Teachers at Burlington High School are facing hard decisions about how to discuss the Israeli-Hamas war in class–or if they should discuss it at all. 

By Rose Howell

Teachers at Burlington High School are facing hard decisions about how to discuss the Israeli-Hamas war in class–or if they should discuss it at all. 

Some students at BHS say they are disappointed with how teachers are handling conversations about the conflict.

“I think the first time it was mentioned was a really quick connection to what we’re learning about in [a history] class,” said Norah Miller, a 12th grader at BHS. “And then immediately, it was framed as like, let’s not get into that though, because it’s too controversial.” 

Many of Miller’s teachers have not addressed the conflict at all, and those who do address it act as if it’s “the elephant in the room,” according to Miller.

“I think talking about it would be academically, morally, philosophically really beneficial to people,” Miller said.

Miller, and other students interviewed, say most of their teachers are not providing space for the conflict in class, and it’s deeply frustrating. The conflict has been decades long, and has greatly escalated over the past month. The Israeli-Hamas war refers to the power struggle over land ownership between the governments of Israel and Palestine.The current death toll from the recent intensification is around 16,000 as of November 22nd. 

“I can go home and watch videos of bombs being dropped on people and children screaming for their parents, and then just go to school. I have to keep going. So [I feel] a lot of grief, a lot of anger,” Miller said.

Barwaaqo Sugow is a 10th grader at BHS. Her teachers have not dedicated class time to the conflict either. 

“I would never have found out about it if not for my friends,” Sugow said. 

Sugow is now deeply invested in the conflict. She says one teacher asked if other teachers had brought it up or spent class time on it. The majority of the class said no. Other than that, she only briefly discussed it during a school lunch book group.

Sugow thinks people need to learn about the conflict because it is such a controversial and prominent source of grief for many right now. 

“If the school just gave a time to talk about it, people would know about what’s happening,” Sugow said, “and then if they were just to be dropped in a discussion about the conflict, they wouldn’t feel lost, and they wouldn’t be quiet.”

One teacher who has made time to examine the issue is Francesca Dupuis, a social studies instructor, teaching a 10th grade world history class and a few 9th grade civics sections. 

“It pains me in a different way, now that I’m a mother of three young boys, to see the atrocities that children especially are experiencing,” Dupuis said.

On Nov. 1, she facilitated a discussion about the conflict in her world history class. She says it delayed getting to some of the content outlined in the curriculum, but the students were fine with making space for this. 

Dupuis acknowledges that not everyone agrees with her. “They don’t think these conversations should happen in school. Where else should they happen then?” she asked.

She understands that people want to protect themselves, but “sometimes that just fuels the ignorance and lack of understanding for other perspectives,” Dupuis said. 

Prior to the discussion, she asked students on a private form if they would be interested in having this conversation, giving them the opportunity to opt in. She said 22 out of 23 students said yes. 

She and a few other colleagues compiled a list of resources for students to research prior to the discussion, which were assigned as homework. They also reviewed pluralism, the idea that two differing opinions can co-exist, and collectively brainstormed questions. 

The discussion took place during the following class. It was structured with a silent reflection time for students to answer questions on their own followed by a group conversation that allowed people to decide whether they wanted to speak or listen. Dupuis said it was pretty clear what the student’s stances were, but she said that the conversation went well. She said students were engaged and participating.

“Some people may have been really frustrated, a few people were really uncomfortable,” she said. But she added that students were “really respectful of each other.” 

The results from the students’ reflection surveys showed that everyone who participated felt prepared and that the resources were beneficial. Three out of 22 people said they were uncomfortable; 20 of the 22 said they were glad the discussion happened.

“It went really well, and I think it was really important to have it in a space safe like a classroom,” said Iris Lord, a 10th grader that took part in Dupuis’s class discussion. 

“I think Ms. Dupuis did a really good job facilitating it in a way that kept people from getting loud and intimidating, but allowed people to disagree,” Lord said.

Marzie Schulman, a 9th grader at BHS, said she wishes she had the chance for a discussion in class, because there are students who are not educated on the topic. Schulman, who is Jewish and has visited Israel many times, has family in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). She says a family friend had been trying to contact people at an IDF base near Gaza, but learned they all had been killed.

Schulman said her teachers have not covered the conflict. It was briefly brought up because her civics class watches CBS Eye Openers, which are short videos on current events, but there have been no formal lessons.

Schulman thinks there’s a lot of misinformation about intent and violence. “I think, again, that comes from people not being educated.” 

She wants a conversation like this to be in a history-focused class, as opposed to just any class. Dupuis says the primary reason she hasn’t discussed it with her 9th graders is because of lack of time. 

One 9th grade English teacher, Jory Hearst, said she has not brought it up to her classes, primarily because of fear. 

“I feel cowardly about this, [but I haven’t brought it up] because I’m so worked up and charged and have so many emotions, [and] it’s overwhelming to think about staying professional,” she said.  

Hearst knows that people critical of the Israeli response following the horrific assault by Hamas on Oct. 7 are worried about being called out, or accused of antisemitism. But she thinks it’s important to talk about.

“Historical context of understanding that there has been an incredible amount of repression and oppression of Palestinians, for the last 75 years has for me, has to be the framing to think about this,” she added. 

Loy Prussack, a 2020 BHS graduate, agrees. Prussack is currently a senior at Scripps College in California and a leader of the Scripps chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Jewish Voices for Peace.

Prussack says it is horrible and sad, and additionally a little frustrating, that people are only paying attention now, and getting the majority of their information from social media. 

She says it feels easier to have conversations about the conflict in college as opposed to high school. But other than a discussion SJP led, they haven’t covered it.

“In the past three weeks, it just feels really weird as a person who’s super involved in this to just sit in class and feel like this huge thing is happening in the world and like we’re just pretending it isn’t,” Prussack said. 

While in 9th grade at BHS, Prussack said a social studies teacher showed a video about Gaza, and it really sparked her interest in advocacy and learning about the conflict.

“My hope would be that all teachers are able to have discussion spaces, even if they are spaces that are uncomfortable,” Prussack said, “because I think it is adults’ responsibility to be holding those spaces as educators.”

Rose Howell is a Burlington High School student working with the Underground Workshop, a network of student journalists across Vermont partnering with Community News Service.