like our nation hit rock-bottom yesterday. It feels like the democratic values and principles that we cherish were trampled upon. What I saw yesterday is not the country that my forefathers and foremothers immigrated to and loved. It is not the nation of scrappy innovators that used their imagination to start a school like PBS in 1978.

And, worst of all, what happened yesterday is a horrible distraction from some really essential priorities: We should be putting all of our efforts into supporting our teachers, health care professionals, and other essential workers. We should be totally focused on steps needed to fight the COVID pandemic. We should be providing resources to make in-person school the #1 priority for our nation’s children. We should be diminishing stress at an already anxious time, not adding stress.

As your school’s leader, I want you to know that I am here for you. I strongly encourage you to talk openly with your children about our country, our values as a nation, and how those values dovetail with what they are learning at PBS. This is very hard to do, so I have three suggestions to share with you:

First: I suggest talking openly with your children about the difference between three things: Facts, opinions, and feelings. For example: A feeling is being upset by the results of an election, whether in 2016 or in 2020. An opinion can be expressed as a concern about the particular way vote-counting was carried out, whether in 2016 or in 2020. But a fact, while sometimes elusive, is rooted in data and information, not feelings and opinions. PBS will double-down on our efforts to teach our students to be critical thinkers; to be adept at the differences among facts, opinions, and feelings. I strongly urge families to join us in reinforcing this fundamental skill. This is especially important when the national discourse has blurred the lines.

Second: I suggest talking openly with your children about the importance of telling the truth. I am concerned that the online ways we communicate today can sometimes make it hard for children to assess the truth. I am concerned that political aspirations among people in both political parties has made truth-telling a secondary value, rather than a primary value. I strongly urge us to talk with our children about truth-telling as a primary value.

Third: I suggest modeling and talking about the beautiful American value of respectful and peaceful disagreement. Many of my family members and I disagree adamantly about the way we vote and how we express our religious devotion. My senior year in college, I was student body vice president. The president was on the other end of the political spectrum, and we cooperated effectively on behalf of our peers. In the PBS community, I greatly cherish and value the fact that we can have vastly different points of view, but we always work towards the same goal: The best-possible education for your children.

I began my teaching career at St. Paul’s School. The following statement is carved in the beautiful door frame above the main dining room: Strive mightily, but eat and drink as friends.

Please encourage your children to always strive mightily -- to express their opinions mightily, to talk about their feelings openly, to pursue truth and facts with alacrity. But, at the same time, to eat and drink as friends. Call it: Disagree and commit, to quote a business leader. We Americans are not enemies. We are on the same team.

We have a great deal of work ahead of us as we deal with this mess we’re in. I have a lot of hope both as an American patriot as well as the leader of our fabulous school:

• I am thankful for you and to be together with you in this community.
• I am thankful for you when we disagree.
• I am thankful that we strive mightily, yet always eat and drink as friends.
• I am thankful for the natural questions that your children are asking and that deserve authentic conversation.

So, in closing, know this: You are not alone. During these tough and unsettling times, PBS is your team – 100 percent.